In Deuteronomy 31, we are 3 short chapters from the end of the Pentateuch! God has revealed so much about Himself and His relationship with His people in these first five books of the Bible. God, in His love and mercy, has proven again and again that he desires to be with His people, that He will provide leadership for them, and that the laws and boundaries He sets for them bring life and abundance.

As this new generation of God’s people step into the unknown with a new leader, God rehearses these truths with them. He will be with them as they cross into the promised land, conquer the existing peoples, and worship in a place He will show them. He has equipped Joshua to lead them well. He has given them the law that if followed will bring life and life in abundance.

In each chapter of God’s redemptive narrative, we see these themes rise to the surface. Today, August 2, 2021, God is reminding us of these same themes. Will we trust Him? Will we be strong and courageous as we boldly step out into the unknown of today? Will we remember that He is with us? That He has provided leadership? That His law, in the form of His Words to us in the Bible, brings abundant life?

[Deuteronomy 31.1-29]

31.1 So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

The Reading of the Law

9 Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Joshua Commissioned to Lead Israel

14 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.

16 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

19 “Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel.

23 And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 26 “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! 28 Assemble 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 witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ What does God promise to do for His people according to v. 3? What were the people to do? Who would lead them (two answers!)

+ What imperative commands do you see in the beginning of v. 6? At the end of v. 6, what would give the people strength to follow them?

+ What is different in v. 7 that the commands are repeated? Who needs to hear them? Why?

+ Look back and record how many different ways the Lord through Moses encourages this generation. What is essential for them to know as they take possession of the land from v. 6 and v. 8?

+ Re-read vv. 9-13. What did God command Moses, Joshua, and the people to do with the words He gave Moses?

+ What was the result/purpose of hearing the Word in vv. 12-13?

+ How might the reading of the law help us similarly in 2021?

+ In vv. 16-18 God gives Moses and His new leader, Joshua some difficult news. What was it and why might he have told this to leaders at the end and the beginning of their journeys?

+ What does this tell us in 2021 about leading God’s people?

+ What was the purpose of the “song” Moses wrote in one day according to v. 21?

+ God has the power to allow His Words to “live unforgotten.” [v. 21]

+ How do God’s words testify for or against us today?

+ God repeats His promise to Joshua from vv. 7- 8 in v. 23. He will also repeat them in Joshua Chapter 1. How will these words encourage Joshua during the many difficulties ahead? How does rehearsing and reminding one another of these promises encourage us today?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Do I live as if God is with me in my journey? Do I approach the unknown with peace and strength and courage?

+ As the Lord provides new leadership, am I quick to come under their authority, or am I rebellious and stubborn?

+ How have I rehearsed God’s truth in His law? How might this active, everyday practice equip me for the unknowns of each day? How will it keep me in the lighted path of God’s promises?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ Who can I invite to search in the Law of the Lord for Truth? How can I walk with them as God’s Truth shapes their path?

+ Who can I rejoice with that God will never leave us or forsake us?

+ Who can I encourage towards peace, strength, and courage, knowing God is their vanguard, rearguard, and walks with them on their journey?

+ Who can stand shoulder to shoulder with as we conquer the unknown lands ahead for the Kingdom?