Morning Light – Deuteronomy 31

[Deuteronomy Chapter Thirty-One] Preparing to Cross Over. In this chapter Moses continues to finalize the affairs of Israel before his death. What was the key to Moses long life? Does God’s presence still attend us as it did Moses? Does the presence of God extend life? How long can you as a believer expect to live? Can you change your life expectancy due to your experience with the presence of God? Why did God reject Moses for striking the rock? What was the rock’s significance? Are the first 5 books of the bible the only TRUE canon or the only canon closed by GOD Himself? All these questions are addressed in today’s study.

[Deu 31:1-30 KJV] 1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them, I [am] an 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.

What an amazing thing that Moses lived this long and was vital enough to lead 2 million people in a refugee situation into a new land. In all that time his strength endured and even his eyesight did not suffer the ravages of age:

[Deu 34:7 KJV] 7 And Moses [was] an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

How long can you expect your lifespan to be? The global life expectancy including both men and women was 70 years of age in 2012. In the western world life expectancy ranges between 79 in the US and 82 in Canada. The longest life expectancy in the world is 84 in Japan. In Moses’ day the average life expectancy was 30 years of age – so obviously Moses was affected by something beyond the norm. In Exodus 34:29-35 we find that when Moses spent time in God’s presence his face would shine with an unusual luminescence. The halos depicted around saints and divines in ancient art suggests something about the presence of God that has an impact upon physical appearance and no doubt included residual health effects.

Does what happened to Moses happen still occur today. If you accept the fact that we are living in a New Testament “dispensation” you need look no further than two particular passages in Acts. Acts 2:3 describes a luminescence like fire appearing on the 120 when God’s presence came in the upper room. At the martyrdom of Stephen it was reported an effect like this even under great pressure:

[Act 6:15 KJV] 15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

I personally worked under a minister who has preached almost every day for over 50 years. He is in his 80’s now and has not one grey hair or one wrinkle on his face. The presence of God has an effect on our health as we understand His presence to be something we live under at all times and not just experience once in a while. This is the difference between visitation and habitation.

Nonetheless Moses acknowledges that because he disobeyed by striking the rock in Numbers 20:10 that he would not be allowed to lead the people into the land of promise. Why was striking the rock so terrible? Because it violated a message in type and shadow that God was giving to the people. The first time Moses was instructed to strike the rock (Ex. 17:6); The second time (Nu. 20:10) he was to SPEAK to the rock; and the third time the plan was for the people to SING to the rock (Nu. 21:17). Paul said in 1 Corinthians that this rock was somehow none other than JESUS:

[1Co 10:4 KJV] 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

So Jesus was SMITTEN (by Moses as a representative of the law) taking on our sins. Then through the preaching of the gospel God’s leader SPEAKS to the rock bringing the message of salvation; upon which time the people receive the message and SING corporately as a holy nation and salvation SPRINGS from the rock in response to our faith.

10 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, 11 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. 12 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: 13 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.

Moses commands that the law be read every seven years at the culmination of the feast of Tabernacles the law was to be read (the entire Pentateuch). There is no record that this was ever actually carried out by the people as is true of so much of the commands of the Lord through Moses. We have record that it was receive and supernaturally imparted but very little verification in ancient history that it was followed – the people were as much is true today HEARERS of the word but not DOERS. This answers the question as to why so much of the promise to the people was not fulfilled over the intervening centuries leading up to the coming of Christ. They presumed that being the CURATORS of the law sufficed in place of actually obeying the law. Nothing could be further from the truth.

14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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? 18 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. 19 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. 20 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.

God commands Moses to take his successor Joshua and enter into the cloud of Glory in the tabernacle. This cloud always appeared at the DOOR of the tabernacle. In John 10:7-9 Jesus identified Himself as that door. This is where the voice of God was always heard and guidance was always given. The scriptures teach us that our bodies are His tabernacles and that Jesus (the Door) lives in our hearts. His glory doesn’t just VISIT there but actually abides there continually. He wants us to consult Him at the door for what comes next in our lives. Moses is instructed to compose a song or ode that the elders and fathers were to rehearse so that they wouldn’t lose their way in years to come when the nation would reject God.

21 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 imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware. 22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel. 23 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. 24 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, 25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, 26 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. 27 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? 28 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. 29 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. 30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

In verse 24 Moses makes an end of writing of the law (Torah) “until they were finished…” This is the first example of what we call today a CLOSED CANON. The other books of the Old Testament are not held in the same esteem as the first five books of the bible authored by Moses. Many people think that the New Testament canon and in fact the entire 66 books of the bible were supernaturally ratified and closed as a “canon” or holy collection of writings. In fact there was nothing other than a general consensus by the churches of the first 400 years of Christianity that these were the 66 authoritative books and the collection has been modified from time to time and in fact in major factions of Christianity there is not agreement on what constitutes “the canon”. Suffice to say this – Jesus did not die simply to give us a bible. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because of their blindness concerning the scriptures:

[Jhn 5:39 KJV] 39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

If the scriptures were enough we wouldn’t need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If the scriptures were enough (as some hold to the maxim “sola scriptura”) then there would be no need of the ministry, the church, or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself added to the necessity of scripture the coming of the Holy Spirit who would teach all things. We need to be careful not to ensconce the scriptures in a religious guilding of unbelief because we don’t want to be responsible to seek the counsel of God for ourselves in our every day lives.