Read Deuteronomy 31:14–29
Questions from the Scripture text: Who spoke to whom (Deuteronomy 31:14)? What days were approaching? Whom was he to call? Where were they to go? For what? What did they do? Who appeared (Deuteronomy 31:15)? In what? What did the pillar do? What did YHWH tell Moses that he would do (Deuteronomy 31:16)? What did He tell him that the people would do? Then what will YHWH do (Deuteronomy 31:17)? With what results for the people? What will they say? And what will God continue to do (Deuteronomy 31:18)? What does He tell Moses to do as a witness against them (Deuteronomy 31:19)? What will YHWH have done for them (Deuteronomy 31:20)? And what will they still do to Him? And what will witness against them, as they are being punished for it (Deuteronomy 31:21)? So what did Moses do (Deuteronomy 31:22)? And what did YHWH do (Deuteronomy 31:23)? And what did Moses complete (Deuteronomy 31:24)? Whom did he command (Deuteronomy 31:25)? To put what where (Deuteronomy 31:26)? What would be a witness? What does Moses know about them (Deuteronomy 31:27)? What will happen after his death (cf. Deuteronomy 31:16)? Whom does Moses say to gather (Deuteronomy 31:28)? For what purpose will he speak the words of the song in their hearing? What does he know (Deuteronomy 31:29)? And what will happen to them for this?
What is Moses’s last official act as the leader of Israel? Deuteronomy 31:14–29 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these sixteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Moses’s last official act as the leader of Israel is to call three witnesses against them and their future betrayal of the Lord.
If you’ve ever been surprised by Joshua 24:19, it might help you to remember that back on his ordination day, Joshua heard YHWH tell Moses, from out of the pillar of cloud, what Israel would do after Moses’s death. On that occasion, also, Joshua appeals to the people as witness against themselves (cf. Joshua 24:22), and he erects a stone as a witness against them (cf. Joshua 24:27).
That is all reminiscent of our passage, today, and God’s three witnesses against the nation of Israel, which testify to how treacherous and evil their turning against God will be.
The first witness is this song (Deuteronomy 31:19). One wonderful reason for singing Scripture is that it makes these words of Christ to dwell richly in us. But the Lord is going to make this song get stuck in their heads for another reason (Deuteronomy 31:21): so that the Lord’s greatness, and His goodness to them, and patience with them, will never be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants. This is so significant, that our passage combines the commission to write this song with Joshua’s ordination, identifying the song as Moses’s last “official” act as the leader of Israel. As for Joshua, the need for strength and courage from YHWH’s being with him (Deuteronomy 31:23) is directly tied to these sure prophecies of Israel’s betrayal and wickedness. For parents who know our own, and our children’s sin, this is a charge to take heart from the Lord to be strong and courageous. Strength and courage are more needful for leading sinners than for facing enemies.
The second witness is the Book of the Law, which was put next to ark of the covenant as a witness against them (Deuteronomy 31:26). It is a wonderful thing to have the written Word of God. But it is also a weighty thing. How many of us have Bibles that testify against us for our not reading them. Or for our reading our own ideas into them. Or for our careless forgetting of what they say. Or our living in disregard of them. The Scriptures that He has given His people are a witness against them. What Moses knew about the rebellion and stiff neck of Israel (Deuteronomy 31:27) was not exclusive to Israel. Indeed, it was written down for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11).
The third witness is heaven and earth (Deuteronomy 31:28). All of God’s creation would “be there,” in God’s providence, as Moses spoke the words of the song. His presence is infinitely penetrating; everything, everywhere continually depends upon His being. But, being weak of eyesight and hard of hearing, we do not perceive His presence, or heed its witness against us. So, He has surrounded us with His creation. All of heaven and earth is witness.
The Lord keep us from forsaking Him, lest His comfortable presence forsake us, dear reader. The Lord keep our churches from breaking covenant with Him, because Christ will never break covenant with Him. He would remove our lampstand first. The Lord keep us from doing evil in His sight and provoking Him to anger through the work of our hands.
What would your Bible witness about your use (or not) of it? What would it witness about your behavior? In what circumstances are you most forgetful that you are in the presence of God? What does the creation witness about you in those circumstances?
Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for failing to take Your Word as a witness in our lives. Forgive us for doing evil in Your sight and provoking You to anger through the work of our hands. Truly, You have left us with the Scriptures as witness, and even with all of heaven and earth as witness against us. By Your Spirit, soften our hearts, and give us repentance, we ask through Christ, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP34C “O Sons and Daughters, Come” or TPH174 “The Ten Commandments”
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