Deuteronomy: Chapters 31-34
Chapter 31: Make people hear and obey the law. Save them from disasters.
V. 1-8: Encourage everyone to trust in God and to take courage in taking the land.
God will go with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Then Moses summoned Joshua, the young worker. And encouraged him to be strong and courageous, and go with the people into the land that God had promised them.
V. 9-13: Always assemble God’s children and read all the words of God’s law to them.
Gather men, women and children to listen and to learn God’s words so that they will put them into practice. Then they will learn to fear the Lord.
V. 14-23: Foretell God’s warnings against His people. Proclaim a final encouragement to the young worker.
God knows beforehand that His people will be rebellious and turn to other gods. God warns them that disasters will come when they violate God’s covenant. Moses again commanded the young worker to be strong and courageous. God would be with him. He would bring God’s people into the land promised by God.
When we serve God, we must trust in Him. And be bold in keeping His words and proclaiming His words. The whole world is under the control of the evil one. If we are discouraged by Satan, we cannot preach gospel at all. In Revelation the cowardly is listed as the first kind of people that cannot enter into New Jerusalem.
V. 24-30: God’s servant must be faithful to God to the end.
Moses finished writing God’s words before he died. Then he gathered all of God’s people and he recited it before them. He called heaven and earth to warn them. If they turned from God’s words, disasters would fall on them. Moses told the whole assembly of Israel every word that God wanted him to proclaim.
Chapter 32: Keep in your heart all the laws and disciplines. Exalt God as holy.
V. 1-5: God is honest and just. Whoever acts corruptly is not His child.
Make effort to know God and understand the truth. His works are perfect. All His ways are just. A faithful God does no wrong. Those who listen to His words and put them into practice set foundation on the rock. They are His true children and His favored ones. God will bless them.
V. 6-20: Remember great kindness of our Lord. Never repay God’s love by evil deeds.
Our God has delivered us from a land full of howling of wild beast. That is the place where we were dead in our transgressions and sins. God has paid a high price to redeem us. He trains us, cares about us, and protects us as the pupil of His eye. How have we responded to His kindness? We abandon God and worship other gods when we do well. We sacrifice to demons, gods that recently appears.
V. 21-35: God is provoked to anger; therefore, disasters fall on us.
love is as strong as death; its jealousy remains unchanged as the grave. Therefore, all kinds of disasters, famine, heat, wild beasts, the venom of vipers, and the sword all fall upon us.
V. 36-43: God will revenge on the enemies and redeem His people.
When God sees His people suffer too much and has no strength left, He will judge the enemies. Then His people will know only the Lord is God. There is no god besides the Lord. God will avenge the blood of His servants. He will make nations rejoice with His own people.
V. 44-47: Take to heart all the warnings and disciplines. Be sure to keep God’s words carefully.
All God’s warnings and prophecies are not idle words. They are our life. Take them to heart for generations.
V. 48-52: Moses was not allowed to enter the land of Canaan because he did not uphold God’s holiness.
Moses was only allowed to see the Promised Land, not to enter it. If God gives someone more, God demands more of them. Therefore, uphold God’s holiness. Do exactly as God commands. Let us do the work of salvation with fear and trembling.
Chapter 33: Honor the Lord as your king. You will be blessed greatly.
V. 1-5: Accept God’s instruction and honor God as your king. You will be the one God favors and blesses.
No matter how sinful or crude we have been, so long as we are willing to repent and return to God now. If we accept His words and honor Him as King, we are surely favored by God. We will be blessed and receive the land as inheritance.
V. 6-25: Some of God’s children may be corrupted by sinful desires just like Reuben. He even committed sexual immorality with his father’s concubine. But God says if they repent and turn to follow His words, they may live. If they are diligent in the Spirit, God will give them more fruit so that their number will not be few.
Some are like Judah, the worst of sinners. He has stopped sinning to do good actively. The Lord will help him against his enemies so that he will save many people. Paul is like that. Jesus Christ has changed him, from the worst of sinners to the content of heavenly Father.
Some has been very crude and killed (hated) men as they like just like Levi. But they turn to the Lord. Their weak point becomes their strong point. They can fully carry out God’s words and never comprise with kinship. They keep God’s covenant carefully so that they become godly people. Therefore, they are discerned in the Spirit. They become the mouth of God to teach God’s precepts to people. Whoever rises up to attack them will be subdued by God.
Benjamin humbles himself as a child before God. He is willing to be the smallest one. He is surely favored by God. He only desires to live with the Lord and rests in Him all day long.
Some are like Joseph. They fear God and overcome sin and evil. They will surely get the best blessing on earth. Wherever they go, they will be honored and respect. They will also get blessing of heaven. They will be given insights into what is written in the Bible. The dew is the Holy Spirit that will pour on them every morning so that they become springs of living water. They have gone through refinement and trials that their life is matured. They become precious instrument of the Lord. They get to know the mystery of God from ancients, like Paul and Daniel. They will also get the land as inheritance, including treasure of the land. For example, many mighty warriors joined David and helped him for God’s kingdom. Those warriors are like treasure of the land. All of these will be given to the one like Joseph. The Lord said, “I have found David a man after my own heart.” This kind of Christians is the prince among their brothers. They are full of power like the firstborn bulls. Their horn will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth.
Zebulun is a type of Christians, who pay attention to God’s words and live with the Lord. They rejoice when they go in and out of their tents. They will bring many people to the Lord. They make offering of righteousness. Their number will be as many as the sand on the seashore. All of them are Christians of high quality.
Gad means good fortune. They are grateful to God for all their good fortune so they enlarge their domain. They will get the best land. They carry out righteousness. They will be blessed more and more because they think they are good fortune in the Lord.
The meaning of Dan is he has vindicated. Though he is teased by people, he will spring out like a lion’s cub to trample down the wicked. The Lord Mighty says in Malachi 4/2-4, “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet of the day when I do these thins.”
Naphtali means my struggle and I have won. He trusts in God to defeat the enemies. He is abounding with the favor of God. He will inherit southward to the lake.
Asher means happy. He preaches gospel widely by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The bolts of his gates are strong and firm. He bears lots of fruit in the Lord. He is favored by his brothers.
V. 26-29: God is your dwelling. God is your help. God destroys your enemies. You will live in safety and abundance.
How blessed is the righteous who exalts God as king!
Chapter 34: God’s faithful servant has done awesome deeds, full of power.
V. 1-4: Climb to the top of mountain and see God’s Promised Land.
Moses had reached the peak of perfection in the Spirit before he died. He had the Lord’s business in his mind all his life. Though he was not allowed to enter into the land, he was shown by God all the Promised Land.
V. 5-8: When Moses died, his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.
Who is honored like Moses, a faithful servant buried by God? No one knows where his grave is lest he be idolized. He is precious in the sight of God. And people grieved for his death.
V. 9-12: Moses appointed a successor. He knew God face to face and he performed awesome deeds.
Moses laid his hands on Joshua, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Moses knew God face to face. He did all those miraculous signs and wonders
before Pharaoh and all his officials and his whole land. He also performed the awesome deeds in the sight of all God’s children.