"Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them: 'I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, "You shall not cross over this Jordan.'" [Deuteronomy 31:1, 2]
Moses is about to die. He has led the children of Israel forty years, through every imaginable circumstance; natural and supernatural. The Lord tells Moses he is told to go with Joshua to the Tabernacle where the Lord will "...inaugurate him." [vs. 14]. And the Lord said to Moses: "Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break my covenant which I have made with them." [vs. 16].
The Lord says to Moses: "Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel.
The Sad Song of The Lord
When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey
Of which I swore to their fathers
And they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat
Then they will turn to other gods and serve them
And they will provoke Me and break My covenant
Then it shall be
When many evils and troubles have come upon them
That this song will testify against them as a witness
For it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants
For I know the inclination of their behavior today
Even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore them.
[Deuteronomy 31:20, 21]
What were the thoughts of Moses as he wrote down these words? Was he surprised? Probably not. Disappointed? Probably so. Broken hearted? Most probably so. The hearts of fathers and mothers are broken when they see their children descend into lives of rebellion against God. After 40 years, in a very real sense, Israel's children were Moses' children.
The end of the story is almost upon us. God is about to take His children into the long-Promised-Land. Moses' words to Israel are the Lord's words to us today: "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." [vs. 6]
May the blessings of Sabbath be with you throughout the coming week.
Shalom. e.c.
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