Page 121 - Pentateuch

were taught at length about the sacrifices they could bring to YHWH in free offerings and about the
sacrifices they had to bring as a result of sin (Lev. 1-7). The great Day of Atonement showed them how their
sins could be carried into the wilderness by a substitute (Lev. 16:21-22). Time and time again, judgment fell
on those who got in the way of God’s lessons, blurring the message for others (Num. 12:10; 16:3, 31-32).
God was teaching, teaching, teaching his people all along.

The answer to their problem is simple. “The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so
you may obey it (Deut. 30:14).” The “word” to obey in this verse is not the law. We have already seen the
impossibility of such obedience. The “word” to obey is faith, just as Abraham believed, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). By faith, he fulfilled the law (Gen. 26:5). His faith in a
coming Messiah became the pattern for all who followed after him. “If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus
is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9).” The
“word of faith” does not change from age to age. We today believe the same word and are saved. (Rom.
10:8). “Jesus is the ultimate referent of Moses’ word. He alone bridges vaster distances than even those
overseas or to heaven.” 139 “Paul is explaining the ‘nearness’ of the word of faith, the gospel, by emphasizing
that it demands only a simple response and that, when responded to, it mediates God’s salvation.” 140

Moses now makes provision for the transition in leadership to Joshua. Moses cannot cross the Jordan. God
will go before them (31:3, 8). They are challenged to be strong and courageous (31:6, 7). The law is put into
the ark, and they are commanded to read it every seven years when debts are canceled (31:10). Once
again, the future disobedience of Israel is clearly described despite all God’s gifts to them (31:16, 20). The
nation of Israel is confronted with a stark choice. One option is to follow the law and live, or break the law
and die. The second option is to believe in a future Messiah and have hope. As the new leader, you would
need a firm purpose. He could not let fear dilute his faith. Loss of courage in God’s Messiah would bring him
disaster worse than the disobedience of the nation he is to lead (31:23).

Next, Moses gives Israel a song to teach from one generation to the next. While we do not know of any
tune, we can understand the function of a song in remembering. “When many disasters and calamities
come on them, this song will testify against them because it will not be forgotten by their descendants
(31:21).” It is for “days to come (31:29)” or “in the last days (depending on the translation).” Just as with
earlier songs (Gen. 49:1; Num. 24:14), the author connects the past and the future. 141 In the day of Jesus,
people saw the song as prophetic.

“Moses recited to them a poem in hexameter
verse, which he has moreover bequeathed in
a book preserved in the temple, containing a
prediction of future events, in accordance
with which all has come and is coming to pass,
the seer having in no whit strayed from the
truth. All these books he consigned to the
priests, together with the ark in which he had
deposited the Ten Words written on the two
tablets and the tabernacle. 142

The song begins with an invitation to listen (32:1, 2).
Fig. 86: Negev Desert rock

139 Teleford Work, Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2009), 270.
140 Moo, Romans, 657.
141 Sailhammer, Pentateuch. 36.
142 Flavius Josephus, Aniquities of the Jews, trans. William Whiston (Grand Rapids: Kegel, 1978), 4.8.44.
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