The Song of Moses Part 39 Today, we will look at the song of Moses the Lord told him to write in the book of Deuteronomy, before Moses died: Deu 31:1 (ESV) So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. Deu 31:2 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.' Israel is about to enter the promised land. They need to cross the Jordan river to do that, but Moses won't be with them. You will notice Moses said, I am 120 years old today. But you will also notice, he didn't say, let's celebrate my birthday. Someone once told me that the reason they didn't celebrate their birthdays back then was because they didn't have a calendar. Well, if you read your Bible, you will clearly see that they do have a calendar during those days. The verse above is just one proof of that. Look at this verse telling us when the flood of Noah started: Gen 7:11 (ESV) In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the flood started. You need to know your Bible so that you won't get convinced by false prophets like Balaam. The followers of God were never told to celebrate their birthdays, in either the Old or the New Testament. Deu 31:3 (ERV) But the LORD your God will lead you people into that land. He will destroy these nations for you. You will take their land away from them. The LORD said that Joshua must lead you. Deu 31:4 "The LORD destroyed Sihon and Og. He destroyed those Amorite kings and he will do the same thing for you again! Deu 31:5 The LORD will help you defeat these nations. But you must do to them everything I told you to do. Deu 31:6 Be strong and be brave. Don't be afraid of those people because the LORD your God is with you. He will not fail you or leave you." Moses is saying goodbye to Israel here. He is introducing Joshua as their next leader. At the same time he is also encouraging them not to be afraid of the enemies they will face. Remember the enemies that they will be facing are giants. They are bigger than the tallest basketball players today, so it is understandable that Israel would be afraid of them. But Moses reminds them that it is really the Lord doing the fighting for Israel. What is the spiritual lesson for us here?
It's the Lord who is doing the fighting for us against the giants in our land, evil spirits that we have no hope of defeating by ourselves. But if the Lord is living in us, we will be successful in fighting off these giants. It's also not a coincidence that Israel's next leader is named Joshua. Joshua's original name was Oshea which means deliverer or savior. But Moses renamed him to Jehoshua. Num 13:16 (KJV) These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. Jehoshua or Joshua means Jehovah-saved, telling us it is really God who does the work in us to save us and to save others. Jud 1:23 (GNB) save others by snatching them out of the fire; and to others show mercy mixed with fear, but hate their very clothes, stained by their sinful lusts. The Bible is full of symbols. Those who have listened to my teachings know pretty well that when apostle Jude said, save others by snatching them out of the fire, he is not talking about saving people who are being burned by literal fire. What the apostle is talking about is saving others by snatching them from the strange fire or false teachings of the teachers in Babylon. That's why we show you the lies of the false churches here in these studies. We are hoping you will not be trapped by their seductive teachings. When Jude said to show mercy but hate their very clothes, he is not telling us to hate their fashion sense. He's telling us not to participate with what they do in their false churches, like celebrating their birthdays or any holidays. Let's go back to the story of Moses: Deu 31:7 (GNB) Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all the people of Israel, "Be determined and confident; you are the one who will lead these people to occupy the land that the LORD promised to their ancestors. Deu 31:8 The LORD himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid." Joshua is a symbol of our Lord here who also needed some encouragement from the Father before He was crucified: Luk 22:41 (KJV) And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Luk 22:43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. Luk 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Even our Lord needed encouragement during His most difficult time here on earth. When we are experiencing physical or emotional agony, we need to emulate our Lord and pray more earnestly. Deu 31:9 (KJV) 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. Deu 31:10 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, Deu 31:11 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 Israel was given certain feasts to celebrate, which include the feasts of tabernacles mentioned here. Although we don't celebrate these feasts or holidays today, knowing their spiritual meaning is beneficial to us. The feast of tabernacles or the fall harvest is a symbol of God saving all mankind in the lake of fire. We will not discuss the spiritual meaning of all of the feasts here, but there are certainly writings that you can read if you want to know more of the deep teachings in God's words. Deu 31:12 (ISV) Gather the people the men, women, children, and the foreigners that live in your cities so they may hear and fear the LORD your God, and so they may be careful to obey the words contained in this Law. Deu 31:13 Their children who don't know will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan River to possess." The Israelites taught their children and even the children of the foreigners who lived with them. They all have to obey the same law. This tells us the importance of learning God's words even from a young age. Deu 31:14 (ERV) The LORD said to Moses, "Now the time is near for you to die. Get Joshua and come to the Meeting Tent. I will tell Joshua what he must do." So Moses and Joshua went to the Meeting Tent. Deu 31:15 The LORD appeared at the Tent in a tall cloud. The tall cloud stood over the entrance of the Tent.
Deu 31:16 The LORD said to Moses, "You will die soon. And after you have gone to be with your ancestors, these people will not continue to be faithful to me. They will break the agreement I made with them. They will leave me and begin worshiping other gods--the false gods of the land where they are going. Deu 31:17 At that time I will become very angry with them, and I will leave them. I will refuse to help them, and they will be destroyed. Terrible things will happen to them, and they will have many troubles. Then they will say, 'These bad things happened to us because our God is not with us.' Terrible news for Moses. Not only did the Lord tell him his death is near, the Lord also told him that after he dies, Israel will continue to rebel against God and will continue to make God angry. Deu 31:18 (ERV) And I will refuse to help them, because they have done evil and worshiped other gods. Deu 31:19 "So write down this song, and teach it to the Israelites. Teach them to sing this song. Then this song will be a witness for me against the Israelites. Deu 31:20 I will take them into the land that I promised to give to their ancestors--a land filled with many good things. And they will have all they want to eat. They will have a rich life. But then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will turn away from me and break my agreement. Deu 31:21 Then many terrible things will happen to them. They will have many troubles. At that time their descendants will still know this song, and it will show them how wrong they are. I have not yet taken them into the land I promised to give them. But I already know what they are planning to do there." Deu 31:22 So that same day Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the Israelites. This song is to be passed from generation to generation. It is sort of like a nursery rhyme which everyone knows. The Lord is again showing us that we don't have free will. Despite of this song's stern warning against Israel, the Lord said But I already know what they are planning to do there [in the promised land]. Deu 31:23 (ERV) Then the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun and said, "Be strong and brave. You will lead the Israelites into the land I promised them, and I will be with you." This must have been a huge motivation for Joshua to hear the Lord Himself tell him, I will be with you..
Deu 31:23 (KJV) 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. Deu 31:24 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, Deu 31:25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, Deu 31:26 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. Deu 31:27 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? The Levites were the ones who rebelled with Korah and the 250 famous men of Israel. This is the very family of Moses and Aaron who rejected them, just as Christ was rejected by His own people, the Jews. Joh 1:11 (KJV) He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Up to now, this truth has never changed. The people who call Jesus Christ their Lord are still the ones leading the rebellion against God, although these people will not admit they are rebelling against their savior. Luk 6:46 (MKJV) And why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? Moses and Joshua spoke the words of this song to the whole assembly of Israel. Deu 32:1 (KJV) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Deu 32:2 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: The Lord's doctrine or teaching that He gave through Moses is likened to rain which gives life to grass and to the tender herb. The grass and tender herb are symbols of us in Babylon as we begin to follow Christ. We all start out as immature Christians in Babylon. No one start out as mature disciples who know the difference between the true teachings of Christ and the lies we are fed in Babylon.
It all depends on God whom He will mature enough to be in the first resurrection and rule with our Lord for a thousand years: 1Co 3:5 (GNB) After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do: 1Co 3:6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow. 1Co 3:7 The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because he makes the plant grow. Those who remain in Babylon when the Lord come will be shocked to hear these words: Deu 32:3 (ERV) Praise God as I speak the LORD'S name! Deu 32:4 "The Lord is the Rock, and his work is perfect! Yes, all his ways are right! God is true and faithful. He is good and honest. Deu 32:5 And you are not really his children. You are completely unfaithful to him. You are crooked liars. These people will be shocked because they think they are doing wonderful works in His name. Deu 32:6 (GNB) Is this the way you should treat the LORD, you foolish, senseless people? He is your father, your Creator, he made you into a nation. Deu 32:7 "Think of the past, of the time long ago; ask your parents to tell you what happened, ask the old people to tell of the past. Moses and Joshua are telling Israel to remember the Lord's kindness to them. The Lord has chosen them out of all the many nations of the earth and this is how they repay Him. Deu 32:8 (KJV) 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. Deu 32:9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. Deu 32:10 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. You, our children, are the apple of our eyes. We, your parents, will do everything that we can to provide all your needs and teach you the ways of the Lord. So you can understand why we get angry at you when you disobey or disrespect us.
Deu 32:15 (CEV) Israel, you grew fat and rebelled against God, your Creator; you rejected the Mighty Rock, your only place of safety. Deu 32:16 You made God jealous and angry by worshiping disgusting idols and foreign gods. Deu 32:17 You offered sacrifices to demons, those useless gods that never helped you, new gods that your ancestors never worshiped. We don't need to convert to Buddhism or Hinduism to practice idolatry. When we are selfish and disobey God, it is the same thing as offering sacrifices to demons, in spiritual terms. Moses and Joshua told Israel that they will be severely punished for all their rebellion. Deu 32:44 (ESV) Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. Shortly after reciting these words, Moses died. Deu 34:5 (CEV) And so, Moses the LORD's servant died there in Moab, just as the LORD had said. Deu 34:6 The LORD buried him in a valley near the town of Beth-Peor, but even today no one knows exactly where. Deu 34:10 There has never again been a prophet in Israel like Moses. The LORD spoke face to face with him Deu 34:11 and sent him to perform powerful miracles in the presence of the king of Egypt and his entire nation. Deu 34:12 No one else has ever had the power to do such great things as Moses did for everyone to see. Up to this day, Moses is still considered the greatest prophet of Judaism, the religion of the Jews. But before Moses died, he talked about another prophet who will be raised from among Israel. Deu 18:15 (ESV) "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers it is to him you shall listen Deu 18:16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' Deu 18:17 And the LORD said to me, 'They are right in what they have spoken.
Deu 18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. Next time, Lord willing, we will conclude the story of Moses as we see who this prophet is that Moses talked about.