Deuteronomy, chapter 31
Final Speeches and the Death of Moses
Just before he dies, Moses makes a number of arrangements for Israel's future. These include transferring leadership to Joshua (31.1-8,14-23), providing for the care and reading of the law (31.9-13,24-29), singing of God's deliverance of Israel (31.28—32.47), and blessing the tribes of Israel in the same way that Jacob had blessed his sons on his deathbed (Gen 49). Before Moses dies, God allows him to see the promised land.
God promises to continue to be with Israel after Moses dies. With Joshua, their new leader, the people of Israel will begin to conquer the promised land (32.1-8,14-23). The newly delivered law will be kept safe in the sacred chest and read at a special gathering every seven years (31.9-13,24-29).
Joshua Is Appointed the Leader of Israel
oses again spoke to the whole nation of Israel:
2 I am 120 years old, and I am no longer able to be your leader. And besides that, the Lord your God has told me that he won't let me cross the Jordan River. 3-5But he has promised that he and Joshua will lead you across the Jordan to attack the nations that live on the other side. The Lord will destroy those nations just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, those two Amorite kings. Just remember—whenever you capture a place, kill everyone who lives there.
6Be brave and strong! Don't be afraid of the nations on the other side of the Jordan. The Lord your God will always be at your side, and he will never abandon you.
7Then Moses called Joshua up in front of the crowd and said:
Joshua, be brave and strong as you lead these people into their land. The Lord made a promise long ago to Israel's ancestors that this land would someday belong to Israel. That time has now come, and you must divide up the land among the people. 8 The Lord will lead you into the land. He will always be with you and help you, so don't ever be afraid of your enemies.
Read These Laws
9Moses wrote down all of these laws and teachings and gave them to the priests and the leaders of Israel. The priests were from the Levi tribe, and they carried the sacred chest that belonged to the Lord. 10-11 Moses told these priests and leaders:
Each year the Israelites must come together to celebrate the Festival of Shelters at the place where the Lord chooses to be worshiped. You must read these laws and teachings to the people at the festival every seventh year, the year when loans do not need to be repaid. 12-13Everyone must come—men, women, children, and even the foreigners who live in your towns. And each new generation will listen and learn to worship the Lord their God with fear and trembling and to do exactly what is said in God's Law.
Israel Will Reject the Lord
14The Lord told Moses, “You will soon die, so bring Joshua to the sacred tent, and I will appoint him the leader of Israel.”
Moses and Joshua went to the sacred tent, 15and the Lord appeared in a thick cloud right over the entrance to the tent. 16The Lord said:
Moses, you will soon die. But Israel is going into a land where other gods are worshiped, and Israel will reject me and start worshiping these gods. The people will break the agreement I made with them, 17and I will be so furious that I will abandon them and ignore their prayers. I will send disasters and suffering that will nearly wipe them out. Finally, they will realize that the disasters happened because I abandoned them. 18They will pray to me, but I will ignore them because they were evil and started worshiping other gods.
19Moses and Joshua, I am going to give you the words to a new song. Write them down and teach the song to the Israelites. If they learn it, they will know what I want them to do, and so they will have no excuse for not obeying me. 20I am bringing them into the land that I promised their ancestors. It is a land rich with milk and honey, and the Israelites will have more than enough food to eat. But they will get fat and turn their backs on me and start worshiping other gods. The Israelites will reject me and break the agreement that I made with them.
21When I punish the Israelites and their descendants with suffering and disasters, I will remind them that they know the words to this song, so they have no excuse for not obeying me.
I will give them the land that I promised, but I know the way they are going to live later on.
22Moses at once wrote down the words to the song, and he taught it to the Israelites.
23The Lord told Joshua, “Be brave and strong! I will help you lead the people of Israel into the land that I have promised them.”
24Moses wrote down all these laws and teachings in a book, 25then he went to the Levites who carried the sacred chest and said:
26This is The Book of God's Law. Keep it beside the sacred chest that holds the agreement the Lord your God made with Israel. This book is proof that you know what the Lord wants you to do. 27I know how stubborn and rebellious you and the rest of the Israelites are. You have rebelled against the Lord while I have been alive, and it will only get worse after I am gone. 28So call together the leaders and officials of the tribes of Israel. I will bring this book and read every word of it to you, and I will call the sky and the earth as witnesses that all of you know what you are supposed to do.
29I am going to die soon, and I know that in the future you will stop caring about what is right and what is wrong, and so you will disobey the Lord and stop living the way I told you to live. The Lord will be angry, and terrible things will happen to you.
Moses' “song” (32.1-43) is presented in the form of a lawsuit. God charges Israel with being unfaithful to their agreement (32.5,6). Despite God's past blessings (32.7-14), Israel rebelled (32.15-18), and God was forced to punish them (32.19-27). But God promises to overthrow the nations that oppose Israel (32.28-52). In this way, Israel will be cleansed of its sin and restored to a faithful relationship with God (32.43). Moses' blessing poem (33.2-29) is placed within a victory song celebrating God's deliverance (33.2-5,26-29). Moses asks God to continue to bless each tribe of Israel.
The Song of Moses
30Moses called a meeting of all the people of Israel, so he could teach them the words to the song that the Lord had given him. And here are the words: