20140124 Friday, January 24 2014
Deuteronomy 31: Moses To Joshua

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"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"

The adult Israelites of the Exodus were a unique generation. They alone were the generation that became slaves in Egypt (see Deuteronomy 24: How Long Were They Slaves?). They witnessed the Exodus (see Exodus 12: The First Passover) and the crossing of the sea (see Exodus 14: Crossing The Sea) as a matter of what the LORD did for them. Then, at Mount Sinai (see Exodus 19: Arrival At Mount Sinai), they were given the Law of the LORD (Who was and is Jesus Christ - see Genesis 1: In The Beginning Was The Word and The Kingdom Of The LORD God). Nevertheless, they refused to enter the Promised Land, when the LORD gave them the opportunity and means to do so only fourteen months after the Exodus.

The result for Moses is that he was unable to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, as he would have done if they had not been hopeless rebels. Instead, Moses spent forty years in the Sinai, leading that generation in circles until they all died off (see Numbers 14: Why 40 Years In The Sinai?). During that time as well, out of frustration with the whining rebels (see Exodus 13: Liberation, Not Liberal-ation) that he had been given to lead, he made a mistake (see Deuteronomy 3: What Did Moses Pray For At The Jordan River?) that cost him his own entry into the Promised Land (although we know for certain, from the Holy Scriptures, that Moses will be in the Kingdom of God, the ultimate Promised Land - see the Fact Finder question below). The LORD therefore commanded Moses to appoint Joshua to lead the Israelites home.

"31:1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 31:2 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. 31:3 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. 31:4 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. 31:5 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. 31:6 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.

31:7 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. 31:8 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." (Deuteronomy 31:1-8 KJV)

If the Israelites had entered the Promised Land, forty years earlier when they first had the opportunity, there would be no Book of Deuteronomy in the Bible (see Deuteronomy 1: Why A Book Of Deuteronomy In The Bible?).

"31:9 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. 31:10 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, 31:11 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. 31:12 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: 31:13 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." (Deuteronomy 21:9-13 KJV)

The Book of Deuteronomy was both a history lesson to the children and grandchildren of the adult Exodus generation and a reiteration of the original Book of the Law.

"31:14 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.

31:15 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. 31:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep 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. 31:17 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 befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? 31:18 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.

31:19 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. 31:20 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. 31:21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against 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. 31:22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

31:23 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.

31:24 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, 31:25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, 31:26 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. 31:27 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? 31:28 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. 31:29 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.

31:30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended." (Deuteronomy 31:14-30 KJV)

Fact Finder: From what Messianic prophetic vision do we know that Moses will be in the future Kingdom of God?
See The Moses And Elijah Vision