Bible: Beginning to End - Deuteronomy 26-34: Moses' Third Address & Moses' Farewell

Episode Date: April 30, 2022

*For copyright reasons, I had to combine these episodes into one episode. Read Deuteronomy 26-30 Read Deuteronomy 31-34 Important Links for the Podcast  Contact Us Visit our Website          On Instagram @biblebeginningtoend     On Twitter: @biblebeginning1      Via email: [e-mail] Discuss each episode on Reddit Click Here for our YouTube Channel. Supporting the Show Financial contributions are never required, but if you'd like to support the show, here are a couple of ways: Be a listener and share the show with your friends! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to become a monthly supporter via Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠* ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to make a one-time contribution via Paypal⁠⁠⁠.* *Note that the Bible Beginning to End podcast is not a registered 501(c)3 or charitable organization. Therefore, any monetary support provided is not tax deductible. 10% of any profits made from this podcast via ad revenues or listener support will be donated to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Asha's Refuge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a Christ-centered nonprofit that "exists to assist the most disadvantaged refugees/asylees in achieving a successful resettlement in the Memphis, TN area.". Episode Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 1 0:56 - Ad Break 0:57 - Deuteronomy 26 7:08 - Deuteronomy 27 13:43 - Deuteronomy 28 33:26 - Deuteronomy 29 40:45 - Deuteronomy 30 45:48 - Outro 1 46:30 - Intro 2 48:31 - Deuteronomy 31 57:07 - Deuteronomy 32 1:10:40 - Deuteronomy 33 1:17:32 - Deuteronomy 34 1:22:18 - Outro 2 Bible Verse Copyright Statement Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. To purchase an NLT, please visit https://amzn.to/3wUpUef

Hello and welcome back to Bible, where we are reading through the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. Last time, we were continuing our walk through Deuteronomy and reading through Moses's second address to the Israelites. Today we will finish Moses's second address and read through Moses's third address to the Israelites. So remember where we're coming from? He is giving these final instructions to the Israelites before they are able to receive the promised land. And we are going to continue through his speech with what we're reading today. Now remember, I'm not going to offer commentary, but I will ask questions along the way so that you can interact with the scripture and think critically on what God is saying to you through it.

Deuteronomy 26 is about harvest offerings and tithes. When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship. The place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, with this gift, I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us. The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. So pause there.

Why has God put this regulation in place? Is it important that they're taking some of the first produce from each crop? Verse 5. You must then say in the presence of the Lord, your god, my ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation. When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression.

So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest. You have given me from the ground. Then place the produce before the Lord, your God, and bow down to the ground in worship before him. Afterward, you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration. Okay, so pause there. Why is God having them remind him of the story of Jacob? And who do the Israelites say brought them out of Egypt? Who rescued them? And why is it important that that's the person they're attributing their rescue to? Verse 12, every third year you must offer a special tithe of your crops. In this year of the special tithe, you must give your tides to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows,

so that they will have enough to eat in your towns. you must declare in the presence of the Lord your God, I have taken the sacred gift from my house and have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, just as you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten any of your commands. I have not eaten any of it while in mourning. I have not handled it while I was ceremonially unclean, and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God and have done everything you commanded me. Now look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you swore to our ancestors to give us a land flowing with milk and honey. So pause there at the end of that section and think to yourself,

why do they have to make this special offering every third year? What is the significant? What is the significance of the things God is asking them to say, I've taken the sacred gift from my house and have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows just as you have commanded me, etc. What is the purpose of saying all of those things? The next section is a call to obey the Lord's commands. Verse 16. Today, the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations, so be careful to obey them wholeheartedly. You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and you have promised to walk in his ways and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. The Lord has declared today that you are his people,

his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised. So pause there and ask yourself about this word that's repeated in this section, Promise. What does the word promise mean? And what has God promised the Israelites? and does God keep his promises?

What has he promised us through his son Jesus in the New Testament? How have you seen God fulfill his promises in your own life? When the Israelites submit to God and his plan and his will for their lives, what do they receive? Okay, so now we're going to go into a new section, which is Moses's third address, ratification of the covenant. And it will last through chapter 30, and then our next episode will be the rest of Deuteronomy, Moses's farewell.

So here we're starting with chapter 27, the altar on Mount Ebel. Then Moses and the leaders of Israel gave this charge to the people. Obey all these commands that I am giving you today. When you cross the Jordan River and enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. Write this whole body of instructions on them when you cross the river to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey. Just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors promised you. When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebel, and coat them with plaster as I am commanding you today. Then build an altar there to the Lord your God, using natural, uncut stones.

You must not shape the stones with an iron tool. Build the altar of uncut stones and use it to offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God. Also, sacrifice peace offerings on it, and celebrate by faith. feasting there before the Lord your God. You must clearly write all these instructions on the stones coated with plaster. So pause there, why is it important that they write these things down? Verse 9. Then Moses and the Levitical priests addressed all Israel as follows. Oh, Israel, be quiet and listen. Today, you have become the people of the Lord your God. So you must obey the Lord your God by keeping all these commands and decrees that I am giving you today.

So pause there. Why do you think they said, be quiet and listen? Is it important to be quiet and listen? Do you struggle to be quiet and still with God? What has God told you in the quiet and stillness? The next section is curses. from Mount Ebel. Verse 11.

That same day, Moses also gave this charge to the people. When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Isikar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Garism to proclaim a blessing over the people. And the tribes of Rubin, Gad, Asher, Zebulan, Dan, and Naftali must stand on Mount Ebel to proclaim a common. curse. So pause there because this is something that's a little different. Why do you think God is going to have them proclaim a curse? Who do you think they're proclaiming it on? What do you think the results of it will be? Verse 14. Then the Levites will shout to all the people of Israel.

Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord, and all the people will reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who dishonors father or mother, and all the people will reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who steals property from a neighbor by moving a boundary marker, and all the people will reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road, and all the people will reply, Amen. Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows, and all the people will reply, Amen. Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with one of his father's wives,

for he has violated his father. And all the people will reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with an animal, and all will reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his sister, whether she is the daughter of his father or his mother, and all the people will reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with his mother-in-law, and all the people will reply, Amen. Cursed is anyone who attacks a neighbor in secret, and all the people will reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who accepts payment to kill an innocent person, and all the people will

reply, amen. Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions, and all the people will reply. Amen. Okay, so pause there at the end of chapter 27. Why do you think God has them reiterate these specific regulations? And then when the priests announce these curses, why are the people, the Israelites, all responding with amen? What is that symbolizing? What are they saying in that amen? Look up what the word amen actually means. That might help you. How are they taking responsibility for their actions by making these vows and agreements?

Who are they making these vows and agreements with? What do you think it means when it says cursed is anyone who? and then it lays out the sin is, but what do you think it means when it says cursed is this person? Okay, chapter 28, which is quite a long chapter, so we will, of course, be breaking it up with questions along the way, but it starts with blessings for obedience. So here we go. Chapter 28, blessings for obedience. If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.

You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God. Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offering of your herds and flocks will be blessed. Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed. Okay, so pause there similarly to the last section where we asked, what does it mean to be cursed?

Well, what does it mean to be blessed? What does that look like? What do you think God means when he says you will be blessed? And what did they have to do to be blessed? with the New Testament, with the sacrifice of Jesus, what does that look like for us now? Do we have to follow the same rules and rituals, or do we live in the spirit and the grace of God? Verse 7, The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you.

in seven. The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. If you obey the commands of the Lord, your God, and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as His holy people as he swore he would do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by God and they will stand in awe of you. The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do.

You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you to day, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them. Okay, so pause there. How is God showing that he is keeping his promises and fulfilling the covenant that he made with Abraham so long ago? What can we learn from the amount of time that has passed since God made that covenant until now? Does it take time for us to see the fruits of our labor?

Does it take time for us to see God's promises fulfilled? And what do the Israelites have to do to receive these blessings? What does God say they must follow closely? Okay, so the rest of this chapter We'll talk about the curses for disobedience So we're moving to the flip side of this chapter Deuteronomy 28 verse 15 But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees

I am giving you today All these curses will come and overwhelm you your towns and your fields will be cursed your fruit baskets and breadboards will be cursed your children and your crops will be cursed the offspring of your herds and flocks will be cursed wherever you go and whatever you do you will be cursed the lord himself will send on you curses confusion and frustration in everything you do until at last You are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me. The Lord will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy. The Lord will strike you with wasting diseases, fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die. The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron.

The Lord will change the rain that falls on your land into powder and dust will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed. The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away. The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch from which you cannot be cured. The Lord will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic. You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way.

You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you. Okay, so let's pause there just to take a moment to reflect on what God is saying. What are these punishments for? What is God trying to warn the Israelites about? What is God trying to prevent by telling them, if you do this, this is what will happen? Why do you think these curses are so severe? Verse 30. You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her.

You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single, bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you. You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won't be able to help them. A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment. You will go mad because of all the

tragedy you see around you. The Lord will cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot. Okay, so I want to pause there again just to take a break, because like I said, this chapter is long and we kind of might want to break it up and just take a breath because this is a lot. This might be a lot. And one of the questions you might ask yourself is in reference to verse 34 where it says you will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you. Is that something you can relate to? Do you struggle when you look around and see the suffering in the world? What is God saying to you about that? What is he teaching you about that? And And how is he helping you cope with those things?

Do you feel a sense of chaos reading through these curses? Do you think that without God, the Israelites would be living in chaos? Can you think back to your life before you knew God? Did you feel a sense of chaos? Does having God in your life help you cope with the chaos? and tragedies that are going on in maybe your life and the lives of those around you. Verse 36, the Lord will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There, in exile, you will worship gods of wood and stone.

You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the Lord sends you. You will plant much, but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops. You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines. You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens. You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be the olive oil, for the fruit will be, led away into captivity. Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops. The foreigners living among

you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker. They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head and you will be the tail. If you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses, will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed. These horrors will serve as a sign and warning among you and your descendants forever. If you do not serve the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. you will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything.

The Lord will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you. So pause there, yes, I'm stopping a little more often because this is very heavy. This is dark to read. And I just want us to reflect on this world, this world. this piece of history, this time in scripture before Jesus. Reflect on what it was alike to follow God before Jesus' sacrifice and saving grace on the cross. Verse 49, the Lord will bring a distant nation to you from the end of the earth, and it will swoop down on you like a vulture.

It is a nation whose language you do not. understand, a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young. Its armies will devour your livestock and crops, and you will be destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, or lambs, and you will starve to death. They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land. The walls you trusted to protect you, are knocked down. They will attack all the towns in the land the Lord your God has given you. The siege and terrible distress of the enemy's attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you. The most tender-hearted man

among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children. he will refuse to share with them the flesh he is devouring, the flesh of one of his own children, because he has nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns. The most tender and delicate woman among you, so delicate, she would not so much as touch the ground with her foot, will be selfish toward the husband she loves. and toward her own son or daughter. She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has born so that she herself can secretly eat them.

She will have nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns. Okay, so pause there because that is very dark. And you might be asking yourself, and this is the question to sit with, why is God saying this? Why is God including this darkness, this violence? What is he saying and what picture is he creating to show us what life is like without him? We may not be physically doing these things or experiencing these specific curses, but what is the metaphor here?

What is the larger point that God is trying to make? How can we take this information and apply it to the world we're living in now? Verse 58, If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of the Lord your God, then the Lord will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick. He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief.

The Lord will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in the book of instruction, until you are destroyed. though you become as numerous as the stars in the sky, few of you will be left because you would not listen to the Lord your God. Just as the Lord has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy. So pause there because again, we have a verse that might be difficult. to understand. You might be asking yourself, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying them if they don't follow his law. So ask yourself, why is he saying this? Why is God using such strong language?

What is he warning the Israelites of? Does it make a difference to you knowing that this is a warning? Does that change the way that you read this? Does that change the way that you interact with this? You might be asking yourself, how could a good, just, merciful God say something like this? And you might think you shouldn't be asking that question, but I encourage you to sit in the maybe discomfort of that question and see what God says,

see what he reveals through his word, and through his spirit. Verse 64, for the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. Gods made of wood and stone. There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail and your soul to despair.

your life will constantly hang in the balance you will live night and day in fear unsure if you will survive in the morning you will say if only it were night and in the evening you will say if only it were morning for you will be terrified by the awful horrors you see around you then the lord will send you back to egypt and ships to a destination i promised you would never see again there you will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves, but no one will buy you. So pause there at the end of chapter 28 and ask yourself, why does God end this warning there with this threat of them going back to Egypt? Why is that significant? Why does God choose to be so strong in his language as he is warning the Israelites? Okay, chapter 29 picks right up with verse one saying, are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai. The next section is

Moses reviews the covenant, verse two. Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them, You have seen with your own eyes everything the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to his whole country. All the great tests of strength, the miraculous signs, and the amazing wonders. But to this day, the Lord has not given you minds that understood, nor eyes that see, nor ears that hear. For 40 years, I led you through the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out. You ate no bread and drink no wine or other alcoholic drink, but he provided for you so you would know that he is the Lord your God. When we came here, King Sihon of Heshbin and King Og of Boshan came out to fight against us,

but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it to the tribes of Rubin and Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh as their grant of land. Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do. All of you, tribal leaders, elders, officers, all the men of Israel are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God. Your little ones and your wives are with you, as well as the foreigners living among you who chop your wood and carry your water.

You are standing here today to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God the Lord is making this covenant, including the curses. By entering into the covenant today, he will establish you as his people and confirm that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Okay, so pause there. Why is this an important occasion? What is finally being fulfilled? verse 14 but you are not the only ones with who I am making this covenant with its curses I am making

this covenant both with you who stand here today in the presence of the Lord our God and also with future generations who are not standing here today you remember how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we traveled through the lands of enemy nations as we left you have seen their detestable practices and their idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you, no man, woman, clan, or tribe will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit. Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves thinking,

I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart. This would lead to utter ruin. The Lord will never pardon such people. Instead, his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and the Lord will erase their names from under heaven. The Lord will separate them from all the tribes of Israel to pour out on them all the curses of the covenant recorded in this book of instruction.

Okay, so pause there. What does that teach us about being aware of God's word versus actually following God's word? Is it enough just to know verses in the Bible and to read the Bible and to hear God's word? Or is there more to it? And if there is more to a relationship with God than just being aware of his word, what is that? What is he saying here? And how can we apply that to our lives now? Verse 22, then the generations to come, both your own descendants and the foreigners who come from distant lands will see the devastation of the land and the disease the Lord inflicts on it. they will exclaim, the whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt.

It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adma and Zeboim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger, and all the surrounding nations will ask, why has the Lord done this to this land? Why was he so angry? And the answer will be,

This happened because the people of the land abandoned the covenant that the Lord, the God of their ancestors, made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before. Gods that were not from the Lord. That is why the Lord's anger has burned against this land, bringing down on it every curse recorded in this book. In great anger and fury, the Lord uprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today. The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he is revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

Okay, so pause there at the end. end of chapter 29 and ask yourselves, why was it so important for the Israelites to keep this covenant? And also, why do you think it says that there are some things about God that are unknown to us? And lastly, reflect on what the Israelites' lives would look like if they follow the covenant versus what their lives would look like if they didn't follow the covenant. And reflect on how our lives look when we follow God and Jesus versus when we don't. Okay. Our final chapter for today is Deuteronomy 30, a call to return to the Lord.

Deuteronomy 30 verse 1. In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions. If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul, all the commands I have given you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes.

He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. The Lord, your God, will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. The Lord, your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants so that you will love him with all your heart and soul, and so you may live. the Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you. Then you will again obey the Lord and keep all his commands that I am giving you today.

The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests. For the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he will. was to your ancestors. The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this book of instruction and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. So pause there at the end of that section and reflect on that section and ask yourself, where do you see God's mercy? How is God displaying his justice? How is God fulfilling his promise in this section?

The last section is the choice of life or death. This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. It is not kept in heaven so distant that you must ask, who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey? It is not kept beyond the sea so far away that you must ask, Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey? No, the message is very close at hand.

It is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. Now listen, today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and keep His commands, decrees, and regulation. by walking in his ways, if you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will

certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long good life in the land you are crossing the to occupy. Today, I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make, oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live. You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So pause there and reflect on that choice. God gives us each day the choice between life and death. What were God's promises to the Israelites and how did he fulfill them? What does God

promise us today and how does he fulfill those promises? Thank you all so much for listening to today's episode. Next time, we will finish Deuteronomy with Moses's farewell. And then we will continue right on into the Book of Joshua. So thank you all for listening. Thank you all for reaching out. If you want to, feel free, all that information. Our email address, our social media is in the description down below this episode

or to the side, wherever it depends on where you're listening. But you can find all that information on our website or in the description of this episode. So thank you all for listening and I will talk to you in the next one. Hello and welcome back to Bible beginning to end, where we are reading through the scriptures together from Genesis to Revelation. I am so glad you're here and so thankful for each and every one of you who listens. Just as a reminder, I am going to offer some questions along the way. We will pause and take time to reflect on what we're reading with some questions that help you start thinking critically about what we're reading.

I won't be offering my own commentary or answers to those questions, but it's just a time for you to sit and reflect on God's word and let him speak through his word. And one other quick reminder, this is an ongoing project right now in 2022. So currently we're in Deuteronomy and we are working our way through that a little bit at a time before we jump into the next book of the Bible soon, which is Joshua. And I thank you all for listening and for being patient with me as I keep recording these when I get a chance because I work a full time. time job and it's just me who does everything. So it takes me a little while to get through each episode. But thank you for sticking it out with me. And we are going to be reading through the final chapters of Deuteronomy today. That is Deuteronomy 31 through 34, where we are going to hear Moses's farewell to the Israelites and read this last piece before they enter.

into the promised land. And this is where we will close the chapter on Moses before he passes away. So let's take a breath before we jump into our reading today. And let's go ahead and get started with Deuteronomy 31. Joshua becomes Israel's leader. When Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the people of Israel, he said, I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me you will not cross the Jordan River, but the Lord your God himself

will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river just as the Lord promised. the Lord will destroy the nations living in the land just as he destroyed Cyan and Aog, the king of the Amarites. The Lord will hand over to you the people who live there and you must deal with them as I have commanded you. So be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you.

He will neither fail. you nor abandon you. So pause there and think about that promise. Does that apply to us today? The Lord goes before us. He will not fail us. He will not abandon us. What does it feel like to hear those words? Where do you need to remember that God is with you? Where do you need to remember in your life that God will not fail you nor abandon you? Verse 7, then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, be strong and courageous. For you will lead these people into the land the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them. You are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land.

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. Okay, so pause there. Why is Joshua the one being put into this position of leadership? Why does Moses repeat these phrases of Be Strong and Courageous? The Lord will go ahead of you and not abandon you. Why does he repeat those to Joshua? The next section is Public Reading of the Book of Instruction. So Moses wrote this entire body of instruction in a book and gave it to the priests who carried the Ark of the Lord's covenant and to the elders of Israel. Then Moses gave them this command. At the end of every seventh year,

the year of release, during the festival of shelters, you must read this book of instruction to all the people of Israel when they assemble before the Lord your God at the place he chooses. Call them all together, men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns. So they may hear this book of instruction and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions. Do this so that your children, who have not known these instructions, will hear them, and will learn to fear the Lord your God. Do this, as long as you live, in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. So pause there, why was it important that they got together to read this book of instruction every seven years?

Who were they reading it to? And what were they reading? What is actually in this book of instruction? The next section is Israel's disobedience predicted. Verse 14. Then the Lord said to Moses, This time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tabernacle so that I may commission him there.

So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tabernacle. and the Lord appeared to them in a pillar of cloud that stood at the entrance to the sacred tent. The Lord said to Moses, you are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured.

Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, these disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us. At that time, I will hide my face from them, on account of all the evil they commit by worshipping other gods. So write down the words of this song and teach it to the people of Israel, Help them learn it so they may serve as a witness for me against them. For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.

There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods. They will despise me and break my covenant. And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them. So that very day, Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites. Then the Lord commissioned Joshua, son of none, with these words, be strong and courageous,

for you must bring the people of Israel into the land, I swore. to give them. I will be with you. So pause there. What do you think is going to be in this song that God is giving Moses to write? We're going to read it in the next chapter, but think on that, what do you think God might tell the Israelites in this song? Also, why do you think the Israelites are going to start worshiping other gods? Why do you think they're going to fall into the sin? And if God knows what's going to happen with the Israelites, why is he still bringing them into the promised land if they're just going to eventually fall away from God? Verse 24, when Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book, he gave

this command to the Levites who carry the Ark of the Lord's covenant, take this book of instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel. For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I'm still alive and here with you, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death? Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them. I know that after my death, you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord's

sight, making him very angry with your actions. So pause there at the end of chapter 31. Do you think the Israelites will listen to this warning, or do you think they will fall away as God has said they will. Okay, the next chapter, chapter 32, is going to be the song of Moses, and it's quite long, but it is that song that God was alluding to in the previous chapter, so you can start thinking, you know, what is God trying to communicate to the Israelites in this song? Why do you think Moses switched from giving speeches to singing a song?

Why didn't he just issue this message as a speech? What is God warning the Israelites? What is he reminding them of through this song? And we're going to break it up a little bit, of course, with some questions along the way. So actually, the next verse is the final verse of chapter 31, 31 verse 30, which says, So Moses recited this entire song publicly to the assembly of Israel.

And now we're going to start chapter 32, verse 1. This is the song of Moses. Listen, O heavens, and I will speak. Hear, O earth, the words that I say, let my teaching fall on you like rain. Let my speech settle like dew. Let my words fall like rain on tender grass. I will proclaim the name of the Lord how glorious is our God. is the rock. His deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong. How just and upright he is. Okay, so pause there. What is Moses reminding the Israelites in that first section? How is he describing God? Verse five, but they have acted corruptly toward him. When they act so perversely, are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation.

Is this the way you repay the Lord? You foolish and senseless people? Isn't he your father who created you? Has he not made you and established you? Remember the days of long ago. Think about the generations past. Ask your father and he will inform you. inquire of your elders and they will tell you when the most high assigned lands to the nations when he divided up the human race he established the boundaries of the people according to the number in his heavenly court

for the people of israel belong to the lord jacob is his special possession he found them in a desert land in an empty howling wasteland. He surrounded them and watched over them. He guarded them as he would guard his own eyes, like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young. So he spreads his wings to take them up and carries them safely on his pinions. The Lord alone guided them.

They followed no form. gods. He let them ride over the highlands and feast on the crops of the fields. He nourished them with honey from the rock and olive oil from the stony ground. He fed them yogurt from the herd and milk from the flock together with the fat of lambs. He gave them choice rams from boshan and goats together with the choicest wheat. You drank the finest wine made from the juice of grapes. So pause there. What is God reminding them in this section? Verse 15, but Israel soon became fat and unruly. The people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed. Then they abandoned the God who had made them. They made light of the rock of their salvation. They stirred up his jealousy by worshipping foreign

gods. They provoked his fury with detestable deeds. They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God. To gods they had not known before. To new gods only recently arrived. To gods their ancestors had never feared. You neglected the rock. who had fathered you. You forgot the God who had given you birth. The Lord saw this, and drew back, provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters. He said, I will abandon them, then see what becomes of them. For they are a twisted generation, children without integrity, they have roused my jealousy by worshipping things that are not God. They have provoked my anger with their useless idols. Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people. I will provoke their anger

through the foolish Gentiles. From my anger blazes forth like fire and burns to the depths of the grave. It devours the earth and all its crops And ignites the foundations of the mountains I will heap disasters upon them and shoot them down with my arrows I will weaken them with famine Burning fever and deadly disease I will send the fangs of wild beasts and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust Outside the sword will bring death

and inside, terror will strike both young men and young women, both infants and the aged. I would have annihilated them wiping out even the memory of them. But I feared the taunt of Israel's enemy, who might misunderstand and say, our own power has triumphed. The Lord had nothing to do with this. but Israel is a senseless nation the people are foolish without understanding oh that they were wise and could understand this oh that they might know their fate how could one person chase a thousand of them and two people put ten thousand to fight unless their rock had sold them unless the lord had given them up but the rock of our enemies is not like like our rock, as even they recognize. Their vine grows from the vine of Sodom, from the vineyards of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poison, and their clusters are bitter.

Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of copras. The Lord says, am I not storing up these things sealing them away in my treasury? I will take revenge. I will pay them back. In due time, their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them. So pause there.

What is God warning the Israelites up? Do you think the Israelites will listen to God's warning? Verse 36, indeed the Lord will give justice to his people, and he will change his mind about his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. Then he will ask, where are their gods? The rocks they fled to for refuge. Where now are those gods who ate the fat of their southeastern?

sacrifices and drink the wine of their offerings. Let those gods arise and help you. Let them provide you with shelter. Look now, I myself am he. There is no other God but me. I am the one who kills and gives life. I am the one who wounds and heals. No one can be rescued from my powerful hand. Now I raise my hand to heaven and declare, as surely as I live, when I sharpen my flashing sword and begin to carry out justice, I will take my revenge on my enemies and repay those who reject me. I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh, the blood of the slaughtered and the captives and the heads of the enemy leaders. So pause there.

What is this revealing about God and his power? Are there any other gods but the one true God? Verse 43, rejoice with him, you heavens, and let all of God's angels worship him. Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles, and let all the angels, be strengthened in him, for he will avenge the blood of his children. He will take revenge against his enemies.

He will repay those who hate him and cleanse his people's land. So pause there at the end of the song of Moses and reflect on what God is telling them and how you think they're going to react. Did God give them a warning? Do they have any excuse for what they might do in the future? Verse 44. So Moses came with Joshua, son of none, and recited all the words of the song to the people. When Moses had finished reciting all these words to the people of Israel, he added,

Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions. These instructions are not empty words. They are your life. By obeying them, you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River. The next section is Moses's death foretold. Verse 48. That same day, the Lord said to Moses,

go to Moab, to the mountains east of the river, and climb Mount Nebo, which is a cross. from Jericho. Look out across the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the people of Israel as their own special possession. Then you will die there on the mountain. You will join your ancestors just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors. For both of you betrayed me with the Israelites at the waters of Marabaa at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zen. You failed to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel there. So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel. Okay, so pause there at the end of

chapter 32 and think about Moses. Remember his story. Do you remember why he's not allowed to enter the promised land. Think about how he might be feeling, knowing that he's going to get to see it, but he's not going to get to enter the promised land. Why do you think God is allowing Moses to see the promised land? How can this teach us about the principle of storing up our treasures in heaven versus clinging to the treasures on earth? The next chapter is Deuteronomy 33, which is called Moses blesses the people. This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the people of Israel before his death. The Lord came from Mount Sinai and dawned upon us from Mount Sayer.

He shone forth from Mount Peron and came from Marabakhadesh with flaming fire at his right hand. Indeed, he loves his people. All his holy ones are in his hands. They follow in his steps and accept his teaching. Moses gave us the Lord's instruction. The special possession of the people of Israel. The Lord became king in Israel, when the leader of the people assembled, when the tribes of Israel gathered as one. Moses said this about the tribe of Rubin. the tribe of Rubin live and not die out, though they are few in number. Moses said this about the tribe of Judah, O Lord, hear the cry of Judah and bring them together as a people. Give them strength to defend their cause. Help them against their enemies. Moses said this about the tribe of Levi, O Lord, you have given your Thumim and Urim the sacred lots. To your faithful servants, the Levites, you put them to the test at Massa and struggled with them at the waters of Maraba.

The Levites obeyed your word and guarded your covenant. They were more loyal to you than to their own parents. They ignored their relatives and did not acknowledge their own children. They teach your regulations to Jacob. They give your instructions to Israel. They present incense before you and offer whole burnt offerings on the altar. Bless the ministry of the Levites, O Lord, and accept all the work of their hands, hit their enemies where it hurts the most.

Strike down their foes, so they never rise again. Moses said this about the tribe of Benjamin. the people of Benjamin are loved by the Lord and live in safety beside him. He surrounds them continuously and preserves them from every harm. Moses said this about the tribe of Joseph. May their land be blessed by the Lord with the precious gift of dew from the heavens and water from beneath the earth, with the rich fruit that grows in the sun and the rich harvest produced.

each month with the finest crops of the ancient mountains and the abundance from the everlasting hills with the best gifts of the earth and its bounty and the favor of the one who appeared in the burning bush may these blessings rest on joseph's head crowning the brow of the prince among his brothers Joseph has the majesty of a young bull. He has the horns of a wild ox. He will gore distant nations, even to the ends of the earth. This is my blessing for the multitudes of Ephraim and the thousands of Manassah. Moses said this about the tribes of Zebulin and Issaar. May the people of Zebulin prosper in their travels. May the people of Isakar prosper at home in their tents. They summon the people to the mountain to offer proper sacrifices there.

They benefit from the riches of the sea and the hidden treasures in the sand. Moses said this about the tribe of Gad. Blessed is the one who enlarges God's territory. Gad is poised like a lion to tear off an arm or a head. The people of Gad took the best land for themselves, a leader's share was assigned to them. When the leaders of the people were assembled, they carried out the Lord's justice and obeyed his regulations for Israel. Moses said this about the tribe of Dan. Dan is a lion's cub, leaping out from Boschen. Moses said this about the tribe of Naftali.

Oh, Naftali, you are rich in favor and full of the Lord's blessing. May you possess the west and the south. Moses said this about the tribe of Asher. May Asher be blessed above other sons. May he be esteemed by his brothers. May he bathe his feet in olive oil. May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze. May you be secure all your days.

So pause there and reflect on the different blessings he gave each tribe. There's a little more left to the blessing, but I want to pause here and reflect on that. Did you notice any differences among the blessings? What did God give one tribe versus another? How did he bless each tribe? Verse 26, there is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies and majestic splendor. The eternal God, is your refuge and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you. He cries out, destroy them. So Israel will live in safety, prosperous Jacob, insecurity, in a land of grain and new wine while the heavens drop down due. How blessed you are, O Israel. Who else is like you,

a people saved by the Lord? He is your protected. shield and your triumphant sword, your enemies will cringe before you and you will stomp on their backs. So pause there at the end of chapter 34. What truths did we learn about God in those final statements? Is God our protector and how does he protect us? Does God pursue us in his protection? The final chapter today is Deuteronomy 34, and it will end the book of Deuteronomy for us. Before we start, because this section is called the death of Moses, I want you to reflect on Moses's life. Who was Moses? What did God do through Moses?

What was Moses his purpose in the story of Christianity and God's plan for the world? Let's start in our final chapter of Deuteronomy, chapter 34, the death of Moses. Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Piscopeak, which is a cross from Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan, all the land of Naftali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah extending to the Mediterranean Sea. the Negev, the Jordan Valley with Jericho, the city of Palms as far as Zor. Then the Lord said to Moses, this is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, I will give it to your descendants. I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land. So Moses, the servant of the Lord,

there in the land of Moab, just as the Lord had said. The Lord buried him in a valley near Beth Payor in Moab, but, to this day, no one knows the exact place. Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. The people of Israel mourned for Moses on the plains of Moab for 30 days, until the customary period of mourning was over. Now Joshua, son of none, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him,

so the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses. There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. The Lord sent him to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, and all his servants and his entire land with mighty power, Moses performed terrifying acts in the site of all Israel. So pause here at the end of this chapter, the end of Deuteronomy, and think about Moses' life once again. Remember back at the beginning when he didn't even want to take on the task that God was giving him.

and then look at the story and how it unfolded. What did God do through Moses when he didn't even want to be a part of it in the beginning? What were all of the great and wonderful things that came from his life? And then also think about the fact that Moses is the only person to speak with God on earth. And he was this great holy man, and yet he wasn't able to enter the promised land. What do you guys think about that? But is Moses' story over? What happens after death?

Is their life after death through God? Did Moses experience a new promised land after the end of his life here on? earth. What might God be calling you to that you're afraid of, that you're scared to step into? Where can you lean on God and trust God and walk into these potentially scary spaces or new spaces and really allow him to work through you for his kingdom as he did with Moses and so many others. before us. Okay, so that's the end of Deuteronomy. Congratulations. We have made it through another book of the Bible, and we are about to start a actually new section of the Bible. We're about to enter into the Old Testament historical books, where we're going to learn the history of the

nation of Israel after they entered into the promised land. This is where we are going to meet different kings, different historical figures. throughout the life of Israel, and we are going to see the amazing things that happened through the history of this nation. So next time, we will start with the book of Joshua. I look forward to going through that with you all, and thank you so, so much for listening, for sending emails. I love hearing from you, and I love hearing how God is willing. working through his own word and through this podcast to really help you all connect on a deeper level with God's word and with him. We're getting there slowly and surely. Thank you for listening,

and I'll talk to you in the next one.