September 11, 2020
The message of Deuteronomy is one that the church desperately needs to hear today. These final words of Moses given to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land serve as a warning, an encouragement, and a charge. Through them, God exposes the idolatry of our hearts and calls us to give all of our love, worship, and devotion to Him alone in every area of our lives! Moses warns the people that when they enter the land there will be things that compete with God for their attention, their affections and their worship. We, too, have hundreds of things that compete for our hearts each and every day. In this book, God teaches us how to properly respond to the amazing grace He has given us by giving Him our undivided allegiance, our whole hearts and our whole lives. Over the next 34 days, let’s seek this ancient way together as a church!
In this chapter we see the Lord put Joshua over the people of Israel in Moses’ place and we get a glimpse into the future for Israel as a nation: they will rebel against the Lord. All the warnings that Moses gave them throughout the book of Deuteronomy will end up being ignored. The people will grow complacent once they have received the land and will turn to pursue other gods. The outlook is not good for them.
In spite of all of these things, the Lord promises to go with them. He is going to bless them, He is going to fight for them, He is going to give them the land and fulfill His promises to their ancestors. The faithfulness of God stands in stark contrast to the unfaithfulness of His people! Why would God bother bringing the people into the land knowing full well that He is going to remove them from that same land for their disobedience?
We have to understand in this chapter that God is absolutely sovereign, working all things according to the counsel of His will. The disobedience and eventual exile of the people of Israel was part of His greater plan, a plan that would culminate with Him sending His Son in human flesh to be the Savior of the world! It may not be clear how or why God chose to do it this way, but we can rest assured that His faithfulness and goodness no know bounds!
Even though our hearts, like those of the people of Israel, are often inclined towards evil and rebellion, God has sovereignly orchestrated the events of history in order to secure our salvation in Christ Jesus. We have this promise form Him, that He will be with us, that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Celebrate that amazing grace today!
Deuteronomy 31
Joshua to Succeed Moses
31 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 Lordyour 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.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Family Discussion Question:
- How does God’s faithfulness to go with His people in spite of their unfaithfulness encourage and empower us to live boldly for Him?
Dear Heavenly Father,
You have proved over and over what an awesome God you are. You have been forever blessing and forgiving and faithful in all of Your promises. We do not deserve You but we are so fortunate to know You and be led by Your Word. I will forever be “standing on the promises of Christ my King and through all the ages will let His praises ring”. Thank You Lord, Jesus. Be with me today and everyday. Amen.
Gracias padre amado por tú amor y misericordia, siempre has sido fiel tus promesas se renuevan cada día a pesar de saber que somos un pueblo peccaminoso tú nos perdonaste lavaste nuestro pescados con tú sangre y aún así no somos dignos de ti, gracias padre porque tú palabra nos enseña y yo quiero serte fiel y seguir tus pasos ser mejor cada día para que más personas puedan venir a ti mi Dios amado mi Dios de Paz mi Dios misericordioso bendito eres mi SEÑOR gracias por darnos la salud y todo lo que tenemos bendice a mi familia y a todas las familias de esta plaga darnos sabiduría para estos días difíciles que tú espíritu santo nos llene y cúbrenos con tu manto gracias mi padre amado en nombre y por amor de tú hijo amado amén ?
Standing on the promises – Amen!
Amen?
He is faithful even in our unfaithfulness.
I have sorn to be faithful to my Lord and Savior. I have been working on myself to learn to obey the commandments set before me. I am a child of God. In the.precious name of Christ Jesus. Amen
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.” Nineteen years ago today, evil came upon us and we saw thousands die at the hands of our enemies. We turned to God for two Sundays. We have forgotten God again. We have seen 200,000 die at the hands of another enemy. Now, we have another enemy in socialism/communism knocking on our door. The polls say that we are on the verge of opening the door and inviting them in. Will God judge us again or will we turn to Him? The outcome is in our hands.
Heavenly Father, You are so patient with us. Thank You for extending Your mercy and grace. Help us rise up and be the church in the midst of unrest and rebellion. Find us faithful as we influence our culture by shining Your light and sharing Your love until Jesus comes again!
Amen! Thank you for sending us Godly leaders like Moses who turn to you for guidance. You seek your face. Who influence us to be the influencers. Bless the Trammell family as they serve our congregation and our larger community! Praise you for giving to our Body someone to speak and encourage us. We are so blessed by you – more than we deserve. Praise you!
Amen?
I will be strong and courageous. And I will not be afraid, for the Lord my God will not fail me or forsake me.
I woke up this morning realizing the date 9/ 11 and how horrible that day was for our country. Everyone started going to church and praying to God for this horrible tragic. Today we are all facing the Covid 19 virus and we have all this violence going on around United States. I do not see Americans worshiping God like they should they are involved in the things of this worlds. We need to pray for a revival to come to bring them to Jesus every day this is my prayer every morning.
Amen. Revive us oh Lord. Rekindle in us the spirit of truth. Praise you for defeating our enemies. We lay them at your throne and ask for your mercy. Remove this virus from our land. Restore the health of our loved ones. We thank you for listening to us and your restoration and revival.!
Father, thank you for being so merciful to me. I am so undeserving.
Amen
My heavenly Father, to you be all praise and glory! I thank you for your words in Deuteronomy 31 especially today 9/11(what a memory!). As I reflect on your words, Deuteronomy 29:19 comes to me. I pray You help us Father to see the evil seed that we planted that is yielding bitter fruits. Help us to stop fertilizing this seed, so that the bitter fruit will die. It is destroying our land. It is planting fears in our hearts. Fear is opposite of faith. Please open our spiritual eyes to see your hand, to trust in your might and your plan, to seek to be in right standing with you rather than allowing fears to lead us into allowing evil to reign- unrepentant heart, oppression, injustice, self-righteousness. Father, I pray your spirit will continue to convict us to look inward and always ask “what will Jesus do”? Your Word is truth and life, help us today to be hope and life to our community ??.
Amen and amen!!!
Thank you Lord for the Law, that reminds me that I cannot live up to the worship that your are worthy of; perfect obedience to the law. Thank you that your word also reminds me that Jesus fulfilled the law, in him I have been made new, dead to sin, have been raised to live a new life, righteous, perfect, free and empowered to reflect your glory.
Today is the ninteenth anniversary of the attack of Islam against this nation and God’s Christians in this nation. They are here within our borders to try to put an end to our devotion and sanctification to our one true God. Like the Israelites, we must guard, keep and protect our faith and the laws God gave us all of our days. Pray for God’s purity to be in us and his protection over us all of our days until He comes again. Amen.