The Wilderness · c. 1406 BC
Chapter 19
The Death of Moses
Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
For parents
The Lord says that when his people turn to other gods, they will be acting like prostitutes (Deuteronomy 31:16). In the Song of Moses, the Lord says he will send hunger, wild animals, snakes and the sword on them, with terror for young and old, even nursing babies (32:19–27). He also speaks of taking vengeance on his enemies, and says, “I kill and I make alive” (32:39–43). At the end, Moses dies on Mount Nebo and Israel weeps for him thirty days (34:5–8).
went and spoke these words to all . “I am a hundred and twenty years old today,” he said. “I can no longer come and go as I used to. And the has said to me, ‘You will not cross this river, the .’
“The Lord your God himself will go across ahead of you. He will destroy these nations in front of you, and you will take their land from them. will go across ahead of you too, as the Lord has said.
“The Lord will do to these nations what he did to and to , the kings of the , and to their land, when he destroyed them. The Lord will hand them over to you, and you are to do to them everything I have commanded you.
“Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, because the Lord your God himself is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”
Then Moses called Joshua, and with all Israel watching, he said to him, “Be strong and courageous, because you will go with these people into the land the Lord swore to their ancestors that he would give them, and you will make it theirs.
“The Lord himself goes in front of you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
Moses wrote this law down. He handed it to the , the , the ones who carried the of the Lord’s . He gave it to all the of Israel as well.
Moses gave them a command. “Here is what you are to do at the end of every seven years, at the time set for the . During the , all Israel will come to stand before the Lord your God, in the place he will choose. Then read this law aloud to all Israel, so that they can hear it.
“Gather all the people, the men, the women and the little ones, and the foreigners who live in your towns. Do this so that they can hear and learn. Then they will fear the Lord your God and carefully do everything this law says. Their children, who have not known it, will hear it too, and learn to fear the Lord your God for as long as you live in the land across the Jordan that you are going to take.”
The Lord said to Moses, “Look, the time for you to die is coming near. Call Joshua, and come and stand in the , so that I can give him his orders.” So Moses and Joshua went and stood in the Tent of Meeting.
The Lord appeared in the Tent in a of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.
The Lord said to Moses, “Look, you are going to die and rest with your ancestors. These people will get up and act like , chasing after the foreign gods of the land they are going into. They will leave me and break the covenant I made with them.
“On that day my anger will burn against them. I will leave them, and I will hide my face from them. They will be devoured. Many kinds of harm and trouble will happen to them. On that day they will say, ‘Hasn’t all this harm happened to us because our God isn’t among us?’ On that day I will surely hide my face, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods.
“Now write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the Israelites. Teach them to say it themselves, so that this song can be a witness for me against the Israelites.
“I will bring them into the land I promised their ancestors with an oath, a land flowing with milk and honey. In that land they will eat all they want and grow fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will despise me and break my covenant. Then many kinds of harm and trouble will happen to them, and this song will speak up in front of them as a witness, because their descendants will not forget it. I know their ways. I know what they are doing today, even before I have brought them into the land I promised them.”
So Moses wrote this song that same day, and taught it to the Israelites.
He gave Joshua the son of his orders, and said, “Be strong and courageous, because you will take the Israelites into the land I swore to them. I will be with you.”
Moses wrote the words of this law in a book, all the way to the end. When he had finished, he gave an order to the Levites, the men who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant. He said, “Take this book of the law and set it next to the ark of the covenant, the covenant of the Lord your God. It is to stay there as a witness against you.
“I know how you rebel, and how stubborn you are. Look, while I am still alive and here with you today, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more will you rebel once I am dead?
“Bring all the elders of your tribes and your officers here to me. I will speak these words for them to hear, and I will call heaven and earth as witnesses against them. I know that after I die you will become completely corrupt and turn away from the way I have commanded you. In the days ahead, harm will come to you, because you will do what the Lord sees as evil. You will make him angry by the work of your hands.”
Then Moses spoke the words of this song to the whole assembly of Israel, all the way to the end, for them to hear:
Listen, you heavens, and I will speak.Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.My teaching will fall like the rain.My words will settle like the dew,like a light rain on young grass,like showers on the plants.I will make known the name of the Lord.Tell of the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, and his work is perfect,because all his ways are fair.He is a faithful God, and he does no wrong.He is just, and he is right.
They have acted corruptly toward him.They are not his children, because of their flaw.They are a twisted and crooked generation.Is this the way you repay the Lord,foolish people with no sense?Isn’t he your father, who bought you?He made you, and he set you firm.
Remember the days of old.Think about the years of many generations.Ask your father, and he will show you,your elders, and they will tell you.When the gave the nations their share,when he divided up the human race,he set the borders of the peoplesby the number of the Israelites.The Lord’s own portion is his people. is his own share.
He found him in a desert land,in the empty, howling wilderness.He surrounded him. He cared for him.He kept him as the apple of his eye.He was like an eagle that stirs up her nestand flutters over her young.He spread out his wings and took them,and carried them on his feathers.The Lord alone led him.There was no foreign god with him.
He made him ride on the high places of the earth.He ate what the fields produced.He gave him honey to suck from the rock,and oil from the flinty rock,butter from the herd and milk from the flock,with fat from lambs,rams bred in , and goats,with the finest of the wheat.You drank wine, the blood of the grape.
But grew fat, and kicked.You grew fat. You grew heavy. You grew sleek.Then he abandoned the God who made him,and rejected the Rock who saved him.
They made him jealous with foreign gods.They made him angry with things he finds disgusting.They sacrificed to demons, not to God,to gods they didn’t know,to new gods that had come along lately,gods your ancestors never feared.You paid no attention to the Rock who became your father,and forgot the God who gave you birth.
The song went on:
The Lord saw it, and he was disgusted,because his sons and his daughters had made him angry.He said, “I will hide my face from them.I will see what their end will be,because they are a very twisted generation,children with no faithfulness in them.
“They have made me jealous with what is not God.They have made me angry with their empty things.I will make them jealous with those who are not a people.I will stir them to anger with a foolish nation.My anger has lit a fire.It burns down to the depths of .It eats up the earth and what it produces,and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.
“I will heap harm on them.I will shoot all my arrows at them.They will waste away with hunger,and be eaten up by burning heat and bitter destruction.I will send the teeth of wild animals against them,and the poison of snakes that glide in the dust.Outdoors, the sword will take away their loved ones.In their rooms there will be terror,for the young man and the young woman,for the nursing baby and the gray-haired man.
“I said that I would scatter them far away,and wipe out the memory of them from among people,but I feared the enemy would make me angry,in case their foes got it wrong,in case they said, ‘We won this with our own strength.The Lord has not done all this.’”
They are a nation with no sense.There is no understanding in them.If only they were wise and understood this,and thought about how they will end!
How could one chase a thousand,and two make ten thousand run,unless their Rock had sold them,and the Lord had handed them over?Their rock is not like our Rock.Even our enemies say so.
Their vine is a vine of ,from the fields of .Their grapes are poison grapes,and their bunches are bitter.Their wine is the poison of snakes,the cruel venom of deadly snakes.
“Isn’t this stored up with me,sealed up among my treasures?Vengeance is mine, and so is repayment,at the time when their foot slips,because the day of their disaster is near,and their doom comes rushing at them.”
The Lord will judge his people,and have compassion on his servants,when he sees that their power is gone,that no one is left at all.He will say, “Where are their gods,the rock where they ran for safety,that ate the fat of their sacrifices,and drank the wine of their ?Let them get up and help you!Let them be your shelter!
“See now that I myself am he.There is no god with me.I kill and I make alive.I wound and I heal.There is no one who can rescue anyone out of my hand.I lift up my hand to heaven and say,as surely as I live forever,if I sharpen my shining sword,and my hand grips it in judgment,I will take vengeance on my enemies,and pay back those who hate me.I will make my arrows drunk with blood.My sword will eat flesh,with the blood of the slain and of the captives,from the heads of the enemy’s leaders.”
Rejoice, you nations, with his people,because he will avenge the blood of his servants.He will take vengeance on his foes,and make for his land and his people.
Moses came, and together with Joshua the son of Nun he spoke all the words of this song to the people.
When Moses had spoken all these words to all Israel, he told them, “Take to heart every word I have declared to you today. You are to command your children to carefully keep all the words of this law. This is no empty thing for you. It is your life. Through it you will have long lives in the land across the Jordan that you are going to take.”
The Lord spoke to Moses that same day. “Go up into this mountain of , to in the land of , across from ,” he said. “Look at the land of , which I give to the Israelites as their own. Die there on the mountain you climb, and join your ancestors, as your brother died on and joined his ancestors.
“This is because you were unfaithful to me in front of the Israelites at the waters of , in the wilderness of . You didn’t honor me as holy among the Israelites. You will see the land from far away, but you will not go into the land I am giving the Israelites.”
This is how Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before he died.
He said:
“The Lord came from ,and rose on them from .He shone out from .He came from the ten thousands of holy ones.At his right hand was a fiery law for them.Yes, he loves the people.All his holy people are in your hand.They sat down at your feet.Each one receives your words.Moses gave us a law,an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.He was king in Jeshurunwhen the heads of the people gathered,all the of Israel together.
“Let live, and not die,and may his men not be few.”
This is for . He said:
“Lord, hear the voice of Judah.Bring him in to his people.With his hands he fought for himself.You will be a help against his enemies.”
About he said:
“Your are with your faithful one,the one you tested at ,the one you argued with at the waters of .He said of his father and his mother, ‘I have not seen him.’He didn’t recognize his brothers,or know his own children,because they have kept your word,and they hold to your covenant.They will teach Jacob your rules,and Israel your law.They will put in your presence,and a whole on your .Lord, bless his skills.Accept the work of his hands.Strike through the hips of those who rise up against him,of those who hate him, so that they don’t rise again.”
About he said:
“The one the Lord loves will live safely beside him.He covers him all day long.He lives between his shoulders.”
About he said:
“His land is blessed by the Lordwith the precious gifts of the sky, with the dew,and with the deep waters lying beneath,with the precious things the sun brings out,and the precious things the moon can give,with the best things of the ancient mountains,and the precious things of the everlasting hills,with the precious things of the earth and all that fills it,and the good will of the one who lived in the burning bush.Let all this come on the head of Joseph,on the crown of the head of the one separated from his brothers.Majesty belongs to the firstborn of his herd.His horns are the horns of the wild ox.With them he will push all the peoples to the ends of the earth.They are the ten thousands of .They are the thousands of .”
About he said:
“Rejoice, Zebulun, when you go out,and , in your tents.They will call the peoples to the mountain.There they will offer the sacrifices that are right,because they will draw out the riches of the seas,the treasures hidden in the sand.”
About he said:
“Blessed is the one who makes Gad larger.He lives like a lioness,and tears the arm and the crown of the head.He picked out the first part for himself,because the lawgiver’s share was kept for him.He came with the heads of the people.He carried out the justice of the Lord,and his rules with Israel.”
About he said:
“Dan is a lion’s cubthat leaps out of Bashan.”
About he said:
“Naphtali, satisfied with favor,full of the Lord’s blessing,take the west and the south as your own.”
About he said:
“Asher is blessed with children.Let him be accepted by his brothers.Let him dip his foot in oil.The bars on your doors will be iron and bronze.As your days are, so your strength will be.
“There is no one like God, Jeshurun,who rides on the heavens to help you,in his majesty, on the skies.The eternal God is your dwelling place.Underneath are the everlasting arms.He drove out the enemy in front of you,and said, ‘Destroy!’Israel lives in safety,the fountain of Jacob alone,in a land of grain and new wine.Yes, his skies drip with dew.Israel, you are happy!Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,the shield that helps you,the sword of your glory?Your enemies will give in to you,and you will tread on their high places.”
Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of , across from Jericho.
The Lord showed him all the land of as far as . He showed him all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah to the . He showed him the , and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, all the way to .
The Lord said to him, “This is the land that I promised with an oath to , to and to Jacob. I told them, ‘I will give it to your .’ Now I have let you look at it with your own eyes, but you will not go over there.”
So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the Lord’s word.
He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, across from , but no one knows where his grave is, to this day.
When Moses died he was a hundred and twenty years old. His eyes had not grown dim, and his strength was not gone.
The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were over.
Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom. This was because Moses had put his hands on him. The Israelites listened to Joshua, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Since then, Israel has never had a like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. There has been no one like him in all the signs and the wonders the Lord sent him to do in the land of , to and all his officials and all his land. And there has been no one like him in all the mighty power and the awesome deeds that Moses showed while all Israel watched.