Deuteronomy 19-34, 31:1-29

Review

Chapter 19

Chapter 19 restates the laws concerning the cities of refuge that protected people that unintentionally hurt or kill someone from family members seeking revenge. The last part of the chapter goes through property markers and witness requirements.

Chapter 20

Chapter 20 we see laws about warfare. Don’t be afraid of war when it’s just, God would be with them. We see the emphasis God puts on the family saying if a man has a new wife, home, and farm, before he goes to war he needs to go and take care of all them first, ensuring a future Israel. Also encourages seeking peace first, the cities devoted to destruction, and not unnecessarily destroying the environment during war.

Chapter 21

Chapter 20 gives the process for atoning for innocent blood. Also war captives, inheritance laws for children of multiple wives, consequences for rebellious sons, and the proper burial of a person sentenced to death by hanging. The laws are to maintain order, justice, and purity among the people of Israel, emphasizing the importance of following the commandments of God.

Chapter 22

Laws about helping others, returning lost items, and treating animals with care. Also clothing, agriculture, and building safety. Gives rules about relationships, marriage, and consequence, including penalties for dishonesty and immorality. It stresses upholding moral standards within the community and the consequences for violators of these standards, including punishments such as fines, chastisement, and even death in some cases. The chapter concludes with instructions on appropriate behavior and relationships within the community, emphasizing respect, honesty, and accountability.

Chapter 23

Specifies who is not allowed to enter the assembly, such as those with certain physical injuries or lineage. The text also discusses cleanliness and hygiene practices for the camp, including guidelines for dealing with bodily waste. It addresses the treatment of escaped servants, the prohibition of certain immoral behaviors, and rules regarding lending and fulfilling vows made to the LORD. Its about the importance of following these laws to maintain holiness and receive blessings from God.

Chapter 24

laws and guidelines related to marriage, divorce, remarriage, lending, caring for the poor and needy, as well as treatment of spouses, lending practices, caring for hired servants, and judging fairly. It’s about personal responsibility and the importance of treating others with kindness and justice.

Chapter 25

Discusses various laws and regulations concerning judgment, punishment, marriage, and ethical conduct. We have the duty of a brother to marry his deceased brother's wife, the consequences of refusing to fulfill this duty. The chapter’s about the importance of justice, fairness, and ethical behavior in society, as well as the consequences of failing to uphold these principles.

Chapter 26

First fruits and tithes. Emphasizes gratitude and obedience to God's commandments, including tithing and caring for the less fortunate. It concludes with a reminder to follow God's statutes and judgments with sincerity, as it is a covenant between the people and the Lord, promising blessings and a special relationship with God if they remain faithful.

Chapter 27

Moses instructs the people to keep the commandments as they enter the land promised by God. They are to set up stones inscribed with the law, build an altar, and offer sacrifices. Levites pronounce curses on various offenses including idolatry, disrespecting parents, injustice, and immoral relationships. The people are to affirm these curses as a commitment to uphold the law.

Chapter 28

Blessings and curses that will befall the people based on their obedience or disobedience to the commandments of the LORD. Obedience will bring blessings such as prosperity, victory over enemies, and abundance. Disobedience will result in curses including sickness, defeat, and being scattered among nations. Chapter is about blessings when they follow God’s commandments and curses when they don’t.

Chapter 29

Emphasizes the importance of keeping the covenant to prosper. The covenant includes following the laws and not turning to other gods. Moses warns of the consequences of forsaking the covenant, including curses and being separated from the tribes of Israel. The chapter ends with a reminder that the revealed things belong to the people and their children, so they may follow the law.

Chapter 30

The importance of returning to God with all one's heart and soul, promising blessings and compassion if one obeys. Also warns of the consequences of turning away from God, worshiping other gods, and not obeying His commandments, which will lead to destruction. Urges the people to choose life by loving and obeying the LORD thy God, promising a prosperous life in the land promised to their forefathers.

Chapter 31

Deuteronomy 31:1–6 KJV

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.

Moses tells them he’s old and weak and that the Lord has told him judgement for disobedience is not going into the Promised Land.

But he reminds them whoever the man is that God uses, Yahweh Himself is the actual leader of Israel. He will go before them and it will be Him that defeats the enemies of God’s people in Canaan, not men.

Deuteronomy 31:7–8 KJV

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.

Joshua had already been set apart by Moses before Eleazar and the congregation to assume the leadership after his death (1:38; cf. Num. 27:18–23). Moses now charges Joshua publicly to lead Israel to the land of promise. Yahweh will be with Joshua and will not forsake him in the conflicts of coming days. Hence there is no need for him to fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:9–13 KJV

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.

The covenant treaty between God and Israel is hand written by Moses and given to the sons of Levi. It’s signed and sealed by all the parties involved.

There was to be a covenant renewal ceremony every 7 years at the feast of booths or tabernacles. The seventh year was the year of release, when all the debts of a man were to be forgiven and the debtor servants released.

Another benefit was that every child of Israel would have stood with the large congregation of Israel at least once, maybe twice during the years of childhood seeing how great the people were because of the covenant loyalty to God and His covenant protection of them.

Deuteronomy 31:14–15 KJV

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.

Joshua is formally presented as the successor to Moses in front of God and the people

Deuteronomy 31:23 KJV

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.

This verse is like the closing parentheses that 14-15 open up. Following will be Moses commanded to write a song of judgement against the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:16–22 KJV

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. 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? 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 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. 22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

Israel WILL turn away to the false Gods of the people of the land, breaking their part of the covenant of God.

Deuteronomy 31:17–18 “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? 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.”

When turns away from them in judgement, they begin to suffer from the outcomes of a nation turned away from God

This is the Song of Moses in chapter 32. It was to be a witness against them for their idolatry. Songs are easy to remember and all the generations that learned it would be reminded of why the evils were happening to them

Deuteronomy 31:24–29 KJV

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.

Specifically this covenant treaty was put beside the Ark of the Covenant.

Deuteronomy 31:27 “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?”

Moses knew how rebellious Israel had been when he was alive, how much more so would they be after he died. So Moses told them to gather the elders so he could go ahead and pronounce the judgement of God against them for turning away.

Chapter 32

Is the Song of Moses given to him by God in chapter 31.

Chapter 33

Moses blesses each tribe of Isreal individually asking for protection, prosperity, and strength. Moses concludes by praising Israel as a blessed and protected nation, saved by the LORD and destined for prosperity and triumph over adversaries.

Chapter 34

Moses ascends Mount Nebo and dies in Moab, and Joshua takes over. The Israelites mourn for Moses and Joshua is filled with wisdom and leads the people.

Conclusion

We finish Deuteronomy this morning. In it we have seen Moses preparing the people to enter the Promised Land. We see countless times we are reminded of the blessings for obeying and curses for disobedience. We are also reminded of the faithfulness of God to us, in spite of our often unfaithfulness to Him.

In Deuteronomy 31 we see that Moses, and every one of us, loses the battle against time in this life.

We see the penalties in this life for disobeying God’s commands.

We are reminded, though, that Jesus has gone before us and made a way into eternal rest for our souls. That THE Holy God of Israel fights for His children even in our rebellion against him

In verse 19 God told him to write the song and in verse 22 he started. Didn’t have to “pray about it”. Didn’t wait until he had time. Just heard God and obeyed.

In 24-29 it’s easy for us to think Moses is just so fed up with Israel because of their constant rebellion that it’s all he sees they will do. And this is true. He had seen it so knew they could

Because of the conviction I have for my own unbelief, I seen something else here though.

Deuteronomy 31:16 “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.”

God told Moses what was going to happen and he believed God and will tell the children of Israel exactly how they would.

Deuteronomy 32:15–20 “15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. 17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. 19 And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. 20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.”

That disobedience will be met with the vengeance of God

Deuteronomy 32:22–25 “22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. 23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. 24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. 25 The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.”

But after judgement is full at the children of Israel repent and turn back

Jeremiah 32:37–42 “37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 42 For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.”

For us as gentiles?

Deuteronomy 32:21 “21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.”

We are a foolish nation with God’s judgement squarely on us and pressing harder

Deuteronomy 32:28 “28 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.”

God help us and have mercy on us in judgement. Let the church return to the commandments of God and repent of our sin that God might show mercy to our children!