March
14th Deuteronomy 29 The Covenant renewed
1: These are the words of the
covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab,
beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. 2: And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have
seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh,
and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; 3: The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs,
and those great miracles: 4:
Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears
to hear, unto this day. 5: And
I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old
upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. 6: Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong
drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God. 7: And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon,
and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: 8: And we took their land, and gave
it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half
tribe of Manasseh. 9: Keep
therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all
that ye do. 10: Ye stand this
day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders,
and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11: Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in
thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: 12: That thou shouldest enter into
covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God
maketh with thee this day: 13:
That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be
unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy
fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14: Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;
15: But with him that standeth
here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not
here with us this day: 16: (For
ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the
nations which ye passed by; 17:
And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver
and gold, which were among them:) 18:
Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart
turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these
nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; 19: And it come to pass, when he
heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I
shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add
drunkenness to thirst: 20: The
LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall
smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall
lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven. 21: And the LORD shall separate him
unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the
covenant that are written in this book of the law: 22: So that the generation to come of your children that shall
rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say,
when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath
laid upon it; 23: And that the
whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown,
nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and
Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his
wrath: 24: Even all nations
shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the
heat of this great anger? 25:
Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of
their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the
land of Egypt: 26: For they
went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and
whom he had not given unto them: 27:
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all
the curses that are written in this book: 28: And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in
wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this
day. 29: The secret things
belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto
us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy
30 God’s promises remain
constant
1: And it shall come to pass, when all
these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set
before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither
the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2:
And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to
all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart,
and with all thy soul; 3: That
then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee,
and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God
hath scattered thee. 4: If any
of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the
LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5: And the LORD thy God will bring
thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and
he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6: And the LORD thy God will
circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 7: And the LORD thy God will put all
these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted
thee. 8: And thou shalt return
and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command
thee this day. 9: And the LORD
thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of
thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for
good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over
thy fathers: 10: If thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his
statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the
LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 11: For this commandment which I
command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12: It is not in heaven, that thou
shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we
may hear it, and do it? 13:
Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the
sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14: But the word is very nigh unto
thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
The
choice of life and death
15: See, I have set before thee this
day life and good, and death and evil; 16:
In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways,
and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou
mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land
whither thou goest to possess it. 17:
But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn
away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18: I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish,
and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest
over Jordan
to go to possess it. 19: I call
heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you
life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and
thy seed may live: 20: That
thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and
that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy
days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Deuteronomy
31 Joshua is your new leader
1: And Moses went and spake these
words unto all Israel.
2: And he said unto them, I am
an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in:
also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 3: The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will
destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and
Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said. 4: And the LORD shall do unto them as
he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them,
whom he destroyed. 5: And the
LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according
unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of
them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail
thee, nor forsake thee. 7: And
Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel,
Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the
land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt
cause them to inherit it. 8:
And the LORD, 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. 9: And Moses wrote this law, and
delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. 10: And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven
years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11: When all Israel is come to appear
before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read
this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12: Gather the people together, men, and women, and children,
and thy stranger that is within thy 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: 13: And that their children,
which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God,
as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. 14: And the LORD said unto Moses,
Behold, thy days approach that thou 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. 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. 16:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and
this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of
the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my
covenant which I have made with them. 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? 18: And I will surely hide my face in
that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are
turned unto other gods. 19: Now
therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song
may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20: For when I shall have brought them into the land which I
sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have
eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other
gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. 21: And it shall come to pass, when
many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against
them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their
seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have
brought them into the land which I sware. 22: Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it
the children of Israel.
23: And he gave Joshua the son
of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt
bring the children of Israel
into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.
D.
The Last words, and death of Moses Moses
speaks to the Levites
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, which bare 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 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 the LORD; and how much more after
my death? 28: Gather 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 record against them. 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
evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your
hands. 30: And Moses spake in
the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song,
until they were ended.
Deuteronomy 32
1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will
speak; and hear, O earth, 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
herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of
the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect:
for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and
right is he. 5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of
his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. 6 Do ye thus requite
the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? Is not he thy father that hath bought
thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? 7 Remember the days of old,
consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee;
thy elders, and they will tell thee. 8 When the most High divided to the
nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the
bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. 9 For
the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. 10 He
found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him
about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest,
fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth
them on her wings: 12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange
god with him. 13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he
might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the
rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; 14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep,
with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of
kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. 15 But
Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou
art covered with fatness then he forsook God which made him, and lightly
esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 16 They provoked him to jealousy with
strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. 17 They sacrificed
unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came
newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art
unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. 19 And when the LORD saw
it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of 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 froward generation, children in whom is no
faith. 21 They have moved me to jealousy with that wich is not God; they have
provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with
those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish
nation. 22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest
hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the
foundations of the mountains. 23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend
mine arrows upon them. 24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with
burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts
upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. 25 The sword without, and
terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling
also with the man of gray hairs. 26 I said, I would scatter them into corners,
I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men: 27 Were it not
that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave
themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD
hath not done all this. 28 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is
there any understanding in them. 29 O that they were wise, that they understood
this, that they would consider their latter end! 30 How should one chase a
thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them,
and the LORD had shut them up? 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 dragons, and the
cruel venom of asps. 34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up
among my treasures? 35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot
shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the
things that shall come upon them make haste. 36 For the LORD shall judge his
people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is
gone, and there is none shut up, or left. 37 And he shall say, Where are their
gods, their rock in whom they trusted, 38 Which did eat the fat of their
sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and
help you, and 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: neither is
there any that can deliver out of my hand. 40 For I lift up my hand to heaven,
and say, I live for ever. 41 If I whet
my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render
vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. 42 I will make
mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh, and that with
the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon
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
be merciful unto his land, and to his people. 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. 45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel: 46 And
he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you
this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words
of this law. 47 For it is not a 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 Jordan
to possess it.
Moses
called to Mt Nebo to die
48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49 Get thee up into this mountain 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 among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the
wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of
Israel. 52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee but thou shalt not go
thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
Yesterdays reading was both wonderful and frightening,
exciting and fearful. Every Christians needs to get a grip of the profound
truth of the special covenant that God had with his ancient people Israel. However
they must also understand that as christians they are in a completely new
covenant. It is not based on keeping the Mosaic Law in fact they are in a
covenant of grace. Those who enter it, do so, on the basis of faith in the work
that Christ has completed and not circumcision. It is grace and faith and not
law and obedience. And while there are blessing untold in the new covenant there
are no curses. But coming back to todays Bible reading The Mosaic covenant with
Israel
is reiterated and it is stated that the LORD’s promises of blessing are
constant for the nation that is faithful to the Lord. Then Moses presents
before Israel
the choice of life or death. Will they follow the LORD or will they forsake the
Lord and die? Then we have the appointment of the new leader of Israel Joshua
and then we have the last words of Moses to his people, the first part of that
is a special message to the Levites. First the Lord reherses the whole of their
history from their deliverance from Egypt right up the the present day.
He reminds them that they (Moses, Joshua and Caleb) saw all the the Lord did in
the wilderness and that for 40 years they ate no bread and drank any wine and
that their clothes and shoes never wore out. And he reminds them of their
recent victories over the kings of Bashan and
Heshbon. And how the Lord gave the land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the
half tribe Manasseh. And then Moses gives them the solemn warning ‘Keep the
Law’. All the children of Israel
heard his words from the elders to the little children. Then Moses said you are
entering into this covenant again today. He says let no man bless himself
saying to his own heart that he has peace when in fact he is a drunkard. (The
concept of peach – Shalom for the Israelites was simply this that between him
and his God there was no specific consciousness of sin and so he enjoyed
unbroken communion with his God. It became the greeting between Israelites when
they met and was in fact a pray for the one they met. (May) Peace be with you.
It was used by the Lord Jesus when greeting his disciples.) Here Moses says
that the man who thinks that God is with him when he is not will come under the
judgment of God. (Think of Samson) The curses of the Law will be laid against
him and his name will be blotted out of those who are alive in the earth. It
might be that one day the land will be destroyed and your children will rise up
against you and strangers will see the land destroyed and wonder at the
judgment of the LORD. Other nations will ask Why has the Lord destroyed this
land and they will answer because they have forsaken covenant of the LORD God
of their fathes who brought them out of Egypt. They went and served other gods
and the anger of the LORD went out against them and threw them out of the land.
Then the Lord says that after all these curses have come on you as a nation you
will remember and you will return unto the LORD your God and obey his voice
with one heart and soul. Then the Lord will return you to the land. He will
gather you from all the nations that he has scattered you to. (This has a
partial fulfilment in the return from the Babylonian captivity and possibly a
fulfilment in the last century when the Jews returned from the nations to
establish a homeland but it will one day have its true fulfilment in the
gathering of the scattered of every tribe even the ten northern tribes. Christ
said, I have other sheep which are not of this fold them also l must gather and
there will be one fold and one shepherd.) Then the Lord will bring them into a
new covenant, a covenant of blessing far beyond anything they have previously
known. The LORD will multiply their seed and increase their wealth beyond
anything known before. Then Moses presents before Israel a stark choice, he says l
set before you this day life and good or death and evil. He said l command you
this day to love the LORD your God and live righteously and keep his
commandments so that you might live and multiply and the Lord will bless you in
the land you are about to enter. BUT if you turn your minds away and will not
hear and be drawn into idolatry. Then let me tell you that you will be
destroyed and quickly. He said l call on heaven and earth to witness this day
against you that l have give you the choice of life and death, blessing and
cursing. So choose LIFE ! So that you
may live, that you may love the LORD your God and obey his voice, that you will
be attached to him because he is your life and the length of your days, that
you may live in the land which the Lord promised to your fathers, Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. We do not know what the effect of this speech was but what a
great speech to end a glorious life of service to his God. Then Moses spoke
some more, he said, I am 120 years old today (It was his birthday!) The Lord
has sid to me that you are to go over the Jordan and destroy the nations of
the land like he did to nations that have opposed us already. The LORD your God
will lead you and Joshua will lead you. Be strong and have good courage. Do not
be afraid because the LORD your God is with you and will not fail you or
forsake you. Then Moses called Joshua forward to spoke the same words of
encouragement to him personally. Then Moses wrote his closing law and gave it
to the Levites. And he told them at every Sabbatical year his law was to be
read to all the people, men, women and children and strangers. The purpose of
this is that Israel
might hear, learn and fear the LORD their God and keep the Law. Then the Lord
told Moses that the day is coming near for you to die. Call for Joshua and
present yourself at the door of the Tabernacle so that l can give him a charge.
The Lord appeared in a pillar of cloud and said Moses you are going to sleep
with your fathers but this people will rise up to idolatry and will forsake me
and break the covenant with me and I will forsake them and turn away from them.
They will say Our God is not among us. So write this song and teach them to
sing it. This song will be a witness against them when they turn away from me.
Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the children of Israel. Then he
encouraged Joshua to trust in the Lord. When Moses had finished the book of the
Law that he commanded the Levites to put the book of the law inside the Ark of
the Covenant. It was to be a witness against Israel,
because Israel
is a rebellious people and they will be more so after my death, said Moses. He
said call the tribes together because l know that after my death Israel will
totally corrupt themselves and turn away from the Lord. Then Moses spoke the
words of the Song that the LORD gave him to the people. This song is a recital
of the greatness and glories of the Lord seen in his acts of blessing on the
children of Israel.
It speaks of creation and of the works of God in the judgment of men. The last
part is linked very much with the messages to his servants in Revelation. He
says…I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate
me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh;
and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of
revenges upon the enemy. 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 be merciful unto his land, and to his people. This song could easily
have a place in the book of Revelation. Moses ended by saying this song will be
your very life if only you will do it.
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