Deuteronomy 30:15-31:815See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16In 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. 17But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18I 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. 19I 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: 20That 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. 1And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 2And 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. 3The 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. 4And 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. 5And 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. 6Be 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. 7And 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. 8And 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. (Deuteronomy 30:15‑31:8)
MOSES is nearing the end of his course and now he makes one more solemn appeal to his people.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you, he said, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore now chose life that you and your children may live, that you may love the Lord, and obey His voice, and cling to Him. For He is your life, that you may dwell in the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Then having finished this discourse he said, “I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in.” Also the Lord had told him he should not go over Jordan. But they need not be afraid if he, their leader, should be taken away in death. For the Lord abides, and He would go before them and destroy all their enemies.
Joshua too would go over before them and be their new leader, as the Lord had said. Just as the Lord destroyed Sihon and Og, those great kings of the Amorites, so would He do to the nations of the land; “and the Lord shall give them up before your face.”
“Be strong and of good courage,” he said; “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.”
There comes a time when those whom the Lord has used to guide and shepherd us, whom we have looked up to and leaned on, must leave us and go to be with Him.
How comforting it is when such can commend us to God’s care and keeping, and say like Moses, Fear not; God will be with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you.
Moses then called Joshua, and in the sight of all Israel he encouraged him personally saying, “Be strong and of a good courage,” for the Lord would be with him and under His good hand he should cause His people to inherit the land.
If we are to go on in that quiet confidence in God through the day, we need to walk with Him in secret. We need that daily reading of His Word and private prayer if we are to have spiritual power and courage before others. If we are faithful to the Lord in this He will be our strength and may use us to help and encourage others along their Christian pathway.
How lovely the spirit of Moses here as he turns over the reins to another whom the Lord had chosen to replace him. How he had patiently endured and yearned during those long forty years of wilderness wanderings to see that good land and to lead God’s people into it!
But it was not to be and Moses sweetly submits to the Lord’s will.
Emptied of self he can rejoice in seeing another so honored, and is happy in the thought that His people are soon to enter in and possess the land of their inheritance though he himself must remain outside.
This is the precious fruit of grace and we might well desire to know more of it in our own hearts.
Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I’ll raise;
But, oh, eternity’s too short
To utter all Thy praise.
ML-03/14/1976