Introduction
In the study of Deuteronomy 30, Moses told the Israelites
when they were in exile or captivity because of their unfaithfulness to their
covenant with God, God would heed their pleas and requests for forgiveness. God
promised they would continue to be His chosen people. He would forgive them and
take them back to the Promised Land.
In the second part of Deuteronomy 30, Moses encouraged the
Israelites to “choose life.” The Israelites who stood on the brink of crossing
the Jordan River were not the ones who made the original covenant with the LORD
at Mount Sinai. The current Israelites were infants at that time or were born
after the Sinai covenant. Moses exhorted the current Israelites to choose to be
in a covenant relationship with the LORD. He encouraged them to “choose life.”
In Deuteronomy 31, we find three distinct sections of text –
Moses speaking to the Israelites, God speaking to Moses and Joshua, and Moses
speaking to the priests, elders, and officers. Threaded throughout these
sections are the words of encouragement “be strong and courageous” and “do not
fear or tremble.” Besides these, we read a few times, “God will cross ahead of
you” and “God is the one who goes with you.” In the middle section, where God spoke
to the Israelites, He foretold the Israelites future disobedience and turning
away from Him to serve other gods. It appears Deuteronomy 30 was suitable for
the Israelites to listen to before they heard God foretelling their turning
away from Him. By doing so, they would understand God would always forgive them
if they repented. In addition, by foretelling the Israelites’ future, God
showed the Israelites once again He was not just the God of their past and
present, but of their future, too.
Moses Speaks
Moses to the Israelites.
In the first section of this chapter, which encompasses
verses one through thirteen, Moses spoke to three sets of people – the
Israelites, Joshua, and the leaders – priests and elders. The time Moses spoke
with the Israelites is in verses one through 6. Verses seven and eight record Moses
speaking to Joshua. His command to the priests and elders is in verses nine
through thirteen.
Moses began his speech to the Israelites reminding them of
his age. He was 120 years old. Moses spent forty years in Egypt learning how to
lead people, forty years shepherding and learning to follow the LORD, and forty
years with the Israelites learning from God how to lead/shepherd His people. In
the Bible, the number forty often reflects times of trial – to learn and
discipline oneself to be a better follower of God. We see Moses’ life as just such
a case. Besides reminding them of his age, Moses told them he could not lead
them any longer and would not cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. If
you remember, the latter was God’s punishment of Moses from Numbers 20. At that
time, the people grumbled about having no drink. God told Moses to tell the
rock to yield its water. When Moses arrived before the people, he hit the rock and
water came from it. He did not give the credit and glory to God (Num. 20:12); therefore,
the people did not learn God provided for them again. Remember, part of Moses’
task was to help them know (yada’ – progressively
come to know) of and who the LORD was. At this point in Deuteronomy 31, Moses
told the Israelites he would lead them no longer. He reminded them God would
cross before them as He had previously gone before them.
Besides God crossing the Jordan with them, their next God-appointed
leader, Joshua, would cross before them, too. Remember, Joshua was one of the
twelve spies who scouted the Promised Land. He was one of the two spies who
said the Israelite should have gone into the land forty years before when God
told them He would give them the land. As God would have done forty years
before and did to the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan, He would do to
the Canaanites when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River at their current time.
The LORD would deliver the Canaanites to them. The Israelites were to do as the
He commanded them do to the Amorites (vs. 4-5).
Moses encouraged the Israelites in the last part of this
sub-section when he said God would be with them. He told them to be “strong and
courageous” and “do not be afraid or tremble.” Because God was with them, the
Israelites had no one and nothing to fear. They were strong because God is
strong. Moses told them to be bold and step out in faith because of that fact.
From experience, they would be acquainted with the LORD God and His strength
and omniscience. The Israelites could stand in faith knowing what God commended
them to do would occur as long as they followed Him.
Moses to Joshua.
This sub-section of the chapter is just two verses long. In
front of the Israelites, Moses called Joshua to him. While standing before the
people, Moses told Joshua God chose him to lead His people into the Promised Land.
He encouraged Joshua by telling him to “be strong and courageous” (vs. 7) and
“do not fear or be dismayed” (vs. 8). You will notice Moses said the same to
the Israelites in verse six. He said it again in verse twenty-three.
Moses next told Joshua he would go with the people into the
Promised Land (vs. 7), but with God going before them (vs. 8). This may have
been the first time Joshua discovered Moses would not be going into the
Promised Land. He may have felt fear. Moses encouraged him when he said, “The
LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail or
forsake you” (vs. 8). The last part of this verse is a promise many Christians have
held on to over the centuries. We understand Joshua reminded the people of this
in Joshua 1:5 and the writer of Hebrews used it in Hebrews 13:5. God proved
Himself faithful to the Israelites and His covenant with them. We read of it in
the Bible many times.
Moses encouraged the Israelites by saying God would go ahead
of them, just as he did to Joshua. He told them to be strong and courageous; do
not fear or be dismayed, just as he did Joshua. Moses was their leader. From
him the Israelites learned about God. They learned how to recognize Him, and
how to hear and obey Him. Moses prepared the Israelites for his departure by
giving them a God-appointed leader, Joshua. He encouraged them further with his
words by reminding them who God was and is for them and who He would continue
to be. Just as Moses called out Joshua from the Israelites, he spoke directly
to their leaders – the priests and elders of the tribes.
Moses to the Leaders.
In this sub-section of section one in the chapter, Moses
directed his speech to the Israelite leaders – the priests and elders of the tribes.
Moses wrote the law – the commands, laws, statutes, and ordinances – God gave to
the Israelites over their forty years’ journey. He finished writing them with Deuteronomy
31. Moses next gave the book of the Law to the priests with a command (vs. 9).
Moses commanded these leaders do two things with the Law and
at two specific times. First, he charged the priests to read God’s Law every
seven years at the remission of debts and every year at the Feast of Booths
(vs. 10). These two feasts and festivals were when God required every Israelite
and resident of Israel to worship at the sanctuary or temple.
The second command Moses gave the priests and elders was to gather
every person of Israel to listen to the reading of God’s Law so they would
learn and fear the LORD being careful to observe all of it (vs. 11-12). We must
remember what the Hebrew words for “hear,” “learn,” “fear,” “careful,” and “observe”
mean to understand the depth of this command. “Hear” comes from the Hebrew word
shama’ and means to hear, listen, and
obey. Remember the Hebrew culture taught when students learned things they should
listen to and act upon them else the person did not truly hear. “Learn” derives
from the Hebrew word lamad, which
means to exercise in and learn. Practicing the laws by acting upon them was important.
“Fear” comes from the Hebrew word yare’.
It means to fear and revere. The Israelites were to revere the LORD from whom
the laws came and by association hold fast to His laws. They carried great
weight and influence amidst the people of Israel. “Careful” comes from the
Hebrew word shamar, which has the
same root as shama’. Shamar means to hear, listen, preserve
and guard, and to give heed. Finally, “observe” comes from the Hebrew word ‘asah and means to observe, accomplish,
and do. Over the forty years that Moses lived with and led the people of
Israel, he taught them about God and they saw His might and power. They gained
a first-hand impression of Him. By itself, that should have made them fear and
revere the LORD enough that His commands would carry great weight and impel them
to love and obey Him.
Moses closed this sub-section of the chapter by impressing
on the people one other matter. By assembling and reading/hearing the Law of
God at these two festivals/feasts, they would make sure later generations heard
and knew God, His actions, power, and laws. They would obey them and not go
astray. Moses said it in verse thirteen, “Their children, who have not known,
will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live on the land,
which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.” Moses gave a very similar statement
to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:19. He told them, “You shall teach them to
your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along
the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” The parents had the responsibility
for training their children to know and obey the LORD God. In this sub-section,
Moses made the priests and elders responsible for ensuring the people of Israel
heard and understood the Law of God at these two festivals/feasts either yearly
or every seven years. So, for this section, Moses told his age, of Joshua
becoming the leader of the Israelites, and the requirement for the priests and elders
to recite the Law and teach Israel.
God Speaks
Section two of this chapter encompasses verses fourteen
through twenty-three. God commanded Moses and Joshua to go to the tent of
meeting. He foretold to them of the Israelites’ forsaking Him and breaking His covenant.
God explained what His reaction would be. He commanded Moses to write a song about
this for the Israelites as a testimony and witness against them when they sin.
At the end of this section, God chose and commissioned Joshua as the new leader
of the Israelites.
Obedience and Affirmation.
The first verse of this section, verse fourteen, is
significant. It says, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Now the day of your death is near.
Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will
commission him.’ So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent
of Meeting.” The first thing we note is the LORD told Moses his death was imminent.
Moses realized he would not enter the Promised Land. This statement explained
it would happen soon.
In the second sentence of this verse, God gave a command to
Moses and Joshua. For Moses, obeying that command began his descent from
leadership and inaugurated Joshua’s rise to Moses’ position. God prepared
Joshua for the leadership position and now He would commission him.
The third important fact of this section is their obedience
to God’s command. They did not linger where they were, but went at once to the
Tent of Meeting. When God gives a command, a person should obey it right then.
We should recognize one other important fact. By being at the Tent of Meeting,
the Israelites would be around and would see and overhear God’s commission of
Joshua and decommissioning of Moses. They would hear the LORD’s voice for
themselves. Moses could have explained what occurred after the fact, but God wanted
them to listen to and see Him. It became an affirmation by God of Joshua’s
commissioning and Moses’ descent from leadership. It confirmed what Moses said
to Joshua and the Israelites.
LORD’s Foretelling.
The second sub-section of this section, verses fifteen
through twenty-two, tells us what the LORD said in the doorway of the Tent of
Meeting. Remember, by being at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, the
Israelites could listen to the LORD’s voice and apprehend what He said to Moses
and Joshua. The LORD appeared as a pillar of cloud, a familiar sight for the
Israelites.
In the first part of His speaking, He reiterated what Moses
said before to Joshua. The LORD said Moses would soon die (vs. 16). Moses realized
he would soon have rest from leading the fickle Israelites and would receive his
punishment, which God assigned to him for taking His glory.
The second part of verse sixteen, in the same breath as the
first part, revealed the Israelites would soon be unfaithful to God. The
biggest part of this section is God’s foretelling of the Israelites’
disobedience to Him and His covenant. God spoke about their unfaithfulness and
His resultant actions against them in verses seventeen through twenty-one because
of their forsaking Him and breaking His covenant (vs. 16). He expounded on what
the Israelites would do when they forsook Him and broke His covenant. The LORD
said, “They will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant”
(vs. 20). Notice this reflects a progressive turning away from God beginning
with turning to other gods to completely separating from the LORD God.
What were the LORD’s reactions and actions because of the
Israelites forsaking Him and breaking His covenant? They kindled His anger against
them. He said in verses seventeen, eighteen, and twenty-one He would be angry
with them. The LORD would forsake them and hide His face from them. Evils and
troubles would come upon the Israelites and consume them. The LORD explained
why the latter would happen. He said in verse seventeen, “So that they will say
in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have
come upon us?’” God reiterated for emphasis in verse eighteen what He said in
verse seventeen. He said, “But I will surely hide My face in that day because
of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.”
The LORD explained the tendency of humans when He explained
why the Israelites would forget Him when things were going well. He said in
verse twenty when the people had eaten, became satisfied, and became
prosperous, they would feel no need for the LORD. They would become lax in
their faithfulness to Him and His covenant. That would lead the Israelites to begin
turning to other gods. First, they would turn to the other gods, then serve and
worship them, spurning the LORD completely. In the end, the Israelites would
break His covenant.
In verse nineteen, God commanded Moses to write this in a song
– to write about God’s history with the Israelites, their covenant with Him,
their falling away and God’s anger, and God’s grace and forgiveness when they
returned to Him. He explained why He wanted a song written. God said at the end
of verse nineteen, “So that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons
of Israel.” The LORD said this again in verse twenty-one, too. He said, “This
song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from
the lips of their descendants); for I know their intent, which they are
developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.”
[NASB] In verse twenty-eight, Moses said the words of this song would “call the
heavens and earth to witness against them.” The song obediently sung through
the generations would remind the Israelites of God and their faithfulness to
Him, His anger for unfaithfulness, and forgiveness for repentance. It would be
a teaching and reminding tool. In that way, the heavens and earth would witness
what the LORD and Moses told them about God and their covenant with Him. The
song would teach them of God’s judgment for unfaithfulness, too. No Israelite
could say he or she was unacquainted with God, His laws, and His judgments. The
song would give a witness against the Israelites for disobedience. Most of all,
the song would remind them to be faithful to God. God perceived the intent and
weakness of the Israelites’ hearts.
God knows the intent and possibility of humankind to turn
their backs on Him when they are prosperous. As we learned in Deuteronomy 30, He
is willing to forgive His children who repent of their sins/disobedience. This
song reminds people of every age who God is, what He did and will do, what He
requires of His children – faithfulness, and what will occur because of
faithfulness and unfaithfulness. In his faithfulness to the LORD God, Moses
wrote the song and taught it to the Israelites (vs. 22). Deuteronomy 32 is this
song.
God Commissions.
The final sub-section of this section concerns Joshua’s
commission. Moses recorded Joshua’s commissioning by God in verse twenty-three.
He said, “Then He [God] commissioned Joshua son of Nun, and said, ‘Be strong
and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I
swore to them, and I will be with you.’” [NASB] Each part of this commissioning
repeats what Moses told Joshua and the Israelites in verses seven through eight
and verses three and six. The LORD commanded and encouraged Joshua – be strong
and courageous. Be strong because the LORD is strong. Be strengthened in your
mind and heart, the LORD meant, because of who He is and because He was with
him and went ahead of him. Joshua had no one and nothing to fear because of the
LORD’s presence and might. The LORD would never fail or forsake him. God stated
the same thing Moses did in verses six and eight to emphasize and add weight to
it.
The Israelites listened to what occurred in the doorway to
the Tent of Meeting. It could have encouraged them to stay faithful to the LORD
and His covenant. The Israelites received words of encouragement from Moses.
They noted the LORD’s words of command and encouragement to Joshua. This may have
encouraged them to be faithful to the LORD and His covenant.
Moses’ Commands
The last section of this chapter are verses twenty-four
through twenty-nine. Verse thirty is part of Deuteronomy 32. In this last
section, Moses finished writing God’s laws in a book. He then gave commands to
the priests.
Moses commanded the priests to take the book of laws, place
it beside the Ark of the Covenant, and gather the elders and officers of
Israel. He said the book of the Law must lay beside the Ark of the Covenant so it
would be a witness against the Israelites (vs. 26). They could not say they did
not learn the laws of God since Moses and God both told them. Moses wrote them in
a book to be a visible testament available to them, too. Moses and the LORD recognized
the Israelites were rebellious and stubborn. The priests had the responsibility
to teach the Israelites God’s Law. God and Moses held them accountable to this
task.
Next, Moses commanded the priests to gather the elders and
officers of the tribes of the Israelites. Moses told them the words of the Law.
He told these leaders what God foretold about the Israelites, too. By doing
this, Moses ensured they heard and knew God’s Law and knew what He expected of
the Israelites. In speaking aloud to make sure they caught what he, Moses, said,
the heavens and earth bore witness against them should the Israelites forsake
God and His covenant. Moses understood the Israelites - their fickleness and
stubbornness. He recognized they would “act corruptly and turn from the way” he
commanded them (vs. 29). From God, Moses understood when they turned from God
evil would fall on them because, in His anger, God allowed it. Moses had been
accountable to God for the Israelites the last forty years. Now the elders, officers,
and priests would be accountable to
teaching and enforcing God’s Law, too.
Moses ensured the leaders of the Israelites and the tribes
of Israelites hearkened to and knew the laws of God. He wrote those laws in a
book and had the priests place it next to the Ark of the Covenant. Moses
commanded the priests, elders, and officers of the Israelites to teach and
enforce the Law because he realized the hearts of the Israelites would forsake
God and His covenant. By making the leaders accountable for the obedience of
the Israelites, Moses hoped the people would stay faithful and not endure God’s
anger after he died. By their faithfulness, God would not allow evil and
troubles to befall them. Moses did what he could as a human leader to help keep
his people from falling away from God and His laws.
Recap
This chapter began with Moses speaking to the people and
Joshua, preparing them for their crossing of the Jordan River, and for the claiming
of Canaan as the Promised Land of the LORD. He told the tribes he would die
soon and Joshua would take over leadership of the people. Moses commanded the
priests read the Law of God at the Feast of Booths every year and at the
seventh year remission of debts. These festivals and feasts would regularly remind
the Israelites of God and their covenant with Him. The future generations of
Israelites would learn, too, of the LORD and His covenant. Moses reminded the
priests in verse twelve to read to and teach the people to “hear and learn and
fear the LORD [their] God and be careful to observe all the words of this Law.”
With the second section of the chapter, the LORD commanded
Moses and Joshua to go to the Tent of Meeting. He appeared as a pillar of cloud
at the doorway of the there. The LORD proclaimed that Moses would soon die.
Next, God foretold the Israelites forsaking Him and breaking covenant with Him.
He explained how His anger would be kindled, he would forsake them, and hide
His face from them. When that occurred, evils and troubles would consume the
Israelites. They would recognize that the LORD was not with them while they
were in the midst of troubles and evil. Because God perceived the intent of the
Israelites’ hearts, He commanded Moses to write a song for the Israelites about
Him and their relationship with Him. The song would help them remember God and
His covenant and would aid them in teaching their children. It would readily be
on their lips. The Israelites could not say they did not comprehend because
Moses taught them for the previous forty years and the song testified to God
and His covenant with them. They were accountable for their obedience to the Law
of God. As Moses taught the people the song and as they listened to the LORD
foretelling their future (of their stubborn and rebellious hearts), the heavens
and earth could witness against the Israelites if they forsook God and disobeyed
His laws.
The last part of God’s speaking in the Tent of Meeting was
His commissioning of Joshua in front of the Israelites – priests, elders,
officers, and tribes. They bore witness to God’s commission of Joshua. As Moses
told the Israelites and Joshua at the beginning of this chapter, God told Joshua
to be strong and courageous. He would be with Joshua to instruct and lead him
as he leads the Israelites. God would bring the Israelites into the land He
swore to give them.
The final section of this chapter tells us of Moses
completing his writing of God’s laws in a book – the book of Law. He then
commanded the priests to place it beside the Ark of the Covenant. Next Moses
called the elders and officers to tell them the words of God. He told them this
book of the Law and the heavens and earth would be witnesses against them and
their people if they forsook the LORD and His covenant. These leaders of Israel
were held accountable for the Israelites’ faithfulness to God and His covenant.
Moses reminded them that forsaking the LORD meant His anger would be kindled
against them and evil would come upon them.
Relevance and Conclusion
In this chapter, a change of leadership and a command to be accountable
to the LORD and His covenant occurs. God held the leaders of Israel accountable
for teaching and enforcing those laws when Moses gave and told of the book of
God’s Law. The leaders understood it was a difficult responsibility to keep the
Israelites faithful to the LORD God. They had experienced the people’s
disobedience and stubbornness. These leaders had seen God’s anger kindled
against the Israelites before and listened to God’s foretelling of their
disobedience and His punishment in the future. Because they did not want this
to occur, they would teach God’s laws to every generation of Israelite and
resident of Israel, out of either faithfulness and reverence or fear and
trembling. Before, Moses was the leader and Aaron the priest. They were the only
human leaders. After Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, counseled him, he called for
other leaders from the different tribes. Upon Moses’ death, other leaders would
be accountable for the Israelites’ faithfulness to God and His covenant.
We understand from history the Israelites were not always
faithful to God and their covenant with Him. They failed several times,
repented to God, and He took them back to Israel. Was the fault due to the leaders
– priests, elders, and officers? Were the Israelites at fault for their
faithlessness? We could point fingers, but we would miss the point. God held
each person accountable for faithfulness to Him and His Law. Individual people
can forsake God. When enough did that, the nation fell. The leaders were there
to teach God’s laws and encourage faithfulness to Him. When a person became
unfaithful, the leader was to help bring that person back to faithfulness and
covenant with God. If the person wandered from God too long, his or her failed
faith and turning to other gods could lead more people to forsake God. This
interweaving of responsibility – leaders and individual - makes and keeps a
society strong or weakens it and makes it susceptible to God’s anger and
judgment.
We need to ask ourselves if we are falling away from God. Is
something becoming more important in our lives than the Lord? What is it and
what do we need to do to restore our relationship with Him? On the other side
of this, we Christians, as part of the royal priesthood of believers, are
accountable to help other Christians grow in their faith so they do not slide and
turn away from the Lord. We are not to point fingers and yell “sinner” at them.
Out of love and knowledge that God wants them to have the best possible life, life
that comes only through Jesus Chris, we teach, guide, and encourage them. So we
are each individually accountable to God for our faithfulness and corporately
accountable to Him for encouraging, teaching, and nurturing other believers to stay
true to the Lord. When we are faithful to the Lord, He is pleased and promises
abundant life here on earth as we live in our human bodies. As Christians, we
have received the promise of eternal life in heaven. Obedience and faithfulness
to God now brings abundant life, not just a trudging, toiling drudgery to which
to awake everyday.
We have a choice to make each day –
Stay faithful to God and love Him with our heart, soul, mind,
and strength
Or
Walk the road we want not caring if it is in God’s plan.
What
do you choose?
