Joshua to Succeed Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study: 

(Deuteronomy 31:1) And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.

In the last chapter Moses had been speaking to the people about the choice they had before them, life following their Lord God, or death without Him.  It appears he now appeared to them another time, or perhaps it was just a change in subject.  He spoke the following words to them.

(2) And he said to them, "I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in; also the Lord has said to me, 'You shall not go over this Jordan.'"

Moses began by telling the people that he was old, 120 years old, and he could no longer easily go to and fro.  Additionally, he told them, the Lord had said he would not be going over the Jordan into their promised land (Deuteronomy 3:27).

(3) "The Lord your God, He will go over before you, He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall possess them; Joshua, he shall go over before you as the Lord has said."

As Moses would not be going over with them, he encouraged the people by telling them that the Lord would go before them to destroy the nations which occupied the land, and that Joshua would lead them as the Lord had previously said (Deuteronomy 3:28).

(4) "And the Lord shall do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and to the land of them whom He destroyed."

The Lord would deliver those nations to them as He had done for them to the nations of Sihon and Og (Numbers 21:25).  Just as He had given Sihon and Og's lands to the Israelites to possess, so would He give this land of Canaan to them.

(5) "And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that you may do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you."

The Lord would give those nations of Canaan over to the Israelites to do to them as He had directed in Deuteronomy 7:1-3, utterly destroy them, showing no mercy, nor making any agreements or marriages with them.

(6) "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, He who does go with you, He will not fail you nor forsake you."

Moses encouraged the people to be strong and of good courage and not to fear those nations they were going in to destroy, for their Lord God would be going with them, and He would not fail to fulfill His promises to them that they would destroy the Canaanites and possess their land.

(7) And Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of a good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you shall cause them to inherit it."

Moses then called Joshua and spoke to him in front of all the people.  He told him also to be strong and of good courage for he would be leading the people into the land which the Lord had sworn to their forefathers to give them, and he was to be the one to lead them to victory over the nations of Canaan so that they might inherit their land.

(8) "And the Lord, He who does go before you; He will be with you, He will not fail you, neither forsake you; fear not, neither be dismayed."

Moses encouraged Joshua by telling him that the Lord would be going before him and that He would not fail to fulfill His promises that He would deliver the Canaanite nations to them.  Moses told him not to fear and not to be discouraged.

(9) And Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.

Moses wrote this book of the laws of God, this book of Deuteronomy, or perhaps it rather meant the entire Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, that had been written by him.  As this was the end of his life, it makes sense he would have delivered all of his writings to the priests and to the elders of Israel.

(10) And Moses commanded them, saying, "At the end of seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the Feast of Tabernacles, (11) When all Israel has come to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing."

Moses commanded the priests and elders that at the end of seven years, actually every seven years, when it was the year of rest for the land and the remission of debts to poor debtors, at the end of that year at the Feast of Tabernacles when all Israel came to appear before the Lord in the place of His choosing, they were to read that book of law before all Israel in their hearing.

(12) "Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and your stranger within your 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."

Normally it was all males that were required to attend the feasts, but at that particular seventh year Feast of Tabernacles, the men were to gather their entire families, men, women, children, and any strangers among them, to hear the words of the law, and to learn the words of the law and God's commandments that they might have the correct reverential fear and respect for their Lord God, and do as He had commanded in the law.

(13) "And their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over Jordan to possess it."

By reading the law every seven years, future generations of children who had not known the law, would be able to hear it and learn it and learn to fear their Lord God in the land their fathers were going over the Jordan River to possess.

(14) And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, your days approach that you 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.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses.  He told him that he would soon die.  Therefore, He told him to call Joshua and have them both present themselves in the tabernacle so that He could give Joshua a charge.  Moses and Joshua did just as the Lord commanded and presented themselves before Him in the tabernacle.

(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.

The Lord appeared to Moses and Joshua in a bright pillar shaped cloud as He had often appeared in the wilderness.  The pillar of cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

(16) And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land where they go among them and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them."

The Lord told Moses that he would die, and the people would eventually fall away from God and break their covenant with Him to start worshiping the idols of the nations of the land of Canaan.

(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?'"

When the people fell away from Him, God said His righteous anger would grow against them and He would turn away from them.  When He did that, removed His favors and protection from them, then would many evils and troubles come upon them until they were devoured.  The people would then realize that all those troubles had come upon them because God was no longer among them.  It's as I have often said, God doesn't necessarily have to proactively send an evil punishment; just by turning His face and His protection away, the evils of the world naturally occur.  It seems the Israelites will come to realize that.

(18) "And I will surely hide My face in that day for all the evils which they shall have done, in that they are turned to other gods."

Indeed God said He would turn His face away from His people because of their evil deeds turning to other gods.  Let those other gods protect them and let them see how well that works for them!

(19) "Now therefore write this song for you and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel."

The Lord told Moses to write a song that He would dictate to him, and he would record in the next chapter.  He told Moses to teach the song to the Israelites so that they could recite it, and it would be a witness against them when they called it to mind in the future.

(20) "For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, that flows with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and provoke Me and break My covenant."

God prophesied that after He had brought the Israelites into the land He had sworn to their forefathers, that land that abounded with all good things, they will have become fat and happy and complacent, and then they would turn to other gods and worship them, provoking their Lord God and breaking their covenant with Him.

(21) "And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles have befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their descendants, for I know their imagination which they go about even now before I have brought them into the land which I swore."

When it came to pass that God had turned from them and many evils and troubles had come upon them, they would remember that song which God had given them as a witness and a forewarning.  God knew this would eventually come to pass because He knew their hearts and the inclinations they had toward idolatry even at that moment before He had even brought them into the land He had sworn to their forefathers.

(22) Moses therefore wrote this song the same day and taught it to the children of Israel.

Moses indeed wrote the song the Lord told him to write, and he taught it to the Israelites.

(23) And He gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, "Be strong and of a good courage, for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you."

The Lord then commissioned Joshua, first telling him to be strong and of good courage, to bring the Israelites into the land the Lord was giving them.  He then assured Joshua that He would be with him.

(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 who bore 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 that it may be there for a witness against you."

When Moses had finished writing the book of the law, he told the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant, specifically the priests, to place the book beside the ark, on the side of it, that it would be a constant visible witness against the people.

(27) "For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck; behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the Lord, and how much more after my death?"

Moses said he knew how rebellious the people had been against God and His laws as he had witnessed for the past forty years in the wilderness.  He wondered aloud how much more rebellious they would be after he was gone.

(28) "Gather to 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."

Moses asked that all the elders and officers of the people be gathered to him so that he might speak the words of his song in their hearing, and call heaven and earth to record that day against them, to bear witness of what he delivered to them, and to bear witness against them should they disobey the laws he had given them, and to bear witness that they had been warned about what would happen if they did disobey.

(29) "For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands."

By a spirit of prophecy or perhaps only by what God had told him, Moses said he knew that after his death the people would become totally corrupt and turn away from the laws of God that He commanded through Moses.  Evil would come upon them because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord and provoked Him to righteous anger because of the things they did.

(30) And Moses spoke in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song until they were ended.

Moses began to recite the song the Lord directed him to write in the hearing of all Israel, or at least to their leaders whom he had gathered to him.  He recited all the words of the song from beginning to end in the following chapter.