King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 7 notes
Read Deuteronomy 31 in the app
1And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
2And 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.
3The 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.
4And 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.
5And 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.
6Be 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.
7And 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.
8And 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.
The Lord, he it is that doth go with you... Oh my word 🥹.
Reminding them that it is none other than the I AM.
The I AM himself and none other that doth go with them into battle.
If it indeed is the I AM, as it is, then their enemies are done for.
9And 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.
I used to think Joshua was a young man, and thus Moses introduced him to the nation and had to stand by him because of his young age. But not so, he was one of the oldest of just two, Caleb and he.
So that old-age respect was already there, but as proof that he was God's chosen one, Moses stood with him and strengthened his hand.
God also confirmed that he had called him through signs and wonders later on.
10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
11When 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.
12Gather 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:
13And 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.
14And 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.
15And 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.
16And 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.
17Then 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?
18And 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.
19Now 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.
20For 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.
21And 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.
God doth know the hearts of men.
How were Moses and God able to live with this thought 💭?
That despite all they had done, these people's hearts imagined and desired different things.
Things contrary to God and to themselves. Imaginations that would destroy them and not produce the glorious life God and Moses hoped for them.
It's sad 😔. No wonder Moses said that a prophet like unto him — great in intercession, compassion, and a great high priest — will arise, and him will the people hear.
Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
And in another place he says
Genesis 49:10 KJV
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
🥹😭
22Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
Why a song? Anything that will ingrain the word of the Lord in their hearts so they do not forget, the Lord did.
He made them build altars on mountains which cannot be moved, so that eternally they remember the blessings and the curses, including generations unborn.
The law was written on rocks and in a book. They had festivals several times yearly to re-enact the past and remind them constantly of the covenant and whose they were.
Now a song was written.
This teaches us that we also must set up systems in our lives, and that for our children, so we do not forget the Law of God and his word. We must be very deliberate about this, lest we lose the very thing that is designed to inure to our benefit.
Remember how he told Joshua to meditate on the book of the law day and night. Maybe to literally memorise it, because in it was his sure blessings.
23And 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.
24And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
25That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
26Take 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.
27For 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?
28Gather 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.
29For 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.
Ah, the first apostles also said the same thing, that after their passing wolves 🐺 in sheep 🐑 clothing will devour the flock.
Acts 20:29 KJV
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
So there is really nothing new under the sun.
30And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
All these repetitions of instructions and songs and commands.
Going as far as teaching prophetic songs of rebellion and asking for sacred meetings to read the law,
Tying symbols on the forehead and bracelets and hems on clothes, all to bring to remembrance the words of the law in order not to forget them.
Despite these elaborate attempts, Israel 🇮🇱 failed to obey many times,
But these reminders worked, in that anytime they fell into rebellion, they never forgot the God who brought them out of Egypt.
So in that sense it worked in bringing them back from rebellion, but it failed in that it did not prevent the rebellion in the first place.
Rebellion which led to impossibly difficult circumstances.