Deuteronomy 31:1-30
1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.
4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.
5 And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.
10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:
13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.
15 And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.
16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleepa with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befallb them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?
18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify againstc them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.
24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
27 For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love
Love and Obey the *LORD your God
Deuteronomy
Philip Smith
Chapter 31
v1 Then Moses continued to speak to all the *Israelites. v2 ‘I am now 120 years old. I cannot continue to lead you. The *LORD has said to me, “You shall not go across the River Jordan.” v3 The *LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will *destroy the nations that are in front of you. Then you will possess their country. Also, the *LORD has told you that Joshua will lead you across the river. v4 Sihon and Og were the kings of the *Amorites. The *LORD will do to those nations what he did to those kings and to their country. He destroyed them. v5 The *LORD will hand over those nations to you. You must do to them everything that I have ordered you to do. v6 Be strong. Have courage. You must not be afraid of those nations. The *LORD your God goes with you. He will always help you and he will not leave you.’
v7 Then Moses called Joshua. And Moses spoke to Joshua in front of all the *Israelites. ‘Be strong. Have courage. You will go with these people into the country. The *LORD has promised it to their *ancestors. And you must cause them to possess it. They will continue to possess it in the future. v8 The *LORD himself will lead you and he will be with you. He will not leave you and he will always help you. Do not be afraid. Do not lose courage.’
Moses had finished his work. He was now 120 years old and he could not continue to lead them. Moses appointed Joshua as the new leader, although God was their actual leader. God had caused them to defeat Sihon and Og. In the future, he would cause them to defeat other nations. God had helped them to *destroy nations when Moses led them. In the future, God would help them to *destroy nations under the leadership of Joshua. Both Joshua and the people should be strong and have courage. God would be with them. They need not be afraid.
Paul talks about the Christian’s war against evil things in Ephesians 6:10-18. He encourages Christians. He says to them, ‘Be strong in the *Lord and be strong in his great power.’
v9 So Moses wrote down this law. He gave it to the priests, who were the sons of Levi. They carried the box of the *covenant of the *LORD. He also gave the law to the leaders of *Israel. v10-11 Moses gave this command to them. ‘At the end of every 7 years, in the year when you cancel debts, read these laws. Do it at the *Festival of Shelters when all *Israelites come to give honour to the *LORD your God. They must come to the place that he will choose. Then read this law aloud to them, so that they will hear it. v12 Call all the people. Call the men, women, children and foreigners who are living in your towns. Then they will listen, and they will learn to *fear the *LORD your God. They will learn to obey all this law carefully. v13 So their children, who do not know the law, will hear it. And the children will learn to *fear the *LORD your God for as long as you live in the country. You will go across the River Jordan in order to possess this country.’
‘Moses wrote down this law.’ But Moses probably had people to help him. The priests kept the laws safely. Every 7 years, during the *Festival of Shelters, they would read the laws aloud. Everyone, even the children, would hear the laws. As a result, they would respect and obey God.
v14 The *LORD said to Moses, ‘You will die soon. Call Joshua. Go with him to the tent where you meet. Then I will give to him his instructions.’ Moses and Joshua went to the tent.
v15 The *LORD appeared to them there in the shape of a cloud. The cloud was at the entrance to the tent. v16 The *LORD said to Moses, ‘You will die soon. Then the people will serve the foreign false gods in the country that they had entered. The people will not be loyal me. They will not *keep the *covenant that I made with them. v17 Then I will be angry with them. I will leave them and I will not help them. I will *destroy them. Many *disasters and troubles will happen to them. When those things happen, they will say this. “These *disasters have happened to us because our God is not with us.” v18 I will not help them because they have done evil things. They have served false gods.
v19 Now write down this song. Teach it to the *Israelites and make them sing it. It will be a *witness for me against the *Israelites. v20 I will take them into a country that has plenty of good things. I promised that to their *ancestors. They will have plenty to eat. They will fill themselves and they will become fat. Then they will start to follow false gods. And they will serve those gods. They will leave me. They will refuse to obey my *covenant. v21 Many *disasters and difficulties will happen to them. This song will remind them about what I said to them. Their *descendants will not forget it. I promised to give the country to them. But I know what they intend to do. They are thinking it, even before I take them into the country.’ v22 Then Moses wrote down the song that day and he taught it to the *Israelites.
v23 Then the *LORD gave this command to Joshua the son of Nun. ‘Be strong. Take courage. You will bring the *Israelites into the country that I promised to give to them. I will be with you.’
God made Joshua the next leader of the people. God wanted Joshua to be certain about it. The cloud had guided them through their journey. Now the cloud was at the entrance to the tent. That showed that God was there. God told Joshua to be strong and to have courage. God promised Joshua that he, Joshua, would lead the people into the country. God also said that he would be with Joshua. God warned Moses that the people would not continue to follow God. He told Moses to write a song. People remember the words of a song more easily than ordinary speech. Then people would know why God would not help them. The song would remind them about all that God had done for them. The song would warn them not to leave God. If they refused to obey the *covenant, then the *curses of the *covenant would happen.
v24 Moses wrote in a book all the words of God’s laws. v25 Then he gave a command to the *Levites. They carried the box of the *covenant of the *LORD. Moses said, v26 ‘Take this book of the law. Place it next to the box of the *covenant of the *LORD your God. It will remain there as a *witness against you. v27 I know this. You refuse to obey and you will not change your behaviour. You have refused to obey the *LORD while I am still alive. You will refuse even more after I die! v28 Gather all the leaders of the *tribes and your officials and come together in front of me. Then I can say these things to them. I will call heaven and earth as my *witness against them. v29 I know that after my death you will become completely wicked. You will not continue to do the things that I have ordered you to do. The *LORD will see the evil things that you will do in the future. So you will suffer *disaster. The *idols that you will make will cause the *LORD to be angry.’
The priests had to look after the book of God’s law. They had to put the law next to the box of the *covenant. Then the *Israelites would know when they had done wrong things.
v30 While all the *Israelites listened, Moses spoke the words of this song from the beginning to the end:
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
destroy ~ to damage something so that it does not continue to exist; to kill people or animals.
Amorite ~ a nation of people who were among the original inhabitants in the country called Canaan; anything that has a relationship with that nation. There may have been more than one nation that had that name. The Israelites had to travel through Amorite country as they went to Canaan.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
ancestors ~ people in your family who lived before you.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
festival ~ a happy time when people meet together to remember a person or a special event.
fear ~ to be afraid; to respect someone who is very great.
keep ~ to do whatever you should do because of a promise or a law; to respect and to give honour to the law.
disaster ~ an event that makes people suffer and causes great damage and perhaps, death.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
curse ~ the opposite of a blessing; bad things that God will do to people because they have been wicked; to say that God will curse someone.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
Levite ~ an Israelite who belonged to the tribe of Levi. Levi was a son of Jacob. Levites had special duties connected to worship. All Israelite priests were Levites.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.