Joshua succeeds Moses
1 When Moses finished telling all Israel these words, he said,
2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I can no longer deal with anything—Remember that Yahweh told me that I shall not cross the Jordan River.
3 Now Joshua shall be at your head, as Yahweh has said. He, your God, will go before you to destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them away.
4 Yahweh shall deal with these cities as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the Amo rite kings, and their land, which he destroyed.
5 So when he has given these nations over to you, you shall do the same, ac cording to what I have commanded you.
6 Be valiant and strong, do not fear or trem ble before them for Yahweh, your God, is with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”
7 After this, Moses called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel: “Be valiant and strong, you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh swore to their ancestors he would give them and you shall give it to them as their possession.
8 Yahweh shall go before you. He shall be with you; he shall not leave you or abandon you. Do not fear, then, or be discouraged.”
9 Moses put this Law in writing and entrusted it to the priests, descendants of Levi, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh, as well as to all the leaders of Israel,
10 giving this order to them: “Every seven years, at the time fixed for the Year of Pardon, on the Feast of the Tents,
11 when all Israel assembles to present themselves before Yahweh in the place chosen by him, you shall read this Law in the hearing of all Israel.
12 Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigner who lives in your cities—that they may listen to it, learn to fear Yahweh and take care to put into practice all the words of this Law.
13 Your children who do not know it yet shall hear it and learn to fear Yahweh, your God, all the days that they live in the land which you are going to conquer after crossing the Jordan.”
14 Yahweh said to Moses: “The day of your death is already near. Call Joshua that the two of you may present yourselves to me in the Tent of Meeting, that I may give him my orders.”
So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting.
15 Yah weh appeared to them in the Tent in a column of cloud; the column was at the entrance of the Tent.
16 And Yahweh said to Moses: “Now you are going to rest with your ancestors. Then this people shall rebel and prostitute themselves to strange gods, the gods of the land which they are going to enter. They shall abandon me and break the Covenant I have made with them.
17 On that day, I shall be angry with them, I shall abandon them and hide my face from them. They will be devoured, and many evils and adversities will come upon them so that they will say: “Have not these evils come upon me because my God is not in our midst anymore?”
18 But on that day I shall hide my face from them because of all the evil which they have done in going after other gods.
19 So, write this song and teach it to the children of Israel and have them remember it, for this song shall be my witness against the children of Israel.
20 For I shall bring them to the land which I swore to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, but after they have eaten and are satisfied and have grown fat, they shall turn to other gods and pay homage to them while despising me and breaking my Covenant.
21 And when these evils and calamities without number come upon them, this song shall bear witness against them, since their descendants will not forget it. I know very well the plans they are already making even before they have entered the land which I promised them.”
22 On that day, Moses wrote this song and taught it to the children of Israel.
23 Then Moses told Joshua, son of Nun, “Be va liant and strong, for you shall bring the children of Israel to the land which Yah weh promised to them, and I shall be with you.”
24 When he finished writing in a book all the words of this Law,
25 Moses gave this order to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh,
26 “Take the book of this Law. Place it by the side of the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh, your God. There it shall remain as a witness against you,
27 because I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. If today, as I live among you, you are rebellious against Yahweh, how much more shall you be after my death?
28 Gather together around me all the leaders and secretaries of all the tribes, I am going to say these words in their hearing, and I shall ask heaven and earth to witness against you.
29 For I know that after my death, you shall do perverse things and shall stray from the way that I have pointed out to you. And misfortune shall come upon you in the future for doing what is evil in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking his anger with the work of your hands.”
30 Then, before the whole assembly of Israel, Moses recited this song until the end.
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Comments Deuteronomy, Chapter 31
• 31.1 The last chapters include several memories of Moses.
The hymn in chapter 32 is a song to the constant love of the Lord who guides all of Israel’s history.
– Yahweh chooses Israel (vv. 7-9).
– He leads Israel through the desert to the Promised Land (vv. 10-14).
–Israel, fully satisfied, shuns God and gives itself idols (vv. 15-18).
– Yahweh becomes Israel’s enemy (vv. 22-30).
– The people, humbled and exiled, must rely on the compassion of Yahweh who, in the end, will liberate them and make them victorious over the wicked (vv. 31-43).
He set up the boundaries for the peoples after the number of the sons of God. The sons of God are the angels responsible for the different nations, whereas Yahweh personally takes care of Israel.
Like an eagle. This is an image of God looking after his people; no one will snatch them away from his protection.
Verse 15 summarizes Israel’s rebellious attitude.
Israel grew up well-nourished. The prodigal son, after having received everything from his father, thinks that he will be freer by getting rid of him.