Key Scriptures
31:1-6 Moses addressed all the Israelites, saying “As of today, I am one hundred and twenty years old and find it difficult to get around. The Lord told me directly, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’ But you need not be concerned, for the Lord himself will go before you. He will see to the destruction of the nations that lie in your way and no one will keep you from your inheritance. …So muster your strength and be bold. Fear nothing and no one because the Lord your God will be your constant companion and he will never let you fail nor will he ever forsake you.”
31:7-12 Then Moses called for Joshua in the presence of all Israel and said to him, “Now is your time to be strong and courageous…for you will lead your people Israel into the Promised Land and give them possession of it as their rightful inheritance. The Lord God himself goes before you and he will remain with you, never faltering nor forsaking you. So be rid of all worrisome thoughts and groundless fears.” Then Moses wrote out a command for the elders of Israel and for the Levitical priests whose job was to bear the sacred Ark. It read: “After every seventh year in the Promised Land you are to declare the Year of Jubilee…and read aloud the Law I have given you to the entire nation of Israel—men, women, children, and immigrants among you—so everyone can learn what it means to revere the Lord and serve him obediently.”
31:16-21 The Lord then spoke to Moses, saying, “Your time on earth is just about up and you will soon go to join your forebearers. But these people you leave behind will quickly turn from the path and begin an adulterous affair with the idol-gods of Canaan. They will disown me and the sacred covenant we have made together…leading them into many troubles and hardships. …Now write down the words of a song and teach it to them; a song that will stand as my testimony against them. …So when the time comes and the Israelites begin to enjoy the goodness of the land I am giving them—satisfying their every need—and then in their lust and greed run after the idol-gods of Canaan, this song will stand as my testimony against their wanton behavior. Every generation hereafter will hear it and know the righteousness of my case against them.”
31:30-32:35 So with all the people of Israel in attendance, Moses read aloud the words of the song from beginning to end: “Give ear, O, heavens, for I have something to proclaim. Listen carefully, mighty earth, to what my lips speak. May my lesson be spread about like the falling rain and the words I speak be received as dew upon the newly sprung meadow grass. For I proclaim the Lord’s holy name. All praises to his awesome majesty. He alone is the Rock of our salvation and his every deed is perfect. There is justice in his every move; nothing but faithfulness and goodness abide within him. …God chose Jacob as his personal inheritance…rescuing him from a barren desert to nurture and care for him, protecting him as the apple of God’s eye. …The Lord and no other led Jacob; there were no alien gods in the picture. …Then God gave Jacob honey to eat…he ate the sweet curds of cattle and drank fresh sheep’s milk…enjoyed his meals of fattened rams…loaves made of golden wheat…and the taste of flavorful wines. …But then he gained weight and rebelled, got fat as a hog and turned lazy. He deserted the very God who formed him; made light of the Rock of his salvation…and sacrificed to idols. …The Lord saw it all and turned away disgusted with his people who had hurt and angered him. He hid his face from his unfaithful children, saying “Now let’s see what comes of them. …Its time they experienced their own hurt and anger, by way of a distant people whom they know nothing about. …I will cause devastating calamities to come upon them. …Is it not my right to do so; to pay them back for their faithless sins? Surely they will reap the fruits of what they have sown; the bitter fruits of disaster ripen quickly in their midst.”
32:36-43 “Yet the Lord who judges Israel will also show compassion toward Israel when their strength to do evil has gone and neither slave nor free remains in the land. ‘…Have a good look at me for I am He,’ says the Lord. ‘There are no gods beside me! I am the only one who gives life and can bring death. I can heal those I have wounded and no one can alter what my hands have wrought.’ …So sing in celebration you nations, join the chorus of his people Israel; for the Lord will repay those who kill his servants. He will dole out recompense to his enemies as he makes atonement for his people and preserves their land.”
33:1-6 Then Moses, the mighty man of God, gave his final blessing to Israel…and climbed Mt. Nebo, all the way from Moab’s plains to the peak of Pisgah overlooking Jericho. There the Lord allowed Moses to see all the lands across the Jordan…as far as the eye could see. …And after he had a good long look, God spoke gently to Moses: “The lands you see are those I’ve promised to give your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, ‘The day will come when I will give your offspring all of these lands.’ And now that day has arrived, and you have seen the lands for yourself. But you must be content with seeing only, for I will not allow you to enter them.” Then Moses returned to Moab where he died in accordance with God’s word to him. The Lord himself buried Moses in one of Moab’s valleys near Beth Peor, but no one knows the exact location.
34:7-11 When Moses died at hundred and twenty years of age, neither his eyesight nor his strength had failed completely. Yet his time had come and there upon the plains of Moab the Israelites grieved for Moses for a full thirty days. Soon after his death a spirit of wisdom filled Joshua because Moses had previously laid his hands upon Joshua in a prayer of consecration and impartation. Recognizing the anointing Joshua had received, the Israelites obeyed him and followed the Lord’s commands given through him—just as they had done with Moses. Since his death, no prophet like Moses has arisen in Israel, for he was a man who knew God on a deep personal level. He knew God face-to-face. Moses performed many unprecedented miracles…and no one in Israel since has displayed such awesome deeds of wonder and power.
Basic Message
At the end of his ministry and life, Moses encouraged the Israelites to be strong and courageous as they crossed the Jordan. He told them God would go ahead of them and be with them to defeat their enemies and give them possession of the land. Then in front of all Israel he told Joshua to be strong and free of anxiety as God would give Israel victory under Joshua’s leadership. Moses then addressed the Levitical priests and elders, commanding them to read the Covenant Law before the entire nation once every seven years after they entered the Promised Land.
God told Moses to write down the words of a song and teach it to the people. It would be a witness against them when they turned from God and the covenant, which God told Moses they would do soon after his death. The Song of Moses began with calling on heaven and earth to hear the words being sung. It declared God’s greatness, faithfulness, and perfection in all he did. The song went on to describe how God had chosen Israel’s sojourning ancestors to be his own special people, blessing and caring for them. But with abundance Israel grew complacent toward God, abandoning him for idols. In response to Israel’s unfaithfulness God turned from them, punishing the nation with another nation that brought only hardship and disaster. The song then proclaimed that God would have mercy on his people once their strength and numbers were depleted, and eventually avenge his people who suffered at the hands of their brutal enemies. As the only deity in existence, the song declares that it is God’s right to avenge and atone for his people.
Moses then blessed the people and climbed Mt. Nebo, where God showed him all the lands the people of Israel were to inherit. After his descent, Moses died and was buried by God himself in an unknown site in a Moab valley. The people mourned for Moses for a month, a man who had reached 120 years of age but still not weak and feeble. The scriptures say that Moses was a one-of-a-kind prophet, who spoke face-to-face with God and performed miracles like no other man since. The people continued to obey the commandments given by Moses in their willingness to listening to Joshua, who was filled with the spirit of wisdom after Moses had laid hands on him.
Comments
* By telling Joshua to be strong and courageous in front of the whole nation of Israel, he was bringing a bit of peer group pressure on him. A sense of social responsibility is one of the best ways to overcome one’s own fears and insecurities. Knowing that an entire nation was depending on him would have given Joshua the boost he needed to overcome concerns about inadequacy and personal safety. Public commitments have a way of trumping private fears and bringing out the best in those consecrated for service.
* To this point in scripture, witnesses to the covenant agreement between God and Israel were limited to God himself and the Creation. Now God introduces a sacred song as an additional witness. Songs are expressions of the heart and have the ability to penetrate deeply into the psyche and affect us profoundly. The words of the song taught by Moses would have been sung regularly, providing a constant moral goad for the singer and a sense of condemnation for any who had gone astray. When children sang the song, it would serve as a constant deterrent against unfaithfulness, not only for themselves but also for their errant-prone parents. The song served as an easily remembered summation of God’s dealing with his people—a kind of moral anthem for the nation. It was therefore not unlike the Lord’s Prayer taught by Jesus—a prayer that includes the phrase “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”—that not only provides moral guidance but also self-condemnation for the one who is unforgiving.
* When God buried Moses by his own hand, it revealed the pathos of a loving Heavenly Father. For God loved Moses and deeply valued their unique relationship. It is moving to see this side of Almighty God who, though not allowing Moses to enter the Promised Land, none-the-less took special care to personally attend to him after death. The fact that no gravesite was remembered afterwards could mean that God wanted to preserve the place as special for himself, not tainted by the trampling nature of human presence. We are left to surmise the reason. However, one thing is for certain; no existing gravesite for Moses meant that there would be no place for future pilgrimages from those who sought to idolize a mere human. The life of Moses pointed straight to God…and away from himself. He wanted the nation of Israel to devote itself to God alone. An obscure burial would have insured his wishes. All people of faith should take note of the example of Moses as we consider what we want our own legacy to be.
* Moses died while he was still able to lead. His faith and obedience kept him free from the diseases common in Egypt (Exodus 15:26). When Moses met with God, his face shone so brightly that he had to cover it afterwards to spare the people from its brightness. How could any disease exist in a body that regularly shone with God’s presence? Although scripture seems to draw a line at making a direct link between sin and disease in a person’s life (John 9:1-3), who can argue that time spent in the presence of the Eternal One could only enhance a person’s health? The body will respond positively to a healthy spiritual life; it is part of a holistic understanding that is emerging in every corner of the health sciences. Time spent with God (and, like Moses, in his Word) could well be the so-called “fountain of youth” that so many passionately search for in the promise of life-enhancing techniques and costly elixirs.
* Still…Moses died. Though he died with strength remaining, he none-the-less went the way of all flesh. Moses, like humans of every moral stripe, was subject to the Fall’s Curse—death. It is God’s ultimate calling for us all; part of his divine plan. And that plan is inherently good. The time and place of our own deaths is not a matter strictly for longevity science—based on eating habits, exercise, and one’s genetic heritage (though, as partners with God, we can have an effect on both the quality and quantity of our own lives). The time of our death is above all a function of God’s purposes for each of us. Moses faithfully served God and fulfilled his personal calling. His death was a solemn but celebratory occasion marking the end of a life of service and devotion that was very well lived. He heard the words Jesus would later immortalize in a parable, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). God’s time had come for Moses and his death, though premature in some ways, was all good. He was moving on to that better Land of Promise—the one Christ Jesus has now given as an inheritance to all who sojourn with him through life’s wilderness.
Biblical Themes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
