Devotionary

Today we begin a brand-new series on the Gospel of John. This remarkable book will take us on incredible journey of discovery that that begins with the very first day of Jesus’ earthly ministry when He was baptized by John in the wilderness, all the way to His death, burial, and resurrection more than 3 years later. And along the way, John will provide us with his first-person account of all that he witnessed along the way. As one of Jesus’ hand-picked disciples, John had a unique vantage point from which to observe and assess all that Jesus said and did. Like the other disciples, he would struggle to grasp exactly who Jesus was and what He had come to do. In his heart, he longed for Jesus to be the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. And that hope carried certain expectations. But his gospel account, written years later, will reveal how his understanding of and belief in Jesus changed over time. John learned that Jesus was far more than a man sent to sit on a throne in Israel. He was the Son of God and the Savior sent to redeem a lost and dying world.   

In today’s passage, Moses blesses four more of the tribes. This time, he calls out Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, and Dan. There were four of the smaller tribes of Israel and the each had a less-than-stellar record when it came to faithfulness to Yahweh. So, in Deuteronomy 33:128-22, Moses will keep his blessings short and sweet, and leave a great deal up to the imagination, in terms of the meaning of his words. While these tribes had been set apart by God and provided with an inheritance of land, they had each proved to be unfaithful. God every reason to judge them for their disobedience and, one day, he would. But He would also prove to be faithful, eventually choosing to use them – in spite of them. Their disobedience would result in the darkness of God’s judgment. But, ultimately, God would send the light of the world, His Son, to penetrate the darkness with the hope of salvation by grace along through faith alone. 

At the end of chapter 33, Moses made the compelling confession, “There is no one like the God of Israel.” He wanted the people to know that they served a great and incomparable God. But at the same time, the author of the book of Deuteronomy seems to want his readers to know that Moses was also unparalleled and without equal. “There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses,” he writes. Moses was flawed, yet faithful. He could be stubborn and hard-headed, and yet, he never stopped believing in and relying upon God. Now, his day of reckoning has arrived and he will go to be with God. There will be no promised land in Moses’ future, but there will be an eternity spent in fellowship with God. And while Moses would disappear from the scene, the people of Israel would find themselves guided by another one of God’s chosen servants. Because He was not yet done with them. But that’s another story.

Moses was fully convinced that Israel served an incomparable God, who had no equals and, therefore, deserved His peoples’ unwavering commitment. But in Deuteronomy 33:23-29, as Moses wraps up his blessings of the tribes with an address to Naphtali and Asher, he reminds them of God’s goodness and greatness. Like all the other tribes, these two would be blessed by God and given every opportunity to enjoy the benefits of living in the land He had given them. But they would prove unfaithful and unsuccessful in keeping their end of the bargain. Once they entered the land of promise, they would fail to eliminate the pagan inhabitants, choosing instead to take the path of compromise and complacency. God, always faithful to keep His covenant promises, would continue to bless the tribes of Israel. But would they return the favor?   

In Deuteronomy 33:12-17, Moses continues his blessing of the 12 tribes of Israel. And in these verses, he focuses his attention of the tribes of Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. These were three of the smaller tribes in Israel, but their diminutive size did not mean they were unimportant. Speaking by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Moses reveals that God’s sovereign hand had been upon these three relatively insignificant tribes from the very beginning. It would be within the territory allotted to the tiny tribe of Benjamin that the Savior of the world would be born – in the remote village of Bethlehem. But the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, both equally small and insignificant, would play a less-auspicious role in the history of Israel. And it would all be according to God’s sovereign will.          

In Deuteronomy 33:6-11, Moses begins to issue his blessings upon the 12 tribes of Israel. While he will not be entering the land of promise with them, he still feels like their spiritual father and wants to communicate his last words of encouragement to each of them. He will echo the words of Jacob, who hundreds of years earlier had issued his blessings to his 12 sons. During the centuries that had passed, God had been working behind the scenes, divinely fulfilling the words spoken by Jacob, and eventually, He would ensure that the blessings of Moses came about as well. These two men had actually been speaking on behalf of God, issuing His divine decrees regarding His chosen people. He would end up blessing the 12 tribes of Israel, in ways neither Jacob or Moses could ever have imagined.   

Moses is fully aware that his days on this earth are quickly drawing to a close. But with a shepherd’s heart, he wants to leave his flock with one last message. And it will come in the form of a blessing. The one who led them out of Egypt and guided them through the wilderness and all the way to the land of promise wanted to pronounce a blessing over them. But knowing that the people were despondent over the thought of his pending death, Moses reminded them that their true leader was God. In Deuteronomy 33:1-5, the shepherd of Israel focuses their attention back on the one who had always been their true deliverer and King: God Himself. While Moses was going away, God would be going before them. The one who had redeemed them would continue to guide and rule over them. They were not alone.

As the Book of Deuteronomy draws to a close, it also brings an end to the leadership of Moses. But God had more in store for Moses than simply turning over the reins of leadership to Joshua. He was going to give up far more than his role as deliverer of Israel. Moses wouldn’t have the option of retiring from office and fading into the background as one of the millions of Israelites who crossed the Jordan into Canaan. God was going to ban him from ever setting foot in the land and, instead, would ensure that the wilderness would be his final destination. In Deuteronomy 32:48-52, God once again reminds Moses of the painful consequences of his earlier indiscretion. Moses had treated God with disrespect and was now going to pay the ultimate penalty for his sin.

God doesn’t make idol threats. Whatever He says, He does. When He makes a promise, He keeps it. When He issues a threat, He follows through with it. And in Deuteronomy 32:39-47, God lets His people know that they can believe all that He has said to them. They were to take His words seriously and memorize them carefully, teaching them to their children and grandchildren. As Moses continues to prepare the people of God for their entrance into the land of Canaan, he reminds them that the words of the song God had given them are to be remembered and sung for generations. It is to stand in judgment of them, a constant reminder of God’s call to faithfulness and their failure to heed that call. More than just a song, it is to be an everlasting memorial set to music. A reminder of who God is and all that He has called them to do.     

God will not tolerate disobedience from His chosen people. He has warned them repeatedly that their failure to remain faithful to Him will have dire consequences, including their ultimate fall to foreign powers who will destroy and enslave them. But in Deuteronomy 32:28-38, God has a few choice words of warning for those very same nations. He knows human nature and is well aware that these powerful nations will see their successes over Israel and Judah as their own doing. Puffed up with pride, they will claim the God-ordained judgment of Israel and Judah as something accomplished in their own strength and power. And so, God warns them that the day will come when the tables will be turned, and they find themselves on the receiving end of God’s wrath and judgment. And God assures His people that, when that day comes, He will once again shower them with His undeserved grace and mercy.

Nobody likes to talk about the wrath of God. But, interestingly enough, God has no problem discussing His anger and wrath. And as we’ll see in Deuteronomy 32:19-27, He doesn’t hesitate to discuss His anger or the consequences it will bring about. But God’s anger is anything but capricious. He is not one to fly off the handle or allow Himself to be easily provoked by the slightest indiscretion. No, He is holy and just. And He has clearly communicated to His chosen people what He expects from them. Moses has spent an inordinate amount of time describing the expectations God placed upon His people. And now, through the words of a song that God has given him, Moses is letting them know exactly what will happen when they fail to live up to His holy standards. And God isn’t apologetic or hesitant when He lays out the consequences for their rebellion. They will get exactly what they deserve from the hands of a just and righteous God.               

This song that God has given to Moses is an unpleasant one. It will not be a joy to sing or hear. But it comes from the lips of God Himself, so its words are true, and its meaning is clear. The chosen people of God were going to experience the horror of captivity once again. They would enter the land God had promised as their inheritance, but their time there would prove to be short-lived. Despite God’s abundant blessings and His patient tolerance of their repeated acts of unfaithfulness, they would continue to live in stubborn rebellion to His will. And in these verses, we hear another stanza of the song Moses was to teach to the people of Israel. Deuteronomy 32:10-18 is intended to remind them of God’s gracious deliverance of them from their captivity in Egypt. But it also paints the very painful picture of their ungrateful response to all He had done for them.              

It was Neil Diamond who recorded the 1972 hit, “Song Sung Blue.” It was a memorable tune that opened with the lines, “Song sung blue, everybody knows one, Song sung blue, every garden grows one.” But while this song hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song we’re going to look at today never enjoyed the same degree of popularity. It was a “song sung blue,” but it didn’t have a happy ending. And I doubt anyone found this tune particularly catchy or easy to dance to. Found in Deuteronomy 31:30-32:9, this song was written by God Himself and given to Moses to teach to the people of Israel before they entered the land of promise. And it’s not a song of celebration. When sung, this song would not bring to mind happy memories or good feelings. It would remind them of their rebellion against God that was not just a potential possibility, but a foregone conclusion. They would sing this song, and every time they did they would recount their own unfaithfulness.

What should have been an exciting new day for Joshua was quickly turning into a day worth forgetting. He was about to take over for Moses and was going to have the distinct privilege of leading the nation of Israel in their conquest of the land of Canaan. But before he could take over the reins of leadership, Moses had a few last-minute words of warning for the people of Israel. He wasn’t going to lead them into the land of promise, but that wasn’t going to stop him from sharing some rather harsh news. And poor Joshua had to stand in the background, listening as Moses delivered a stinging indictment against the people he was about to lead. In Deuteronomy 31:23-29, we get a glimpse of Joshua’s less-than-ideal day of commissioning. It wasn’t pretty and it probably wasn’t very enjoyable for Israel’s new leader. But the truth isn’t always pleasant to hear.          

A new leader. A new land. A new opportunity to enjoy the blessings of God. This was to have been a great day in the history of the nation of Israel. But when Moses and his successor met with God in the tent of meeting, the joy of the moment was overshadowed by some unexpected news from the Almighty. Deuteronomy 31:14-22 contains one of the most depressing sections in the entire Old and New Testaments. God drops a bombshell pronouncement on Moses and his newly appointed replacement. And God puts His message in the form of a song that He expects Moses and Joshua to teach to the people of Israel. But this is not a happy song with an up-tempo beat. It’s a dirge, a literal funeral song that tells of the future destruction of Israel for their inevitable unfaithfulness. Before they ever entered the land, God announced that they would one day leave it as slaves – and all because of disobedience.     

A large portion of the Book of Deuteronomy is dedicated to Moses’ recitation of the law to the people of Israel. It was vital to Moses that they understood the seriousness of the law and God’s expectation that they live in obedience to it. He was determined that they have the right kind of leadership in place to ensure their compliance with all of God’s commands. And in Deuteronomy 31:9-13, as Moses prepares to turn over the reins of leadership to Joshua, he calls on the priests and elders to assist Israel’s new leader in the faithful execution of his God-given responsibilities. The entire nation was expected to do all that God had called them to do, and Moses was letting the priests and elders know that they had a vital part to play. He supplied them with a copy of the law and commanded that one day every seventh year it be read to the entire nation.

Moses was a natural-born leader, but what made him so effective was his calling and anointing by God. He had spent nearly half a century leading some of the most difficult to lead people that had ever walked the planet. Now, just as they were getting ready to enter the land of promise, he was having to announce that he would not be going with them. This highly effective and seasoned leader had made what amounted to be a rookie mistake. He had lost his temper and allowed his anger to rob God of glory – a costly error in judgment that would keep him on the wrong side of the Jordan and outside the land of promise. But in Deuteronomy 31:1-8, rather than finding Moses throwing a pity party, we see him introducing the people to their newly appointed leader: Joshua. But the main point he wanted Joshua and the people to understand was that, when all was said and done, it was God who had been leading them all along. And it would be God who brought them safely into Canaan.                 

In Deuteronomy 30:11-20, Moses continues to deliver his closing remarks to the people of Israel. They are poised to enter the promised land, but he is making one last attempt to prepare them for what lies ahead. He will not be going with them and so, he is making an extra-special effort to make sure they understand the conditions surrounding their acceptance of God’s inheritance. For Moses, everything he had told them could be boiled down to a simple matter of choosing to do the right thing. They were going to have to make a decision whether they would obey or disobey God. And that decision would have to be a daily and ongoing one. Every day of their lives, they would have to consider what God had commanded and decide whether they wanted to live according to His will or their own. And Moses makes it clear that their daily choices would have long-term consequences, resulting in either life or death. The choice would be theirs. But the outcome would be up to God.                 

Why is it that the people of God have a nagging tendency to make everything about themselves? We declare God to be the one we worship, then turn around and make ourselves the center of attention. Even when it comes to our salvation, we wrongly assume that It’s all up to us. It’s all contingent on what we do or don’t do. If we believe, we’re saved. If we don’t believe, we remain lost in our sins and condemned to an eternity apart from God. And while our belief plays a vital role in our salvation, it is shortsighted to view our acceptance by God as dependent upon something we do. In Deuteronomy 30:1-10, Moses seems to convey the idea that, should the Israelites prove unfaithful to God and suffer His divine judgment, they will be able to restore their relationship through self-effort. But God knew something Moses and the people didn’t know: Their future restoration would be His doing, not theirs. He would prove to faithful to the covenant, not them.            

Everyone loves a secret. That is, if they’re in on it. But no one likes to be the last to know or to be kept in the dark. So, it is only natural that the Israelites were anxious to know how things were going to turn out when they finally crossed over the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan. They had all kinds of questions and concerns. They were plagued by all kinds of fears and doubts. But Moses reminded them that they didn’t need to worry about the future because that was in God’s hands. What they needed to focus their attention on were the things they DID know. Like the commandments handed down by God. Moses had just spent a protracted period of time reciting all the commands, in order to make sure they were fresh on the minds of the people of Israel. They knew everything they needed to know to accomplish what God had given them to do. If they would simply obey His instructions, they could leave the future in His fully capable hands.