“The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!” (Psalm 99:1-5 ESV)
Abandoned church, Holland Patent NY
Deuteronomy 31
Joshua Commissioned
Chapter 31 can be broken down into 4 sections:
In section 1 Moses tells the people that he’s 120 years old and he’s basically lived out his life. Moses commissions Joshua in front of all the congregation of Israel and says that Yahweh would not leave him or forsake him.
In section 2 Moses gives the priests a copy of the law that he’d been writing and tells them that once every seven years during the Feast of Booths that the law will be read aloud to everyone.
Section 3 begins with Moses and Joshua going into the Tabernacle and the Lord appearing to them in a cloud inside.
The Lord tells Moses that he’s going to die and that after the people go into the Promised Land that they will fall away from worshipping Yahweh and will follow false gods. The people that follow false gods will be forsaken by Yahweh.
In section 4 Yahweh commissions Joshua as the leader of the Israelis and as the one who will take them into the land.
Chapter 31 can be broken down into 4 sections:
In section 1 Moses tells the people that he’s 120 years old and he’s basically lived out his life. Moses commissions Joshua in front of all the congregation of Israel and says that Yahweh would not leave him or forsake him.
In section 2 Moses gives the priests a copy of the law that he’d been writing and tells them that once every seven years during the Feast of Booths that the law will be read aloud to everyone.
Section 3 begins with Moses and Joshua going into the Tabernacle and the Lord appearing to them in a cloud inside.
The Lord tells Moses that he’s going to die and that after the people go into the Promised Land that they will fall away from worshipping Yahweh and will follow false gods. The people that follow false gods will be forsaken by Yahweh.
In section 4 Yahweh commissions Joshua as the leader of the Israelis and as the one who will take them into the land.
Deuteronomy 32
The Song of Moses
›The purpose of the Song of Moses was to be a teaching aid so that future generations in peril could hear the song, remember Yahweh, and be comforted.
›The first few verses set the stage for the song and then at verse 4 a high image of Yahweh is cast followed by a very low image of man. Yahweh is characterized as “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (v4)
Whereas man is portrayed as dealing corruptly, being crooked and twisted, and being foolish and senseless.
›The next verses remind the people to think of the great things that Yahweh has done for them (i.e. the Exodus or the ten plagues) so that they won’t turn away.
›In the middle there’s a large section about the disasters and terrible things that will happen to the people of Israel and then toward the end Yahweh promises to bring the people back and enact vengeance and those who were wrong.
›Moses is led up the mountain by the Lord and allowed to look at the Promised Land, but never allowed to enter it.
›The purpose of the Song of Moses was to be a teaching aid so that future generations in peril could hear the song, remember Yahweh, and be comforted.
›The first few verses set the stage for the song and then at verse 4 a high image of Yahweh is cast followed by a very low image of man. Yahweh is characterized as “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (v4)
Whereas man is portrayed as dealing corruptly, being crooked and twisted, and being foolish and senseless.
›The next verses remind the people to think of the great things that Yahweh has done for them (i.e. the Exodus or the ten plagues) so that they won’t turn away.
›In the middle there’s a large section about the disasters and terrible things that will happen to the people of Israel and then toward the end Yahweh promises to bring the people back and enact vengeance and those who were wrong.
›Moses is led up the mountain by the Lord and allowed to look at the Promised Land, but never allowed to enter it.
Deuteronomy 33-34
Moses Speaks his Blessings
›Much like the other patriarchs, Moses speaks his blessings to the tribes. Here are the highlights:
›Reuben- the tribe would live but the men would be few.
›Judah- The Lord would listen to Judah’s cries and would fight for this tribe.
›Levi- Levi was a poor son and would have no land but they were the priestly tribe.
›Benjamin- this tribe lives in safety on the high ground.
›Joseph’s blessings cover two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim flourished and Manasseh became the half tribe that didn’t cross the Jordan.
›Zebulon and Issachar are covered together and are mentioned as profiting from their locations.
›Gad was an important tribe of warriors that helped defend Israel.
›Dan, Naphtali, and Asher don’t have much mentioned about them.
›Finally there is a piece about how great Yahweh is where the word “Jeshurun” appears. This word only appears 3 times in Deuteronomy and once in Isaiah. It means “upright” and is a poetic name for the people of Israel.
›Much like the other patriarchs, Moses speaks his blessings to the tribes. Here are the highlights:
›Reuben- the tribe would live but the men would be few.
›Judah- The Lord would listen to Judah’s cries and would fight for this tribe.
›Levi- Levi was a poor son and would have no land but they were the priestly tribe.
›Benjamin- this tribe lives in safety on the high ground.
›Joseph’s blessings cover two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim flourished and Manasseh became the half tribe that didn’t cross the Jordan.
›Zebulon and Issachar are covered together and are mentioned as profiting from their locations.
›Gad was an important tribe of warriors that helped defend Israel.
›Dan, Naphtali, and Asher don’t have much mentioned about them.
›Finally there is a piece about how great Yahweh is where the word “Jeshurun” appears. This word only appears 3 times in Deuteronomy and once in Isaiah. It means “upright” and is a poetic name for the people of Israel.
Moses Speaks no more
›Remember in the first lesson where we said that Moses wrote all of Deuteronomy except one part that he couldn’t have written?
›He couldn’t have written chapter 34 because it talks about Moses dying and being buried. More than likely it is inserted later on by Joshua.
›Moses was quite the important character- “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” (v 10).
›We are left with the nation of Israel in the hands of Joshua, the son of Nun, but he is not Moses. Good-bye Moses, thanks for the memories.
›Remember in the first lesson where we said that Moses wrote all of Deuteronomy except one part that he couldn’t have written?
›He couldn’t have written chapter 34 because it talks about Moses dying and being buried. More than likely it is inserted later on by Joshua.
›Moses was quite the important character- “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” (v 10).
›We are left with the nation of Israel in the hands of Joshua, the son of Nun, but he is not Moses. Good-bye Moses, thanks for the memories.