Day 61: Deuteronomy 31-34

(The previous post covered the blessings and curses from God, along with the method for how to reverse these blessings and curses.)

Deuteronomy 31

(This chapter covered some final instructions from Moses.)

¹ And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
² And he said unto them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

(Moses was 120 years old.)

³ Jehovah thy God, he will go over before thee; he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken.

(Joshua would lead the people over the Jordan.)

⁴ And Jehovah will do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and unto their land; whom he destroyed.
⁵ And Jehovah will deliver them up before you, and ye shall do unto them according unto all the commandment which I have commanded you.
⁶ Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: for Jehovah thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

(Moses told them to be strong and of good courage and to not be afraid of the other nations because God would be with them.)

⁷ And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of good courage: for thou shalt go with this people into the land which Jehovah hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

(Moses called Joshua in the sight of all Israel and gave him the charge to inherit the land God had given them. All of Israel was aware that Joshua was their leader.)

⁸ And Jehovah, 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.

(However, Moses stated it was God that was really the leader. Joshua was the Judge.)

⁹ And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and unto all the elders of Israel.
¹⁰ And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
¹¹ when all Israel is come to appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
¹² Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and thy sojourner that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Jehovah your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;
¹³ and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear Jehovah your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.

(The Levites were commanded to read the Law to the people every seventh year.)

¹⁴ And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.

(God called Moses and Joshua to the tent so Joshua could receive his charge from God.)

¹⁵ And Jehovah appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.
¹⁶ And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot after the strange gods 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 that the Israelites would go after the gods of the land. Why would God tell this to Moses now? Was it because God believed Moses deserved to know and would not know this after he died?)

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 come upon 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 evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
¹⁹ Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

(God commanded Moses to write a song for the Israelites that could be a witness for God against the Israelites. Jews believe this verse contained the last of God's 613 laws or mitzvas. They interpret this verse as commanding every Jewish believer to write their own Torah. That is, to write out their own copy of the first five books of the Old Testament.)

²⁰ For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxed fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
²¹ And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

(The song would testify against the Israelites when they came on hard times. They would not be able to justly blame God.)

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

(The same day, Moses wrote the song and taught it to the Israelites. Moses was a song writer.)

²³ And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

(God gave Joshua the charge to lead the people.)

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, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying,
²⁶ Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah 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 Jehovah; and how much more after my death?

(Moses gave the Law to the Levites to put in the Ark of the Covenant. This was also a witness against the Israelites. They had been rebellious even when Moses was alive, how much more rebellious would they be when he was dead?)

²⁸ Assemble 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 witness against them.

(Would Moses have gathered the elders if God had not told him what would happen in the Promised Land?)

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 that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
³⁰ And Moses spake in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.




Deuteronomy 32

(Verses 1-43: Moses’ Song. This song will be sung to God in heaven in the end times, re: Revelation 15:3.)

(Verses 1-4: the introduction.)

¹ Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
² My doctrine shall drop as the rain; My speech shall distil as the dew, As the small rain upon the tender grass, And as the showers upon the herb.
³ For I will proclaim the name of Jehovah: Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
⁴ The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he.

(Moses spoke to God as a friend. Moses knew God. Moses stated for everyone to hear what he had to say about God, then he stated God’s Nature: Right and Just. God’s work was perfect (maximum profitability). All of God’s ways were Just. God was without iniquity. God was always completely RIGHT and always completely JUST.)

(Verses 5-6: the accusation - the child forsaken its father.)

⁵ They have dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, it is their blemish; They are a perverse and crooked generation.
⁶ Do ye thus requite Jehovah, O foolish people and unwise? Is not he thy father that hath bought thee? He hath made thee, and established thee.

(Verses 7-14: remembering God's past faithfulness to Israel.)

⁷ Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations: Ask thy father, and he will show thee; Thine elders, and they will tell thee.
⁸ When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, When he separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel.
⁹ For Jehovah's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

(Moses' Song covered Jacob.)

¹⁰ He found him in a desert land, And in the waste howling wilderness; He compassed him about, he cared for him, He kept him as the apple of his eye.
¹¹ As an eagle that stirreth up her nest, That fluttereth over her young, He spread abroad his wings, he took them, He bare them on his pinions.
¹² Jehovah alone did lead him, And there was no foreign god with him.
¹³ He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he did eat the increase of the field; And he made him to suck honey out of the rock, And oil out of the flinty rock;
¹⁴ Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat; And of the blood of the grape thou drankest wine.

(Verses 15-18: Israel's response to God's kindness.)

¹⁵ But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek; Then he forsook God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

(Jeshurun meant "upright one." It was a symbolic name for Israel that described her ideal ("upright") character. Next, Moses' Song covered Israel rejecting God...)

¹⁶ They moved him to jealousy with strange gods; With abominations provoked they him to anger.
¹⁷ They sacrificed unto demons, which were no God, To gods that they knew not, To new gods that came up of late, Which your fathers dreaded not.
¹⁸ Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.

(Verses 19-27: God's response to Israel.)

¹⁹ And Jehovah saw it, and abhorred them, Because of the provocation of his sons and 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 perverse generation, Children in whom is no faithfulness.
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 that are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

(Paul referenced this verse in Romans 10:19 and Romans 11:11.)

²² For a fire is kindled in mine anger, And burneth unto the lowest Sheol, And devoureth the earth with its increase, And setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains.
²³ I will heap evils upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them:
²⁴ They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat And bitter destruction; And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
²⁵ Without shall the sword bereave, And in the chambers terror; It shall destroy both young man and virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
²⁶ I said, I would scatter them afar, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men;
²⁷ Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should judge amiss, Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, And Jehovah hath not done all this.

(Verses 28-43: God stated His case and exhorts Israel.)

²⁸ For they are a nation void of counsel, And there is no understanding in them.
²⁹ Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!

(God wanted them to be wise and understand. Wisdom and understanding are good, they create.)

³⁰ How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Except their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up?

(One put a thousand to flight. Two did not put two thousand to flight, they put ten thousand to flight - an order of magnitude. This verse was referenced in 1 Samuel 18 with Saul and David.)

³¹ For their rock is not as our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges.
³² For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter:
³³ Their wine is the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom of asps.
³⁴ Is not this laid up in store with me, Sealed up among my treasures?

(The imagery in this song pointed to Christ: Rock, gall, bitter, and serpents were the enemy.)

³⁵ Vengeance is mine, and recompense, At the time when their foot shall slide: For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things that are to come upon them shall make haste.
³⁶ For Jehovah will judge his people, And repent himself for his servants; When he seeth that their power is gone, And there is none remaining, shut up or left at large.

(Paul referenced this verse in Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30-31 to make the same point as this passage: We ought to let God equal out Justice.)

³⁷ And he will say, Where are their gods, The rock in which they took refuge;
³⁸ Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink-offering? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your protection.
³⁹ See now that I, even I, am he, And there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; And there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
⁴⁰ For I lift up my hand to heaven, And say, As I live for ever,
⁴¹ If I whet my glittering sword, And my hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine adversaries, And will recompense them that hate me.
⁴² I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, And my sword shall devour flesh; With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the head of the leaders of the enemy.
⁴³ Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: For he will avenge the blood of his servants, And will render vengeance to his adversaries, And will make expiation for his land, for his people.

(The imagery concluded with that of a conquering and victorious God. Imagery compatible with the end of the Bible, specifically the end of the Book of Revelation. Moses' Song was essentially the entire history of Israel's conflicts on earth, from Jacob to Jesus' return at the end of the Tribulation. The song was half history and half prophecy. Paul referenced verse 43 in Romans 15:10 and Hebrews 1:6.)

⁴⁴ And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.

(Moses spoke the words of this song to the people, along with Hoshea (Joshua). Depending on context, the Hebrew word (dabar) for "spake" could mean "sing." It appeared that the context here, being a song, would call for this word to have meant "sing.")

⁴⁵ And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel;
⁴⁶ And he said unto them, Set your heart unto all the words which I testify unto you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, even all the words of this law.
⁴⁷ For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.

(Moses told them to set their hearts on all the words that he had testified to them. It was not a vain (unprofitable) thing; because it was their life that was impacted by this.)

⁴⁸ And Jehovah spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
⁴⁹ Get thee up into this mountain of Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession;
⁵⁰ and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
⁵¹ because ye trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
⁵² For thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither into the land which I give the children of Israel.

(God commanded Moses to go up mount Nebo so he could see the land before his death. Moses still experienced the judgment due him for disobeying God when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20).)




Deuteronomy 33

(Verses 1-25: Moses blessed the Israelites.)

¹ And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
² And he said, Jehovah came from Sinai, And rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, And he came from the ten thousands of holy ones: At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
³ Yea, he loveth the people; All his saints are in thy hand: And they sat down at thy feet; Every one shall receive of thy words.
⁴ Moses commanded us a law, An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
⁵ And he was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.
⁶ Let Reuben live, and not die; Nor let his men be few.

(Reuben’s blessing was to "live, and not die." This was a general blessing of growth.)

⁷ And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah, And bring him in unto his people. With his hands he contended for himself; And thou shalt be a help against his adversaries.

(Judah’s blessing pointed to Judah’s independence: Leadership.)

⁸ And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy godly one, Whom thou didst prove at Massah, With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
⁹ Who said of his father, and of his mother, I have not seen him; Neither did he acknowledge his brethren, Nor knew he his own children: For they have observed thy word, And keep thy covenant.
¹⁰ They shall teach Jacob thine ordinances, And Israel thy law: They shall put incense before thee, And whole burnt-offering upon thine altar.
¹¹ Bless, Jehovah, his substance, And accept the work of his hands: Smite through the loins of them that rise up against him, And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

(The blessing of Levi was the appointment of the priesthood. They had the responsibility of teaching the nation.)

¹² Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell in safety by him; He covereth him all the day long, And he dwelleth between his shoulders.

(Benjamin’s blessing pointed out how the tribe was assigned their portion near the temple/tabernacle. "Between his shoulders" referred to Benjamin’s location being between Mount Zion and Mount Moriah.)

¹³ And of Joseph he said, Blessed of Jehovah be his land, For the precious things of heaven, for the dew, And for the deep that coucheth beneath,
¹⁴ And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, And for the precious things of the growth of the moons,
¹⁵ And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, And for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
¹⁶ And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
¹⁷ The firstling of his herd, majesty is his; And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox: With them he shall push the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth: And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And they are the thousands of Manasseh.

(Joseph’s blessing signified strength. Both Ephraim and Manasseh came from Joseph.)

¹⁸ And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; And, Issachar, in thy tents.
¹⁹ They shall call the peoples unto the mountain; There shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness: For they shall suck the abundance of the seas, And the hidden treasures of the sand.

(Zebulun’s blessing emphasized rejoicing in going out. Probably on sea bound voyages since their inheritance was near the water. Issachar’s blessing emphasized the rejoicing happening in their tents. It was thought those from Issachar preferred to reside in their towns.)

²⁰ And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: He dwelleth as a lioness, And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
²¹ And he provided the first part for himself, For there was the lawgiver's portion reserved; And he came with the heads of the people; He executed the righteousness of Jehovah, And his ordinances with Israel.

(Gad's blessing was focused on those who enlarged Gad. Gad was larger than they would have been had they inherited land on the other side of the Jordan. Also, they had the honor of being settled by Moses himself in the first portion of the land they conquered.)

²² And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp, That leapeth forth from Bashan.

(This blessing for Dan signified their strength regardless of the small size. Bashan was where Og was from (Numbers 22, the king who wanted Balaam to curse Israel and was eventually defeated by Moses.)

²³ And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, And full with the blessing of Jehovah, Possess thou the west and the south.

(Naphtali’s blessing pointed to its fertile territory.)

²⁴ And of Asher he said, Blessed be Asher with children; Let him be acceptable unto his brethren, And let him dip his foot in oil.
²⁵ Thy bars shall be iron and brass; And as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

(Asher’s blessing mentioned "oil." The fertile land of Asher would have yielded many olive trees that produce oil.)

²⁶ There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help, And in his excellency on the skies.
²⁷ The eternal God is thy dwelling-place, And underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy from before thee, And said, Destroy.
²⁸ And Israel dwelleth in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine; Yea, his heavens drop down dew.
²⁹ Happy art thou, O Israel: Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah, The shield of thy help, And the sword of thy excellency! And thine enemies shall submit themselves unto thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places.

(The excellency of Israel was all an effect of God.)




Deuteronomy 34
¹ And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And Jehovah showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
² and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the hinder sea,
³ and the South, and the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar.
⁴ And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

(God showed Moses all the land He had given to the Israelites but Moses could not go into the land. Notice: Jericho was referred to as the "city of palm trees.")

⁵ So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah.

(Moses died, according to the word of the Lord. Many believe this prevented him from being one of the Two Witnesses in the Book of Revelation.)

⁶ And he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

(No man knew where Moses was buried, but he was buried.)

⁷ And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

(Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eyes were still strong and his physical vigour/energy had not left him.)

⁸ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended.
⁹ And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as Jehovah commanded Moses.

(Joshua was full of the Spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him.)

¹⁰ And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom Jehovah knew face to face,
¹¹ in all the signs and the wonders, which Jehovah sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,
¹² and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.

(This post covered God's final instructions to Moses, Moses' Song, Moses' transference of leadership to Joshua, Moses' blessings over the tribes of Israel, and Moses' death.)

(This not only completed the Book of Deuteronomy, it completed the Torah as well. The first book (Genesis) covered God's blessings/provision and man's rejection. The second book (Exodus) covered Israel's redemption. The third book (Leviticus) covered the sanctuary and its relation to man. The fourth book (Numbers) covered man's progress towards eternal life. This fifth book covered divine government.)

(Every boy in Israel was required to memorize the first five books of the Old Testament by the time he was twelve. Could you memorize everything you have read so far? These first five books were seen as being sufficient for every situation a person could encounter. As we go forward through the rest of the Old Testament, remember that every man ought to have known the verses we have covered in these first five books. At critical times throughout the rest of the Bible, we will see verses from these first five books were be referenced.)

(During this book, we saw Moses read the Law to the Israelites just before they would take the Promised Land. Moses was allowed to see the Promised Land, but was not allowed to enter in because of disobeying God's command at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh when he struck the rock (twice) instead of speaking to it. Moses died after transferring leadership to Joshua. The first section of the Old Testament was known as the Torah. It consisted of five books written by Moses that covered God's eternal plan. The second section of the Old Testament was known as the "historical section." It consisted of twelve books documenting the history of Israel from its entry into the Promised Land until its captivity.)

Day 62