What is happening in this passage with Moses and Joshua?

In this passage Moses is at the end of his life, at 120 years old. God has told him he will not cross the Jordan River with the people, so he speaks to all Israel to prepare them. He tells them that God himself will go ahead of them and that Joshua will lead them into the land. Moses then calls Joshua in front of everyone and charges him to be strong and courageous. God later appears in the tabernacle, confirms Joshua’s role, and gives further warning about Israel’s future behavior.

What does be strong and of a good courage mean here?

When Moses tells Israel and Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage,” he is not asking them to dig up bravery from inside themselves. He is pointing them to God’s presence. He reminds them that the Lord goes before them, will be with them, and will not fail or forsake them. Their courage is meant to come from trust in God’s promise to fight for them and stay with them, even when enemies and hard tasks lie ahead.

Why does Moses say God will not fail or forsake his people?

Moses repeats that God will not fail or forsake his people to steady their hearts as leadership changes. They might fear losing Moses, but Moses wants them to see that the real leader is the Lord who goes before them. By recalling past victories over kings like Sihon and Og, he shows that God has already kept his word. This promise is meant to keep both the people and Joshua from fear, knowing God’s help does not end when human leaders change.

Why did Moses command the law to be read every seven years?

Moses orders that the law be read publicly every seven years during the Feast of Tabernacles so that the whole nation keeps hearing God’s words. Men, women, children, and even foreigners living among them are to gather and listen. The goal is that they will hear, learn, fear the Lord, and be careful to obey. It also helps the children who did not see earlier events or hear earlier teachings to learn God’s ways and grow up with a right respect for him.

Who was supposed to keep and read the written law?

Moses writes the law and gives it to the Levite priests who carry the ark of the covenant, and to the elders of Israel. The priests are to keep the book beside the ark as a witness against the people, reminding them of what God has said. They, together with the elders, are responsible to read it aloud to all Israel at the set times. This shows that both spiritual and civil leaders are meant to guard and pass on God’s teaching to the whole community.

What is the song that will be a witness against Israel?

God tells Moses to write a song and teach it to Israel so that it stays in their mouths. The song is meant to be a witness against them in the future. God knows that once they are settled, full, and comfortable in the good land, they will turn to other gods and break his covenant. When trouble and many evils come on them, this song will remind them that they were warned and that their suffering is linked to leaving the Lord for idols.

Why does God say he will hide his face from Israel?

God says he will hide his face when Israel turns away to worship the gods of the surrounding nations. Hiding his face means withdrawing his favor and protection. When this happens, many evils and troubles will fall on them, and they will realize something is wrong in their relationship with God. This warning shows that their safety and blessing depend on staying faithful to the covenant, and that turning to other gods leads to real loss, not just empty religion.

How does this passage show both God’s faithfulness and Israel’s weakness?

The passage shows God’s faithfulness in many ways. He goes before Israel into the land, promises not to leave them, gives them a leader in Joshua, and provides his written law and a song as lasting guides and warnings. At the same time, God plainly says that Israel will one day forsake him, chase other gods, and break the covenant. Moses himself says he knows their rebellion even while he is alive. Together, this shows God’s steady care and the people’s tendency to drift without constant correction.

How can a believer today apply the message be strong and of a good courage?

A believer today can take this call to courage in a similar way to Joshua and Israel. The passage shows that strength is tied to knowing God goes ahead, is present, and keeps his word. When facing change, hard tasks, or fear, a person can remember that God’s help does not depend on any one human leader or on their own power. The right response is to trust his promises, obey his words, and step forward in faith, knowing he does not abandon those who belong to him.

Deut.31.1

Deuteronomy 31:1

KJV

And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

Joshua to Succeed Moses

Moses’ Last Counsel

1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.

And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

¶ And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

The Reading of the Law

¶ And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel.

And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

God Commissions Joshua

Israel Will Fall Away

¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation

And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

¶ 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.

Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

¶ Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

Joshua Is Commissioned

And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

The Law Placed in the Ark

¶ And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,

Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?

¶ Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.

For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

Moses Begins His Song

And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.