And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel;
Moses has finished laying out the law, and he knows he will not cross the Jordan. Yet he goes once more to speak to the whole nation — so what is left for him to say?
This verse opens the final movement of the book. What follows is not new law but a farewell. Moses already knows what these people will do, and that shapes his tone.
William KellyAfter this, in Deuteronomy 31, we find Moses about to close his ministry. He had given, so to speak, his last address. Now he gives them a most solemn warning. He tells them that he knew the rebellion they would be guilty of. Joshua receives his charge, and the Levites too.
Why keep speaking to people he has warned so often? One writer points to affection, and to another leader's farewell — Paul's words to the church leaders at Ephesus.
C. H. MackintoshThe heart of Moses still lingers, with deep tenderness and affectionate concern, over the congregation. It seems as though he could never tire of pouring his earnest exhortations into their ears. He felt their need. He saw their danger coming. Like a true and faithful shepherd, he sought to prepare them for what was ahead, with all the deep and tender affection of his large, loving heart. No one can read his closing words without being struck by their unusually solemn tone. They remind us of Paul's touching farewell to the elders of Ephesus.
"These words" points back over everything Moses has been saying. The whole book has one aim, and the same writer names it.
C. H. MackintoshNothing can be more solemn than this closing appeal to the congregation. It fits the tone and character of the whole book of Deuteronomy. That book is marked all through by the most powerful appeals that ever fell on human ears. We have no such stirring appeals in any of the earlier books of Moses... From beginning to end, the great burden of Deuteronomy is exhortation. Its subject is the word of God. Its object is obedience — whole-hearted, earnest, loving obedience. And that obedience rests on a relationship they already know and on privileges they already enjoy.
Moses names his audience: all Israel. One writer stops to think what it took to reach a crowd that size.
Leslie M. GrantMoses gave these addresses in Deuteronomy to "all Israel" (v.1). He must have kept a powerful voice at age 120, to make it possible for 3,000,000 people to hear him!
Next, Moses mentions his age and God's word that he would not cross the Jordan. That could sound like self-pity. One writer reads it the opposite way.
C. H. MackintoshHow touching this reference to his great age, and this fresh and final mention of how God had dealt with him in solemn discipline! Both had one clear object: to give force to his appeal to the hearts and consciences of the people. Both strengthened the moral lever by which this beloved and honoured servant of God sought to move them toward simple obedience. If he points to his grey hairs, or to the holy discipline God exercised toward him, it is surely not to bring himself, his circumstances, or his feelings before them. It is to touch the deepest springs of their moral being by every possible means.
The same absence of self shows in how he speaks of the man replacing him.
C. H. MackintoshNot a word of complaint or regret about himself. Not the faintest trace of envy or jealousy when he speaks of the one who was to take his place. Nothing of the kind at all. One great object swallows up every selfish thought: to encourage the hearts of the people to walk with firm step in the pathway of obedience.
The speech that begins here ends with a change of leader. One writer finds a picture in that change.
The Bible TreasuryAt the end of the book of Deuteronomy (chapters 31 and 34), Joshua is named as the successor to Moses, the one who would bring the people in to take the land of Canaan. Moses came near to the Jordan, which stands for death. It is Joshua who leads the people into the enjoyment of their privileges.
- Closing. This verse begins Moses' final address — the end of his ministry, not new law.
- Caring. He speaks like a shepherd. He feels their need, sees their danger, and never tires of warning them.
- Concentrating. One burden runs through the whole book: whole-hearted, loving obedience, built on a relationship Israel already has.
- Comprehensive. The message goes to all Israel — his final appeal reaches everyone.
- Continuing. He even uses his age and his ban from the land to move them. He hands over to Joshua without a trace of envy.
and he said unto them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day, I can no more go out and come in; and Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
On the last day of his life, Moses opens by naming his own limits: his age, his fading power to lead, and God's word barring him from the Jordan. Why would a leader close his ministry with what he can no longer do — and what does that leave the people who must go on without him?
Moses is not asking for sympathy. His closing words aim at Israel's conscience. He uses his grey hairs and God's dealing with him as levers.
C. H. MackintoshHow touching that he points to his great age, and mentions one last time how God's government dealt with him personally! Both had one clear object: to give force to his appeal to the hearts and consciences of the people. This beloved and honoured servant of God was strengthening the moral lever by which he sought to move them toward simple obedience. He points to his grey hairs and to the holy discipline shown toward him. He does not do this to put himself, his circumstances, or his feelings before them. He does it only to touch the deepest springs of their moral being by every possible means.
Does the phrase mean Moses was physically worn out? One writer looks at the record of his health and answers no.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThere he stood, a hundred and twenty years old, a witness to the grace of his God. His eye was still the eye of youth, for it knew no dimness. And his frame was not bowed down by old age; there was no sign of feebleness about him (34:7). The words "I am no longer able to go out and come in" are not in conflict with the statement about his physical condition. He knew that he had to die because the Lord had told him so.
The last line of the verse gives God's own word on the matter. It reaches back to rash words Moses spoke long before, at the waters of Meribah.
C. H. MackintoshIt is very moving to see this eminent servant of God pressing a request that God would not grant. He longed to see that good land beyond Jordan. He wanted to plant his foot on the proper inheritance of the Israel of God. But it was not to be. He had spoken rash words at the waters of Meribah. By the solemn and unchangeable decision of divine government, God forbade him to cross the Jordan.
There is more here than personal discipline. Moses' own work set the limit.
C. H. MackintoshThe wilderness was his sphere of action. It was not his place to lead the people across the river of death into their destined inheritance. His ministry belonged to man's responsibility under law and to the government of God. So it never could lead the people into the enjoyment of the promise.
Another writer puts it more sharply. The law itself could never hand Israel the inheritance.
The Christian's FriendTheir inheritance could not come by the law in any way. So Moses, the mediator of the legal system, could not lead the people over Jordan — quite apart from his own personal failure. In the picture God was drawing it was impossible... Joshua — Israel's saviour in this sense — was the chosen vessel for carrying out God's purpose. In spirit Joshua pictures Christ, the Leader of His people in their conflicts.
Moses speaks of the man who will take his place. He does it without flinching.
C. H. MackintoshNot a word of murmuring or complaint about himself. Not the faintest tinge of envy or jealousy when he speaks of the one who was to take his place. Nothing of the kind comes anywhere near him. Every selfish thought is swallowed up in one great object: encouraging the hearts of the people to walk with firm step in the pathway of obedience.
Israel's real security was never the man at their head. So his announcement of his own end gives them a reason for courage, not fear.
Numerical Bible NotesThey need not be afraid, then, though Moses' strength is now to fail, nor faint even if he is struck down by God and set aside. Jehovah remains. He will go over before them and subdue all their enemies. Joshua too will go before them. They will have a leader, so that they may learn to submit — and yet God is the One they are really subject to.
- Limit. At 120, Moses names the end of his own service. He raises his age and the bar on crossing Jordan to move Israel's conscience toward obedience, not to draw pity.
- Discipline. The ban traces back to rash words at Meribah. God's government settled it, and God would not grant his plea to cross.
- Design. A deeper reason lies beneath the discipline. The man who brought the law was never the one to bring the people in.
- Successor. Joshua crosses instead, and Moses names him without a trace of envy or complaint.
- Constant. Moses fails, Moses goes — God remains, goes over first, and subdues the enemies. The people's confidence was never in the leader.
Jehovah thy God, he will go over before thee, he will destroy these nations from before thee, that thou mayest take possession of them Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as Jehovah hath said.
Moses is 120 years old, and God has barred him from crossing the Jordan. He points a nation facing armed enemies not to a plan but to a person: God Himself goes over first, with Joshua leading in his place.
Moses names his own replacement in the same breath as he names God's promise. One writer points to what is missing from his words:
C. H. MackintoshNot a word of murmuring or complaint about himself. Not the faintest trace of envy or jealousy when he speaks of the man who was to take his place. Nothing of the kind at all. One great aim swallows up every selfish thought in him: to encourage the hearts of the people to walk the path of obedience with a firm step. That path was then, is now, and always must be the path of victory, the path of blessing, the path of peace.
Two cross the Jordan in this verse: God Himself, then Joshua. That order tells Israel where their safety rests.
Leslie M. GrantIsrael did not depend on Moses, but on God, who would pass over before them. He would destroy the nations from the land, and Israel would dispossess them. But God would work now by means of Joshua, who would take Moses' place (v.3).
One writer traces the command to dispossess the Canaanites back to what they had become, and to what God had settled long before:
Leslie M. GrantThe Canaanites sank down into idolatry and demon worship in later years. So God told Israel to dispossess them of that land completely. God's sovereign choice for His people was absolute from the beginning. Whoever held their land in the meantime, this would have no effect on Israel's eventual possession of it. And there was no doubt about the righteousness of God in expelling the Canaanites in due time, because of their idolatry and demon worship.
Many people stumble over the thought that God Himself drove those nations out. One commentator answers them directly:
C. H. MackintoshOnly think of God driving out people with His own hand! What an answer to all the arguments and difficulties of an unhealthy sentimentality! How very shallow and mistaken are the thoughts of some about the governmental ways of God! How miserably one-sided their notions of His character and actions! How absurd to try to measure God by the standard of human judgement and feeling!
Moses failed personally, but one writer sees more than that behind his exclusion. The man who mediated the law could not bring the people into the inheritance.
The Christian's FriendTheir inheritance could not come by the law. So Moses, as the mediator of the legal system, could not lead the people over the Jordan, quite apart from his own personal failure. In the picture it was impossible. That is why, when he asked to go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that fine mountain and Lebanon, the Lord replied, "Let that be enough for you; speak no more to Me of this matter." Joshua — Israel's saviour in this sense — was the chosen vessel to carry out God's purpose. Joshua is a type of Christ in spirit, the Leader of His people in their conflicts.
One writer reads Joshua as a picture of Christ at work inside His people:
Leslie M. GrantJoshua had been constantly the companion of Moses, just as the Spirit of God had always been with the Lord Jesus. We may rightly regard Joshua as a type of Christ too, but not Christ as someone outside us. Rather, he pictures "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). Christ is in us by the power of the Spirit of God. This is how He leads us into our heavenly inheritance, and Joshua leading Israel into Canaan is the picture of it.
Israel faced armed nations; our enemies are different. One writer draws the same assurance out for the warfare God's people face now:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIn the appointed warfare there was no need to fear the enemies. The divine assurance was threefold: Jehovah goes with you, to fight for you, to save you. This assumes their obedience. If they were obedient, they had nothing to fear. Victory was on their side. And we too need to fear nothing in our warfare with the wicked spirits (Eph. 6). The Lord is on our side, and if we resist the devil he will flee from us.
- God goes first. Israel's confidence rests on the One who crosses ahead of them, not on the leader who follows Him.
- God gives the leader. Joshua is a gift inside that promise, named by Moses without a trace of envy — the servant dies, the work does not.
- God's reach is righteous. God removed those nations for idolatry and demon worship. The land was His choice for His people from the start. Objections fail because they measure Him by human feeling.
- God's man is not Moses. The mediator of the law could not hand over the inheritance. Joshua pictures Christ leading His people by the Spirit into what is theirs.
- God's result is victory. He goes with you, fights for you, saves you — and that same promise holds against spiritual enemies today.
And Jehovah will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land; whom he destroyed.
Moses is handing his work to Joshua, and Israel is about to cross the Jordan into Canaan. He does not point the people to an untested promise. He points them to a battle they have already won: if God has already dealt with Sihon and Og, why fear the kings of Canaan?
Sihon and Og were Amorite kings. Israel had already beaten them east of the Jordan, before the crossing. One writer sees a purpose in that timing.
Leslie M. GrantMoses gave these addresses only after the deaths of two special enemies, Sihon and Og. The victory over these two enemies held the prediction of further victory in the land (v.4). Israel had been afraid of entering the land before because of such enemies (Og was a giant — Deut. 3:11); now God had given them an object lesson in experience that should encourage them.
The verse measures the enemies ahead by the enemies behind. One writer explains why that measure holds.
C. H. MackintoshThe blessed awareness of the Lord's presence with us must always prove the true secret of strength as we move on. So must the memory of His gracious ways with us in days gone by. The same mighty hand which had subdued Sihon and Og before them could subdue all the kings of Canaan. The Amorites were quite as formidable as the Canaanites; the Lord was more than a match for all.
Memory can steady a person facing new danger, but it has a limit. One writer sets out that limit from the life of David.
The Christian's FriendDavid's past experience, recalled by present faith, made him able to face the possibilities of the future without fear.
We cannot live on past experiences. But faith argues that God is ever the same: as He has delivered, He will continue to deliver. It is very blessed, therefore, to learn what God is for us from His past dealings, and from His interventions on our behalf.
Moses will not lead this fight himself. One writer points out what is missing from his words about the man who will.
C. H. MackintoshNot a word of complaint or grumbling about himself. Not the faintest tinge of envy or jealousy in his reference to the one who was to take his place. Nothing of the kind, even distantly. One great object swallows up every selfish consideration: encouraging the hearts of the people to walk, with firm step, the pathway of obedience. That path was then, is now, and always must be, the path of victory, the path of blessing, the path of peace.
The verse covers their land as well as their kings. Taking a land from one people and giving it to another raises a moral question. One writer answers it from two directions: God's earlier choice, and the Canaanites' own guilt.
Leslie M. GrantThe Canaanites sank down into idolatry and demon worship in later years. So Israel was told to completely dispossess them of that land… God's sovereign choice for His people was absolute from the beginning. Whoever held that land in the meantime, it would have no effect on Israel's eventual possession of it. And there was no doubt about the righteousness of God in driving out the Canaanites in due time, because of their idolatry and demon worship.
The chapter also carries a song foretelling the people's failure. The charge to Joshua still stands beside it.
J. N. DarbyThere is much encouragement and comfort here. The exhortation and charge to Joshua comes at the same time as the prophetic song which announces the failure of the people. Our present work and duty, whatever it may be in the Church, hangs on that charge and rests on it. That holds true whatever we may know of the results as regards man's unfaithfulness. Note this well.
- Pledge — God beat Sihon and Og before the crossing. That finished victory predicted the ones still to come.
- Power — the same mighty hand faces both sets of kings. Canaan's kings were no stronger than the Amorite kings already fallen.
- Presence — we cannot live on memory alone. Faith reasons that God is unchanged, so what He has done He will do again.
- Participation — the people still walk the pathway of obedience. That path is the path of victory, blessing and peace.
- Perseverance — the charge stands even when failure is foretold. Our work rests on that charge, not on our record.
And when Jehovah giveth them up before you, ye shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you.
Moses is at the end of his life, speaking last words to a people who fear the giants across the Jordan. He sets two things side by side: God will hand the nations over, and Israel must then do all He commanded.
The promise does not rest on the man who leads Israel. Moses is stepping down, but Israel loses nothing that matters.
Leslie M. GrantIsrael did not depend on Moses, but on God, who would pass over before them. He would destroy the nations from the land, and Israel would dispossess them. But God would work now by means of Joshua, who would take Moses' place (v.3). As God did to Sihon and Og, so would He do with the nations of the land of Canaan (vs.4-5).
The verse before this one points back to two kings Israel had already beaten. Those defeats are the evidence Moses builds his promise on.
Leslie M. GrantMoses gave these addresses only after Israel had killed two special enemies, Sihon and Og. The victory over these two enemies was a prediction of further victory in the land (v.4). Israel had been afraid of entering the land before because of such enemies (Og was a giant — Deut. 3:11), now God had given them an object lesson in experience that should encourage them.
What God has done becomes the measure of what He will do, and that is where courage comes from.
C. H. MackintoshThe remembrance of the Lord's dealings with us in the past should strengthen our confidence in going on. He had given His people such a victory over the Amorites. He had destroyed a fearsome enemy like Og king of Bashan, and handed them all the land of the giants. What could He not do for them?… The grand point is to keep God Himself always before our eyes. Then difficulties vanish… He has delivered; and He does deliver; and He will deliver.
"Will give them over to you" does not mean Israel stays home. The gift and the going belong together.
J. N. DarbyThey must go there, overcome the obstacles with the help and by the power of God, and take actual possession. Without that they could not possess it; and, in fact, this is what happened. They never took possession of all the land which God had given.
Modern readers stumble at what God told Israel to do to these nations. Commentators answer from two directions. The first is the long patience God showed before judgment fell.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThese nations were sunk in the most awful immorality and practised the vilest, most detestable things… God had put up with these nations for many centuries. In His mercy He waited before He drew the sword of justice. The measure of their wickedness was now full, the time for judgment had come. The Lord called Israel to be the executioner of that awful judgment.
The second is that Israel acted on an authority no later conqueror could claim. One writer compares the conquest with the Spanish invasion of South America and says the two are not alike:
C. H. MackintoshThere is one grand and all-important difference. Israel had the direct authority of God for what they did to Sihon and Og. The Spaniards could show no such authority for what they did to the poor ignorant native peoples of South America. That changes the case entirely.
Moses announces his own replacement here. He does it without a trace of resentment, because his whole aim lies elsewhere.
C. H. MackintoshNot a word of murmuring or complaint about himself. Not the faintest trace of envy or jealousy when he speaks of the man who was to take his place… One great aim swallows up every selfish thought: to encourage the hearts of the people to walk with a firm step in the path of obedience. That path was then, is now, and always must be the path of victory, the path of blessing, the path of peace.
Obeying the whole commandment is not a weight tacked onto the promise. It shapes the life of the one who obeys.
Numerical Bible NotesHow strengthening and inspiring it is to have your life shaped by the declared will of God! What encouragement there is in knowing that you are only obeying, and that the word you obey is both perfect and authoritative!… the path of obedience is the path of real strength and blessing and fruitfulness.
- Proof: Sihon and Og were the object lesson — enemies already beaten, and a prediction of every victory still ahead.
- Giver: God hands the nations over. The conquest is His work through Joshua, not a leader's own strength.
- Taken: Israel still had to walk in and fight for what God gave, or they never held it.
- Righteous: The command falls on nations whose wickedness was full after centuries of God's patience. Israel acted under His direct authority — something no later conqueror could claim.
- Path: Obedience to the whole commandment is the road the promise runs on — the path of victory, blessing and peace.
Be strong and courageous, fear them not, neither be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God, he it is that goeth with thee; he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Moses is a hundred and twenty years old and near the end of his life. The people he leaves behind still face the kings of Canaan. His parting word to them is not a strategy but a Person: the LORD Himself goes over with them.
Moses is leaving, yet his final concern is that Israel should trust the One who is not leaving. One writer notes how strong he still was, and how he turned the people to the Lord:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThere he stood, a hundred and twenty years old, a witness to the grace of his God. His eye was still the eye of youth... He encouraged the people to trust in the Lord and assured them that the Lord would give them victory. "It is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Precious words these! And the same LORD is on our side, never to leave nor forsake His people.
The command to be strong is not a demand to feel brave. It rests on what God has already done. Sihon and Og were two kings Israel had already beaten on the way, and they set the measure for every enemy still ahead:
C. H. MackintoshWhat precious, soul-sustaining words are these... Knowing that the Lord is with us, and remembering His gracious ways with us in the past — this must always be the true secret of strength as we go on. The same mighty hand that had subdued Sihon and Og before them could subdue all the kings of Canaan. The Amorites were just as strong as the Canaanites; the LORD was more than a match for all.
This is not a one-off encouragement for one generation. The same call meets God's people at every stage of their history, from Egypt to the "lowest pit" of their distress:
H. L. RossierThis word meets the ears of the people of God every time they have to do with the enemy, whether in Egypt (Ex. 14:13) or in the borders of the wilderness (Num. 14:9; Deut. 1:21; Deut. 31:6, 8), or in Canaan under Joshua... And when Israel lay in the "lowest pit" and cried to God in their distress, the Lord answered, "Fear not" (Lam. 3:57).
Joshua receives a personal charge a few verses later. Its content is the same as what the whole nation has just heard. God gives the man at the front nothing extra:
C. H. MackintoshJoshua needed a special word for himself, since he was called to a leading and honoured place among the people. But the word to him contains the same precious truth as the word spoken to the whole assembly. God assures him of His presence and power. This is enough for each, for all; for Joshua as for the least-known member of the assembly.
Being strong can be confused with something that only looks like it. One writer draws a sharp line, and warns against losing the real thing out of fear of the counterfeit:
William KellyMany sincere Christians go wrong here. They confuse good courage with presumption. They mistake confidence in the Lord for the lowest and proudest feeling of the flesh — mere boldness with no real trust in God. May God keep every one of His children from presumption! On the other hand, God forbid that any child of His should lose the true courage and simple confidence God is owed, just because something else counterfeits it.
The New Testament quotes these words in Hebrews 13:5. Commentators differ on which passage Hebrews draws from. Some point to the promise given to Joshua. One writer traces it back here, and notes what the quotation does with it:
C E StuartThe readers of the letter surely knew this statement, and the closest words to it in Scripture are in Deut. 31:6 and 1 Chron. 28:20... Moses states it as a fact he was sure of. The writer of Hebrews brings it forward as God's promise to His people, because God inspired Moses to say it.
Words first spoken to one generation can therefore be claimed by any believer:
J. G. BellettAny of us may take up the words given to Moses (Deut. 31:6, 8) and to Joshua (Joshua 1:5), with the holy boldness of faith. (Heb. 13:5-6)
In Hebrews the promise is not about battle but about being content. That is worth pausing over, because our circumstances are often far from good:
F. B. HoleThey are so bad that God will sweep them all away the moment this age closes. Why then are we to be satisfied with them?... because He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." That is it. We can be satisfied in our present circumstances, because God guarantees us the lasting presence of the One we thirst for.
- Presence first. Courage rests not on Israel's strength or Joshua's skill, but on God going with them.
- Presence proved. Yesterday's victories over Sihon and Og are the evidence that today's enemies are no larger than God.
- Presence for all. The leader gets no better promise than the least-known person in the camp; it is enough for each and for all.
- Presence claimed. Faith takes these words for itself. But real courage trusts God; it is never mere recklessness.
- Presence enough. Hebrews turns Moses' certainty into a lasting promise, and applies it to contentment. If He stays with us, we can bear our present circumstances.
And Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and courageous, for thou must go with this people into the land which Jehovah hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
Moses is about to die, and in front of the whole nation he calls forward the man who will take his place. The charge commands courage and hands over a task, and both raise one question: where does a leader find strength he does not have?
This was not a job Joshua could turn down. One writer draws out both the pressure and the relief in Moses' words, quoting an older translation that reads "must go with this people."
Leslie M. GrantMoses then called Joshua, announcing him before all Israel as God's newly appointed leader. He urged him to be strong and courageous, for he "must go with this people to the land." This was God's binding decision, and Joshua had no way of escape. But Joshua is assured that the Lord will go before him, never leaving or forsaking him. Therefore there was no reason to fear.
Joshua gets a role no one else will fill. But the comfort he receives is not reserved for great men.
C. H. MackintoshJoshua needed a special word for himself, as one called to fill a prominent and very distinguished place in the congregation. But the word to him holds the same precious truth as the word to the whole assembly. God assures him of His presence and power with him. This is enough for each, for all; for Joshua as for the most obscure member of the assembly... It does not matter in the least what difficulties or dangers lie ahead of us. Our God is more than enough for all. If we only have the sense of the Lord's presence with us, and the authority of His word for the work we are doing, we may move on with joyful confidence, despite ten thousand difficulties and hostile influences.
The call to be strong sits in the same chapter as the song about Israel's coming unfaithfulness. That timing brings comfort.
J. N. DarbyIt is a great encouragement and comfort that God gives Joshua this exhortation and charge at the same time as the prophetic song that announces the failure of the people. Our present work and duty in the Church, whatever it may be, hangs on that charge and rests on it, whatever we may know about the results of man's unfaithfulness. Note this well.
So Joshua's courage had to rest on something steadier than the people he was leading.
C. H. MackintoshHe 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 power of a faith that endures because it sees Him who is invisible.
Moses hands the task to Joshua. One writer explains why, looking at Moses' office rather than at the man.
C. H. MackintoshLooking at this loved and honoured man in his official role, it is very plain that it was not his part to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. The wilderness was his sphere of action. It was not his to lead the people across the river of death into their destined inheritance. His ministry was tied to man's responsibility under law and the government of God, so it could never lead the people into the enjoyment of the promise.
Commentators differ on what Joshua himself pictures. Some read him as a picture of Christ leading His people now by the Spirit:
William KellyIt is Christ now in Spirit leading the people into the land. That is, it is the power of the Spirit of God who, answering to Christ's glory, enables Christians now to take hold of and know their place in heaven where He is.
Others read the two leaders as two comings: "Moses is the type of Christ's first coming, and Joshua the type of the second coming of Christ" (Arno Clemens Gaebelein).
One writer, writing about Joshua's own old age, draws the principle that fits Moses stepping down here.
H. Forbes WitherbyJoshua may lose vigour, great leaders may become infirm, but the Lord remains ever the same. If only the saints would look to God and not to leaders, they would prosper even when death takes those leaders away. This does not mean we should think little of true leaders, for they are God's gifts to His people. Even so, God is the One His saints must look to.
- Commanded — "Be strong" was not advice Joshua could turn down. God had settled it, and there was no way out.
- Company — the Lord goes before him, and that promise supplies the courage He commands. It belongs to the whole assembly, not to the leader alone.
- Covenant — Joshua had to look past a people already marked out to fail, to the promise God swore to their fathers. Work done under that charge stands, whatever man does.
- Change of hands — the wilderness was Moses' sphere. Leading the people into the inheritance belonged to his successor. Commentators read Joshua as a picture of Christ acting now by His Spirit, or of Christ's second coming.
- Continuity — leaders grow old and die. Those who look to God, not to leaders, keep going strong when the leaders are gone.
And Jehovah, he it is that goeth before thee he will be with thee; he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.
Moses is one hundred and twenty years old and cannot cross the Jordan, so he hands the people over to Joshua in front of the whole nation. Does Israel's future rest on the man who leads them, or on the One who goes ahead of them?
Moses gives this charge just as Israel loses its human support. One writer explains why losing Moses need not shake them:
F. W. GrantThey need not be afraid, then, even though Moses' strength is about to fail, and even though God strikes him down and sets him aside. The Lord remains, and He will cross over before them and subdue all their enemies. Joshua will also go ahead of them. They will have a leader, so that they learn to submit. Yet the One they truly submit to must be God. Leader and people, let them be strong, because weakness dishonours the God they belong to. He will not fail nor forsake.
Moses names Joshua in front of everyone. But what he tells him is not only for people in high office:
C. H. MackintoshJoshua needed a special word for himself, because God called him to a leading place among the people. But the word to him contains the same precious truth as the word addressed to the whole assembly. God assures him that His presence and power are 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 you, whoever you are, and whatever your place in life.
One writer looks past the human leader to the One who actually goes first, once the people's doubt has been answered:
F. W. GrantSo the Lord clears Himself of the blame that the unbelief of His people has laid on Him. He is the real Leader, the only one, and He is enough. He is the Shepherd of Israel. His eyes never grow tired, and His heart is never wrong. He is the One who "will neither slumber nor sleep."
The same promise stands over the Lord's service. One writer links it to the courage that service asks for:
J. N. DarbyAt the same time, the promise of never being left nor forsaken (Deut. 31:6, 8) keeps its full force. This is what you can count on in the Lord's service. His presence carries such power that no one will be able to stand before His servant. That power will never leave him. With this full encouragement, God calls the one who walks by the Spirit to be strong and courageous.
The New Testament repeats these words. One writer traces where the quotation comes from and how its standing changes:
C E StuartThe nearest wording to these words in Scripture is found in Deut. 31:6 and 1 Chron. 28:20. In the first passage Moses was addressing Israel before his death... Deut. 31:6 is the first place where both "fail" and "forsake" appear. So we may believe it was in the Apostle's mind. There Moses gives his assurance that the Lord keeps watching over His people. The Apostle saw that Moses was speaking the truth of God. Moses stated it as a fact he was sure of. The writer of Hebrews brings it forward as God's promise to His people, because God inspired Moses to say it.
The command not to be afraid is not a call to summon up nerve. It rests on the strength of Another:
F. W. GrantThis strength comes from an arm that is not our own. It is the sweetest strength a creature can know. It is companionship, closeness, perfect security — all holiness and all wisdom. God with us means all that God is.
- Leader fails. Moses' strength is gone and God sets him aside. But God remains. The people's confidence must rest on Him, not on the man in front.
- God goes first. God Himself is the real Leader, and He is enough. He is the Shepherd whose eyes never tire and who never sleeps.
- Presence promised. God promises Joshua His presence and power. That is enough for each and for all, down to the least known person in the camp.
- Promise passed on. Moses stated it as a certainty. The New Testament repeats it as God's own promise, because Moses spoke by inspiration. It still holds in the Lord's service, where no one can stand before His servant.
- Fear silenced. The courage commanded comes from an arm that is not our own — "God with us" means all that God is.