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.
MOSES GIVING WAY TO JOSHUA
(vs.1-8)
Having finished his exposition of the law, Moses looks on to the future, so that the subject to the end of Deuteronomy is prophetic. Moses begins by announcing that he is 120 years of age, and no longer fitted for the work he has done for years (vs.1-2). Besides this, God had told him he would not cross over Jordan.
Yet Israel did not depend on Moses, but on God, who would pass over before them. He would destroy the nations from the land, and Israel would dispossess them. But God would work now by means of Joshua, who would take Moses' place (v.3). As God did to Sihon and Og, so would He do with the nations of the land of Canaan (vs.4-5). Let Israel therefore be strong and courageous, depending on God's faithfulness, not intimidated by enemies who were totally inferior to God (v.6).
Moses then called Joshua, announcing him before all Israel as God's newly appointed leader, urging him to be strong and courageous, for he "must go with this people to the land." This was God's imperative decision, from which Joshua would have no way of escape. But Joshua is assured that the Lord will go before him, never leaving or forsaking him. Therefore there was no reason to fear (vs.7-8).
FREQUENT READING OF THE LAW
(vs.9-13)
Together with their new leader, Israel must have the law written for them, which Moses did, delivering it to the priests. Then the priests were commanded to read this law before all Israel every seventh year at the feast of tabernacles, in the place of God's choosing, which was Jerusalem (vs.9-l0). The seventh year was the year of release from bondage or debt (Deuteronomy 15:1). The feast of tabernacles was one of the three feasts that all males in Israel were required to attend (Deuteronomy 15:16), so that in the seventh year all would hear the law read (v.11). But verse 12 speaks of gathering men, woman and little ones. It would not be possible that every individual from Israel would be gathered in Jerusalem at this time, but it is implied that all who were able to be there ought to be there, for the children should learn the truth of God too (v.13).
PROPHECY OF ISRAEL'S REBELLION
(vs.14-30)
Moses had already approved Joshua before all the people (v.7), but now the Lord tells Moses that he must die shortly, and to call Joshua, so that God would inaugurate him as leader of Israel. Then the Lord appeared at the door of the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud (vs.14-15).
In spite of their having a new leader, God tells Moses that after his death Israel would become unfaithful, following the idols of the nations, forsaking God and breaking His covenant (v.16). This must have spoken deeply to the heart of Moses after his spending time and labor in declaring the law and pleading with Israel to keep it.
God's anger would be aroused and He would leave Israel to the painful results of their rebellion. Many evils would befall them, so they would realize that God was no longer among them (v.17). Yet, even then God would hide His face from them to make them feel their serious condition as they ought (v 18).
Therefore God provided a song for Israel, seen in the first 43 verses of chapter 32. Moses was to write it down for Israel to learn (v.19). When God has brought them into the land and they have become well fed and wealthy, turning to idols and provoking God, then this song would testify against them. If learning it by memory, they would remember it, and its words would serve at least to embarrass them when they acted in disobedience (vs.20-21). It is amazing how painstakingly God sought to impress on Israel from every angle their responsibility to Him, though He knew perfectly well that they would rebel.
Moses then wrote the song and taught it to Israel (v.22). At this time he inaugurated Joshua as leader in his place, encouraging him to be strong and courageous, for he would bring Israel into their land (v.23). Also, after he had completed writing the words of the law (the first five books of scripture), he commanded the Levites to put the Book of the Law beside the ark of the covenant (vs.25-26). This was a plain witness for God and a witness against the evils that the people would soon embrace, therefore a witness against them (vs.24-26).
Moses retained no hope whatever that Israel would be obedient. He says he knew that, since they had been rebellious during his life, this would only increase after his death (v 27). Therefore he asked for the gathering of the elders of all the tribes, not to give them any false hopes, but to tell them he knew that after his death Israel would become utterly corrupt and turn aside from God's commandments. Paul speaks similarly in Acts 20:29 to the Ephesian elders, "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves." This has proven just as true in the history of the Church as did the prophecy of Moses as regards Israel.