Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Prophetic warning or prophetic promise? If they would do the right thing, they would enjoy Blessing. If they did not do the right thing, they would be destroyed. Doesn’t seem like a hard choice to make. But I guarantee that there were some who were agonizing over the choice. God doesn’t deal with us according to His foreknowledge. He always deals with us according to OUR choice. It’s our choices that define us.

God starts out with a promise broken into seven sections. It also includes the first mention in scripture of Messiah ben Yeousef’s (Jesus’) RETURN as Messiah ben Dahvid – becoming the full and true Messiah of the Jewish people. This promise is an UNCONDITIONAL covenant. There are no ‘if you, then I’ words. This is simply what God WILL do.

First, the nation would be plucked out of the land. God KNEW their hearts and KNEW what they would choose. He knew they would disobey and bring upon themselves the curses.

Second, the future repentance of Israel under the model of Grace: He would return them to the land and it would cause them to repent. Because they would be returned to the land, they would be obedient. That’s the Grace model. Blessing not according to their merit, followed by a response to that Mercy. It’s the Empty Tomb model.

Third, in verse 3 of Chapter 30, their Messiah would RETURN. This means He already will have come once before then and left. This is the first reference to the RETURN of Jesus in scripture.

Fourth, they would be restored to the land (which causes the second promise); and fifth, they would be Blessed. They would prosper and multiply.

Sixth, Israel’s enemies would be judged. The Jews WOULD return and WOULD repent and WOULD obey, so the curses would fall upon their foes since the BLESSING was falling on Israel.

Seventh, the nation would receive their FULL Blessing. God would rejoice over them for GOOD. In Chapter 28 God listed some of the Blessing. There were more curses than blessings though, right? Well, Jesus enunciated the REST of the Blessing in Matthew 5-7. If you read through both passages, you can see the fullness of the Blessing. Physical and spiritual (3 John 2).

That is His promise. His covenant of behaviour regardless of what they DID. So what is the choice? This: life or death. Blessing or cursing. What did they want to live under between now and when these promises came to pass? How did they want to be? The choice hasn’t faded. God says to ALL of us that ALL things are possible WITH Him – as in cooperating together (Matthew 19:26). We only need to trust in Jesus (Mark 9:23). Whatever we choose to SPEAK is what we are siding with, what we are seeding, and what will come to pass (Mark 11:23) – remember the 10 spies and how each side got what they said. If we speak God’s Word according to God’s will, it happens. We are giving our consent (we have free will here) and it comes to pass (Proverbs 18:21). That’s why we need the Father to sanctify us in the Word (John 17:17) so our motivations in asking are HIS and not OURS (James 4:3-6). Choose LIFE, God says to the Israelites. So it will go well with you and your children. Easy choice. We have the same one.

“and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion upon you, and he will again gather you together from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there.” (Deuteronomy 30:3, emphasis mine).

God tells Moses his time is nearly up. Moses was a good leader, but not the one to take them into the Promised Land. He was not essential. None of us are. We do what we are called to until it is time to turn it over to the next choice God has. Note that God chose Moses’ successor, not Moses.

Again and again and again and again throughout this book (Deuteronomy) Moses has encouraged the people to realise God was going with them to fight for them – which would enable them to CHOOSE not to fear or be dismayed in ANY way. Moses does it again here. Before everyone watching, he called Joshua and gives him the same encouragement to Joshua personally. Don’t fear. Don’t be dismayed. Keep your eyes on God.

Moses then wrote down all ‘this’ Law (the book of Deuteronomy). Once it was done, he gave it into the keeping of the Levites. All the people were to come on the seventh year (not just the males), at the Feast of Tabernacles, in the place God would put His name (Jerusalem); and there the Levites were to read them this book. There is no evidence this was done consistently.

God then told Moses to bring Joshua to the tabernacle, so they went and presented themselves. The pillar of cloud descended, blocked the entrance, and appeared to them in the tent of meeting. God told Moses that his time was over, and that the people WOULD stray. That they would disobey and would CHOOSE to bring down on themselves their own destruction (the curses). So God wanted Moses to write a song.

Music is INCREDIBLY important. Music will chart the direction of a nation more than its laws and governance. It speaks DIRECTLY to the morals and the attitudes of the people. It TEACHES them how to be. Guard what goes into your ears.

The point of the song was a record of God’s dealings with them and their behaviour toward them. It was going to be a WITNESS to them. They were never going to be able to say that they hadn’t known. They would never be able to blame anyone else or God for their behaviour. “And then many disasters and troubles will come upon them, and this song will give evidence before them as a witness, because it will not be forgotten from out of the mouth of their descendants, for I know their inclination that they are having today before I have brought them into the land that I swore” (Deuteronomy 31:21). Even then at that time that very DAY they were mulling over temptation (James 1:14-15).

Moses wrote the song and that day taught it to the people – or probably to the captains who taught it to lesser captains and so on until everyone had learned it. He exhorted Joshua to be strong because he WOULD take the people in and God WOULD be with him (Hebrews 12:22). Moses then wrote ALL the Law (Period. Genesis to Deuteronomy and thereby put to rest ANY doubt that Moses was the author of the books.) – or anything that he had not already put down. He gave them to the Levites. Some teach it was this WHOLE Torah that was supposed to be read every seven years.

The Law (Torah) was to be put beside the ark of the covenant. It was to be a witness to the people – like the song. Moses knew intimately how the people would rebel once Moses was dead (Paul felt similar in Acts 20:29-30). He knew what they would do. The Law would sit there saying: it was YOUR choice. You COULD have chosen differently. YOU made it a prophetic PROMISE. God WARNED you MANY times and told you of His MERCY that you could fall on.

Then Moses left the tent of meeting, went out to the people, and actually taught the song that he had written until the people got it.

Summary

Key Players: God, Moses, Joshua

Key Themes: Choice, Disobedience (the cause of the curses), Covenant, Witness, Succession

Key Verse(s): Deuteronomy 30:1-10, 15-16, 19-20; 31:1-6, 14-15, 21, 24-26, 30