The heart of Moses still lingers, with deep tenderness and
affectionate solicitude, over the congregation. It seems as though he
could never weary of pouring into their ears his earnest exhortations.
He felt their need, he foresaw their danger, and, like a true and
faithful shepherd, he sought, with all the deep and tender affection
of His large, loving heart, to prepare them for what was before them.
No one can read his closing words without being struck with their
peculiarly solemn tone. They remind us of Paul's touching farewell to
the elders of Ephesus. Both these beloved and honored servants
realized, in a very vivid manner, the seriousness of their own
position and that of the persons they were addressing. They felt the
uncommon gravity of the interests at stake, and the urgent need of the
most faithful dealing with the heart and conscience. This will account
for what we may term the awful solemnity of their appeals. All who
really enter into the situation and destiny of the people of God in a
world like this _must_ be serious. The true sense of these things, the
apprehension of them in the divine presence, must, of necessity,
impart a holy gravity to the character, and a special pungency and
power to the testimony.
"And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said
unto them, 'I am a 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.'" How very touching this allusion to his
great age, and this fresh and final reference to the solemn
governmental dealing of God with himself personally! The direct and
manifest object of both was, to give effect to his appeal to the
hearts and consciences of the people, to strengthen the moral lever by
which this beloved and honored servant of God sought to move them in
the direction of simple obedience. If he points to his gray hairs, or
to the holy discipline exercised toward him, it most assuredly is not
for the purpose of bringing himself, his circumstances, or his
feelings before them, but simply to touch the deepest springs of their
moral being by every possible means.
"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." Not a
word of murmuring or repining as to himself, not the faintest tinge of
envy or jealousy in his reference to the one who was to take his
place, not the most distant approach to aught of the kind; every
selfish consideration is swallowed up in the one grand object of
encouraging the hearts of the people to tread, with firm step, the
pathway of obedience, which was then, is now, and ever must be the
path of victory, the path of blessing, the path of peace.
"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." What precious, soul-sustaining words are
these, beloved Christian reader! how eminently calculated to lift the
heart above every discouraging influence! The blessed consciousness of
the Lord's presence with us, and the remembrance of His gracious ways
with us, in days gone by, must ever prove the true secret of strength
in moving onward. The same mighty hand which had subdued before them
Sihon and Og, could subdue all the kings of Canaan. The Amorites were
quite as formidable as the Canaanites; Jehovah was more than a match
for all. "We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told
us, what work Thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How Thou
didst drive out the heathen with Thy hand, and plantedst them; how
Thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out."
Only think of God driving out people with His own hand! What an answer
to all the arguments and difficulties of a morbid sentimentality! How
very shallow and erroneous are the thoughts of some in reference to
the governmental ways of God! How miserably one-sided their notions of
His character and actings! How perfectly absurd the attempt to measure
God by the standard of human judgment and feeling! It is very evident
that Moses had not the smallest particle of sympathy with such
sentiments when he addressed to the congregation of Israel the
magnificent exhortation quoted above. He knew something of the gravity
and solemnity of the government of God, something, too, of the
blessedness of having Him as a shield in the day of battle, a refuge
and a resource in every hour of peril and need.
Let us hearken to his encouraging words addressed to the man who was
to succeed him. "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.'"
Joshua needed a special word for himself, as one called to occupy a
prominent and very distinguished place in the congregation. But the
word to him embodies the same precious truth as that addressed to the
whole assembly. He is assured of the divine presence and power with
him. This is enough for each, for all; for Joshua as for the most
obscure member of the assembly. Yes, reader, and enough for thee,
whoever thou art, or whatever be thy sphere of action. It matters not
in the least what difficulties or dangers may lie before us, our God
is amply sufficient for all. If only we have the sense of the Lord's
presence with us, and the authority of His Word for the work in which
we are engaged, we may move on with joyful confidence, spite of ten
thousand difficulties and hostile influences.
"And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons
of Levi, which bear 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." (Ver. 9-35.)
Two things in the foregoing passage claim our special attention;
first, the fact that Jehovah attached the most solemn importance to
the public assembly of His people for the purpose of hearing His Word.
"All Israel"--"men, women, and children"--with the stranger who had
cast in his lot amongst them, were commanded to assemble themselves
together to hear the reading of the book of the law of God, that all
might learn His holy will and their duty. Each member of the assembly,
from the eldest to the youngest, was to be brought into direct
personal contact with the revealed will of Jehovah, that each one
might know his solemn responsibility.
And secondly, we have to weigh the fact that the children were to be
gathered before the Lord to hearken to His Word. Both these facts are
full of weighty instruction for all the members of the Church of
God--instruction urgently called for on all sides. There is a most
deplorable amount of failure as to these two points. We sadly neglect
the assembling of ourselves together for the simple reading of the
holy Scriptures. There does not seem to be sufficient attraction in
the Word of God itself to bring us together. There is an unhealthy
craving for other things; human oratory, music, religious excitement
of some kind or other seems needful to bring people together,--any
thing and every thing but the precious Word of God.
It will perhaps be said that people have the Word of God in their
houses, that it is quite different now from what it was with Israel;
every one can read the Scriptures at home, and there is not the same
necessity for the public reading. Such a plea will not stand the test
of truth for a moment. We may rest assured, if the Word of God were
loved and prized and studied in private and in the family, it would be
loved and prized and studied in public. We should delight to gather
together around the fountain of holy Scripture, to drink, in happy
fellowship, of the living water, for our common refreshment and
blessing.
But it is not so. The Word of God is not loved and studied, either
privately or publicly. Trashy literature is devoured in private, and
music, ritualistic services, and imposing ceremonies are eagerly
sought after in public. Thousands will flock to hear music, and pay
for admission, but how few care for a meeting to read the holy
Scriptures! These are facts, and facts are powerful arguments. We
cannot get over them. There is a growing thirst for religious
excitement, and a growing distaste for the calm study of holy
Scripture and the spiritual exercises of the Christian assembly. It is
perfectly useless to deny it. We cannot shut our eyes to it. The
evidence of it meets us on every hand.
Thank God, there are a few, here and there, who really love the Word
of God, and delight to meet, in holy fellowship, for the study of its
precious truths. May the Lord increase the number of such, and bless
them abundantly. May our lot be cast with them, "till traveling days
are done." They are but an obscure and feeble remnant every where; but
they love Christ and cleave to His Word, and their richest enjoyment
is, to get together and think and speak and sing of Him. May God bless
them and keep them. May He deepen His precious work in their souls,
and bind them more closely to Himself and one another, and thus
prepare them, in the state of their affections, for the appearing of
"the Bright and Morning Star."
We must now turn for a few moments to the closing verses of our
chapter, in which Jehovah speaks to His beloved and honored servant,
in tones of deep and touching solemnity, as to his own death, and as
to Israel's dark and gloomy future.
"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.'"
"Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god." So
says the Spirit of Christ in Psalm xvi. Israel has proved, is proving,
and shall yet more fully prove the solemn truth of these words. Their
history in the past, their present dispersion and desolation, and,
beyond all, that "great tribulation" through which they have yet to
pass, at "the time of the end,"--all go to confirm and illustrate the
truth that the sure and certain way to multiply our sorrows is, to
turn away from the Lord and look to any creature-resource. This is one
of the many and varied practical lessons which we have to gather from
the marvelous history of the seed of Abraham. May we learn it
effectually. May we learn to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart,
and turn away, with holy decision, from every other object. This, we
feel persuaded, is the only path of true happiness and peace. May we
ever be found in it.
"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 imaginations which they
go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I
sware."
How deeply affecting, how peculiarly solemn, is all this! Instead of
Israel being a witness for Jehovah before all nations, the song of
Moses was to be a witness for Jehovah against the children of Israel.
They were called to be His witnesses; they were responsible to declare
His name and to show forth His praise in that land into which, in His
faithfulness and sovereign mercy, He conducted them; but alas! they
utterly and shamefully failed, and hence, in view of this sad and most
humiliating failure, a song was to be written which, in the first
place, as we shall see, sets forth, in most magnificent strains, the
glory of God; and secondly, records, in accents of inflexible
faithfulness, Israel's deplorable failure, in every stage of their
history.
"Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the
children of Israel. 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_.'" Joshua was not to be discouraged or faint-hearted
because of the predicted unfaithfulness of the people. He was, like
his great progenitor, to be strong in faith giving glory to God. He
was to move forward with joyful confidence, leaning on the arm and
confiding in the word of Jehovah, the covenant-God of Israel, in
nothing terrified by his adversaries, but resting in the precious,
soul-sustaining assurance that, however the seed of Abraham might fail
to obey, and, as a consequence, bring down judgment on themselves, yet
the God of Abraham would infallibly maintain and make good His
promise, and glorify His name in the final restoration and everlasting
blessing of His chosen people.
All this comes out with uncommon vividness and power in the song of
Moses, and Joshua was called to serve in the faith of it. He was to
fix his eye, not upon Israel's ways, but upon the eternal stability of
the divine covenant with Abraham. He was to conduct Israel across the
Jordan and plant them in that fair inheritance designed for them in
the purpose of God. Had Joshua occupied his mind with Israel, he must
have flung down his sword and given up in despair; but no, he had to
encourage himself in the Lord his God, and serve in the energy of a
faith that endures as seeing Him who is invisible.
Precious, soul-sustaining, God-honoring faith! May the reader,
whatever be his line of life or sphere of action, know, in the
profoundest depths of his soul, the moral power of this divine
principle. May every beloved child of God and every servant of Christ
know it. It is the only thing which will enable us to grapple with the
difficulties, hindrances, and hostile influences which surround us in
the scene through which we are passing, and to finish our course with
joy.
"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.'"
How forcibly we are here reminded of Paul's farewell address to the
elders of Ephesus!--"For I know this, that after my departing shall
grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from
among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to
draw away disciples after them. Therefore _watch_, _and remember_,
that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night
and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to
the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you
an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." (Acts xx. 29-32.)
Man is the same always and every where. His history is a blotted one
from beginning to end. But oh, it is such a relief and solace to the
heart to know and remember that God is ever the same, and His Word
abides and is "settled forever in heaven." It was hid in the side of
the ark of the covenant and there preserved intact, spite of all the
grievous sin and folly of the people. This gives sweet rest to the
heart at all times, in the face of human failure, and the wreck and
ruin of every thing committed to man's hand. "The Word of our God
shall stand forever;" and while it bears a true and solemn testimony
against man and his ways, it also conveys home to the heart the most
precious and tranquilizing assurance that God is above all man's sin
and folly, that His resources are absolutely inexhaustible, and that
ere long His glory shall shine out and fill the whole scene. The Lord
be praised for the deep consolation of all this!