Moses' Farewell (Deuteronomy 31)

Do we have words planned to say before we die? Have we planned for a successor or an inheritance? Let’s look at Deuteronomy 31.

In his farewell speech before his death, what did Moses say to Israel?

Moses again spoke to the whole nation of Israel: I am 120 years old, and I am no longer able to be your leader. And besides that, the Lord your God has told me that he won't let me cross the Jordan River. But he has promised that he and Joshua will lead you across the Jordan to attack the nations that live on the other side. The Lord will destroy those nations just as he destroyed Sihon and Og, those two Amorite kings. Just remember—whenever you capture a place, kill everyone who lives there. Be brave and strong! Don't be afraid of the nations on the other side of the Jordan. The Lord your God will always be at your side, and he will never abandon you. (Deuteronomy 31:1-6 CEV)

What did Moses say to encourage Joshua in front of the assembly?

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. 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.” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8 ESV)

What special reading was to take place at the end of the seventh year, the year of release?

Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Booths, when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel. Gather the people—men, women, children, and foreigners living within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 31:9-13 HCSB)

What was Moses to do with Joshua just before his death?

Then the Lord told Moses: “Look! Because your time to die is approaching, call Joshua, present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, and then I will commission him.” Moses and Joshua complied and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting. So the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud that stood above the entrance. (Deuteronomy 31:14-15 ISV)

What did God tell Moses would happen to the nation of Israel?

And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods. (Deuteronomy 31:16-18 KJV)

Did God teach Moses a song and what was its purpose for Israel?

“So now, write this song for yourselves and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn Me and break My covenant. Then it will be, when many evils and troubles have found them, that this song will answer them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the mouths of their seed); for I know their intent which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.” So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the sons of Israel. (Deuteronomy 31:19-22 LSB)