In Deuteronomy 31, 22 and following,
Moses therefore wrote this song the same day and taught it to
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 swear unto
them, and I will be with thee." 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 Levite, which bared
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, watch this, that it might be there for a
witness against thee. For I know thy rebellion and
thy stiffness. Behold, while I am yet alive
with you this day, you 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
you will utterly corrupt yourself, 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. And Moses spake in the ears of
all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until
they were ended." Now, in Acts chapter 20, we find something
along that line, not as long, but in Acts 20 and verse 28-30,
Paul is speaking He has gathered the Ephesian
elders and is delivering unto them his farewell address. Verse 28, Take heed therefore
unto yourself and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath
purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing
the flock. Also of your own selves shall
men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples
after them." Now I've already mentioned that in this study
and from these texts that we will meet two of the most prominent
characters, and two of the greatest servants of God that we meet
with anywhere in the Scripture. One under the old economy, that
would be Moses. One under the new, and that would
be the Apostle Paul. Thus, one under the law and the
other under the gospel. Now, these two servants of God
are, of course, Moses in the old, and Paul in the New. And what was said, I believe,
concerning David, could be said of these two choice servants
of God. And that is, after they had served
their own generation well, they fell on sleep according to the
will of God. Now, another striking resemblance
is this, that in both texts, Deuteronomy 31 and Acts chapter
20, there is a farewell address from these men unto the people
among whom they served in the things of God. Nor is the comparison
even there exhausted yet, as both of them, Moses and also
Paul, predicted a worsening state of affairs after their departure. after Moses was dead and after
Paul went on unto another place. That these things would deteriorate
after their departure. That where they had served the
Lord, when they are gone, a deterioration would set in. Moses tells the
congregation in Deuteronomy 31 and verse 29, that after his death they would
corrupt themselves and turn out of the way, turn back from the
way that he had commanded them and had led them. And Paul, leaving
Ephesus for the very last time, and what a sad event it was as
we read that text, in Acts chapter 20 and verse 29, tells the elders
very plainly, I know this. I know this. to be true and beyond
a shadow of a doubt, that after my departure shall grievous wolves
enter in among you." Now, we're going to consider the case of
Moses first, therefore, Deuteronomy chapter 31. Before we do, let's
get a short, quick overview of the book called Deuteronomy.
Let's look at that book and its place in the canon and what is
contained therein. Most expositors agree that the
very name, Deuteronomy, means a second giving of the law, or
the law a second time given. Now, it was upon Moses' account
here a shock to be reminded that they would go to a worse state
after his death. And then when I was reading Matthew
Henry's commentary on this particular passage of the Scripture, and
John Gill also on Deuteronomy, that the book of Deuteronomy
covers a period of about only two months in the history of
the nation of Israel. One of those was spent in Moses
delivering his admonition and his exhortation and his instruction
and warning to the congregation because the Lord had said that
he would soon die and not enter over into the land of Canaan. Some expositors see the body
of the book consisting in three large speeches or discourses
that were delivered by Moses unto the people of Israel. The first one, just quickly,
runs from chapter 1 and verse 6 all the way down to chapter
4 and verse 40. Then the second discourse of
Moses runs from chapter 5 all the way through chapter 26. And
the third runs from chapter 27 through chapter 32, and here
is the division that is most commonly seen in the book of
Deuteronomy. Then with chapter 31 through
chapter 34, it contains the farewell address of Moses, many things
that he said to them, wanted to say unto them because he was
departing. And then attached at the end
of the book is a record of the death of Moses, must have been
appended by some other hand, not Moses. Now in chapter 31,
let's look there and work our way toward the text that we are
considering. In this chapter, chapter 31,
Moses with his impending death, set some matters straight, make
some final arrangements in lieu of His coming departure by death. The Lord had revealed unto His
servant Moses that like the Apostle Peter, He must shortly put off
this My tabernacle. Remember, as Moses said to the
people in the second verse, The Lord had told Moses that he would
not be the one to lead the people of God into the land of Canaan. The reason for that you have
in Numbers chapter 20 and about verse 7 through verse 12, when
Moses smote the rock in anger instead of speaking to it as
God said, and God said he should not therefore go into the land
of Canaan. In Deuteronomy 3.23-27, there
is a very touching scenario that is played out. Here, Moses recounts
to Joshua and to the people how he besought the Lord for them
in Deuteronomy 3.24, how he praised God for His mighty works that he had done among the people. Verse 25, how he prayed to God
to be allowed to enter over into Canaan. My, the great man had
endured so long and put up so much with Him, yet would not
have the privilege of going over into the land of Canaan. He would
not go beyond the river. He would not go beyond Jordan
or the mountain of Lebanon. In verse 26, Chapter 3, the Lord
was wroth with Moses for the people's sake, and he would not
be persuaded. Moses prayed, and the Lord God
said unto him, that's it. I don't want to hear it again.
Don't speak to me about this matter ever again. Verse 27,
God granted His servant Moses to stand in the hill of Pisgah,
climb that hill, and there to view the land from afar. But he would not allow Moses
himself to enter in or have the honor of leading the people into
the land of Canaan. That was to be the work and the
calling of Joshua. So we come back to chapter 31
then. And in verses 1-6, Moses encourages and he exhorts the
people as the crossing drew near over Jordan into Canaan, that
God would overcome their enemies in their face and would not forsake
them. And he would not fail of anything
that he had promised them in his covenant. Now in verse 7
and 8, Moses, therefore, exhorts Joshua to be strong as he would
lead the people across Jordan. And God would be with them, He
would not forsake them, and He would not fail in anything. Verse 9-13 then, Moses delivered
the book of the law unto the Levites, This was to be read
among the people every seventh year and was to be laid up beside
the Ark of the Covenant. Then in verse 14 and 15, working
our way in chapter 31, the Lord gave a charge to Moses and to
Joshua. And in that occasion, we could
literally say that the mantle of Moses fell upon Joshua. And in Deuteronomy 34 and verse
9 we read, And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit
and of wisdom. And listen to this. for Moses
had laid his hand upon him." Where? In Numbers chapter 27,
verse 18 and verse 23. Moses laying his hand, therefore,
upon Joshua who would be his successor and would finish the
work that he had started. Verse 23, again, Moses charges
Joshua that he will lead the people into the land of Canaan. Verse 24-27, Moses gives the
Levites, those of the minister family, the writing, with a charge
to lay them up beside the Ark of the Covenant. And the closing
words of verse 26, look at them, that it might be for a witness
against you. There is some mystery. among
some authors of good note, exactly what this writing of the law
was that is mentioned in this play, whether it refers to the
table concerning the Ten Commandments, or whether it is the Deuteronomy
book that is in mind, or something that Moses had written that is
here called a song. We remember that the Ten Commandments
were laid up inside of the ark, And this writing was to be laid
up, I think, beside it, but on the outside. So consider the
connection between the last part of verse 26 and verse 27. Look, that it may be for a witness
or a testimony against you. And verse 27 carries the thought
and the reason, or at least a reason for putting the writing beside
the art. And that would be their future
sins. Lay this book up for their future
sin. For I know thy rebellion and
thy stiff neck. Now, who knew them better than
Moses, we might ask. Who was better acquainted with
the character, the behavior, of the children of Israel than
Moses. He had been with them all those
years in the desert and had seen all of their rebellion. Forty
years Moses had been with his people. He led them out of Egypt. He guided them in and through
the wilderness. There was not a thing about them
that Moses did not know and was thoroughly acquainted with. But
note something else in verse 27. While I was alive with you,
yet unto this day you have been rebellious against God. Now notice he's fixing to make
a great point. While I'm yet alive, while I'm
yet among you, even till now have you continued your rebellion
against the Lord. Now back in chapter 9, verse
7, Moses tells them, Remember how you provoked the Lord your
God to wrath in the wilderness from the day you left Egypt until
you came to this place? You have been rebellious against
the Lord. Deuteronomy 9 and verse 24, You
have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I
knew you, Moses said unto them. from the first day that he took
up the work of leading them about. You have been rebellious since
I knew you." And back to chapter 31 and verse 27, Moses now continues
berating them as he speaks to them. He said, Behold, while
I was yet alive this day, you've been rebellious against the Lord
your God. Their whole history was one rebellion
after another. Though Moses does not stop here
to make a catalog of many of their sins, yet he might have
examples one after another he might have given. And if the
people should impudently ask, like those priests did in the
book of Malachi, wherein have we provoked the Lord? Wherein
have we been rebellious? Then we might answer them, at
Marah, they murmured because the water was bitter and undrinkable. Exodus chapter 15. But God sweetened
the water by having Moses throw a bush into it. In the wilderness
between Elam and Sinai, they again murmured from hunger in
Exodus chapter 16. wish that they had died in the
misery of Egypt rather than out in the desert. In Exodus 17,
at Rephidim, again, they found no water to drink. And they chided
and they murmured against Moses, causing them to thirst to death. They said, you've brought us
out here that we might die of thirst. God had Moses smite a
rock and sweet and wonderful water was provided. In Exodus
32, their rebellion reaches its height, for they build a golden
cave, and there dance about it and ascribe glory unto it. In Numbers 13 and 14, at Kadesh,
at the border of the promised land, when the spies came back
with a report, it's a good land, but it's filled with giants.
And the people feared, They would be slain by the sword of those
living in the land of Canaan that God was not able to grant
them protection and preserve them. And for that, they wandered
40 years in the wilderness to all of that congregation, saving
two had died. In number 16, Korah led a rebellion
and a mutiny against Moses, challenging his authority. And Korah was
joined by 250 princes, or men of renown of the congregation. And do you remember that the
earth opened up and swallowed up many of them that day? In
Numbers 21 it was, in Edom, they got discouraged. They spoke against
Moses that he had brought them out into the wilderness just
to die. Here the Lord sent fiery serpents
among them, fit them, and many of the people died. And, of course,
you remember putting the serpent on the pole as the cure. And, by the way, Paul, in Romans
10, 21, calling them a disobedient and gainsaying people. Because,
you see, Romans 10 deals with the failings and the sins of
Israel. Such as they rejected the righteousness
of God for their own. They rejected the gospel. And
from all they continued against the sinning against the mercies
that God had bestowed upon them. So back to Deuteronomy 31, 27
again. And the finishing of the contrast
or of the comparison. Here's what Moses said. You have
been rebellious while I am yet among you and alive. And if you have been rebellious
while I am alive and among you, then how much more after my death?"
Now there's what he lays upon them. You have sinned in my face. You have sinned while you were
under my Leadership. What will you do when I am dead? Jump for a minute to verse 29
of that chapter. He says, For I know that after
my death you will corrupt and turn aside from the way that
I have commanded you. We might ask of Moses. What the Lord asked of Pilate
in John 18, 33 and 34 in the judgment hall, when Pilate asked
Jesus, Are you the king of the Jews?" In verse 33, Pilate asked
him. The Lord asked him in verse 34,
Are you asking this of yourself, or did some other tell it unto
you, such as the Jewish enemies of our Lord and of our Savior? Now, in Moses' case, the Lord
had told him in Deuteronomy 31, And verse 16, the Lord said unto
Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy father, 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 given unto them. And Joshua,
no doubt, had heard that as well. It is here a foretelling of the
fall and the idolatrous behavior of the Jews even after they were
in the promised land. Even after God had brought them
into that good land flowing with milk and honey, yet would they
sin. This is a picture of the incorrigible
depravity of the human family. Thus Moses had it upon two accounts. Number one, from his own personal
experience with them and their constant rebellion, Moses knew
them. Number two, the testimony of
God said the same thing. We remember this is one reason
why the writing of the law from the hand of Moses was laid up
beside the ark as a witness or testimony against them. As an example, of the influence
of Moses on the people when he was present with them and leading
them, as opposed to his being absent, then please consider
their degrading and disgusting behavior in Exodus chapter 32. When Moses was long absent, when
Moses had gone into the mount and stayed, and they said, we
don't know what's become of this man, Make us gods that we might
worship, they said unto Aaron. They made a god to go before
them, and what did they do? They made a golden calf. When Moses returned, he ground
that golden calf to powder, if you remember, scattered it upon
the water, and made them drink of that bitter dose. And then
had the sons of Levi draw their swords against the congregation
and 3,000 were killed after the making of that golden calf. Even
in spite of their rebellion, Moses held a tight rein on them. At times, Moses would punish
them vigorously, rigorously for their sin, especially some of
the great wonders that God did in behalf of His servant Moses,
how he was frustrated the mutinous designs of the people. Put the
fear of God in them, Moses would, when they had sinned. Now, I'm
turning to Deuteronomy 34, verses 10 through 12. I'd like to enter
that into our study at this particular time. Deuteronomy, the last book
of Deuteronomy, and the last verses of it. Chapter 34, verse
10 through verse 12. And they arose not a prophet
since, in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
in all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do
in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and to all his servants to all
of his land, and in all that mighty hand, and the great terror
which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel." Now, when Moses
was dead, The people wept and they mourned according to the
law a month or thirty days. That's in Deuteronomy 34 and
verse 8. The greatest prophet of them
all, saving Jesus Christ, the one the Lord knew face to face.
Moses was brought up before the Lord. He died there. And the
Lord bestowed an honor upon this great man that was not even bestowed
upon his own son. That is, the Lord buried Moses
in a secret place. Deuteronomy 34, verse 3-6. The best explanation that I could
give as to why God would keep this grave secret is to keep
the Jews from making an idol out of the body of Moses. For there is a tendency among
men to vilify a living man and to deify, or sainthood, a dead
man. Just to mention it quickly in
passing, there is an interesting thing mentioned in Jude verse
9. A dispute between Lucifer and
Michael the archangel, quote, about the body of Moses, unquote. That's a very interesting passage
of the Scripture. There's no account of this, anywhere
in the Old Testament, so how can I help you? And yet, in the
context of Jude, verse 9, is a caution against speaking evil
against our obdignitaries. That's in verse 8, the last part. We must let this die and lie
until another time. But that's the reason why that
particular text is brought in concerning the body about the
dispute about the body of Moses. Now, switching our focus from
Deuteronomy over to the 20th chapter of the book of Acts,
and Paul telling the Ephesian elders, for I know that after
my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing
the flock. always we consider the context
of a passage. There are some similarities between
Moses and Paul in that in Acts 20 and 25, they would see Paul
no more. He would leave them. He would
never be among them again. Never minister to them again.
Never be in their fellowship. And in verse 26 and verse 27,
they had true that he would be true and steadfast
to the Word of God was Paul's exhortation as Moses had exhorted
them to the law. And any that heard Paul, he says,
you're without excuse. If I have ministered among you,
you are without excuse. I am clear and innocent of the
blood of all men. And why? Because I have not shunned
to declare unto you all the counsel of God." And Paul feared that
grievous wolves would enter in when he was gone, and that the
people would allow them room and would hear them. Paul, notwithstanding
any and all deviation from the gospel during his life. He stood
steadfast like a rock, never yielding to any transgression
or corruption of the gospel. But now, he was leaving them. He was leaving them for good.
He had put into their hearts the words that God had given
him, and they would not have him in their personal presence
anymore. to guide them, or to correct
them from error, or to withstand the heretic that came among them. Tells them, I know that. And
these are the same words in verse 25, I know that you will see
my face no more. I know this. How he knew it is
not said. whether by some divine revelation,
as with Moses, or by Paul's personal experience with the heretics
among the Judaizers, for they nipped at his heels everywhere
that he went. They came and opposed him. Even
when Paul was present, much like Moses, there were grievous wolves
that would contradict him, that would stand up and oppose him
and his preaching, and seek to impose Judaism upon the converts
and withstand the truth that Paul had grounded them in. How much more when he is gone? He stood steadfast among them,
allowed no heresy, no perversion of the gospel, but what when
the great apostle was gone? Remember what Moses had said
in Deuteronomy 32, 31 and verse 27, while I'm alive with you,
you have sinned. What will it be when I'm dead
and gone? Paul feared to phone two accounts
for the Ephesian church. What would occur after his departure? How would it be with him? Number
one, wolves entering in from without, seeking to devour the
flock. But that's not all. some of you
out of your own selves, right out of their number, right out
of their congregation, would rise up, seeking to draw men
away after themselves, men who had crept in unaware. And they, in the words of F.F. Bruce, quote, from their own
ranks onward, arise to seduce the disciples with heretical
bypass, unquote. Now to broaden the study a bit,
here's Moses and here's Paul, and make some observations and
some amplifications and applications, considering a passage in Luke
chapter 23 and verse 31. I have never in my ministry preached
on this, but here is a mysterious text of the Scriptures. It says
this, If they have done these things in a green tree, What
will they do in the dry? Now let's see if we can get a
picture of that in our mind. If they have done these things
in a green tree, a healthy, vigorous, live-producing green tree, what
will they do in the dry when it is dead and the leaves are
drooped and such like? Interesting verse, huh? A very
mysterious verse, is it? In its context, these words were
spoken by the Lord. as He was being taken out to
be crucified. That's when they were spoken
by our Lord on the way. In Luke 23, 27-33, as He went,
here's the summation of it, a crowd followed Him, including some
women. And the women mourned and lamented
in verse 27. Then in verse 28, the bloody
Lord addresses them saying this, Jerusalem women, Weep not for
me, but weep for yourselves. And then look at verse 29 and
30. He predicts not an afterlife
judgment, but the coming destruction of Jerusalem. He says to them,
blessed are the ones who never had children. Blessed are they
who have no children to see subjected to this misery and to be ravaged. or so great would be the destruction,
so great would be the tribulation, that people would wish that the
mountains and the rocks and the caves would fall upon them, hiding
them from the terrors that were to come upon them. And the metaphor
here, if such things are done to Christ, the living green tree,
what will be done to dead, dry Judaism? What will be their judgment
if these things are done unto me, the green tree? Some applications
now as we draw our study to a close. The same thing happened in the
time of the judges. Listen to Judges 2 and verse
19. When the judge was dead, they
corrupted themselves in following other gods. In Judges 4 and verse
1, the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the
Lord when Ehud was dead." And again, in Judges 8 and 33, it
came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of
Israel turned away and went a-whoring after Baalim, another false god. So, some applications concerning
these things. There are some that stand in
the gap. or some whom God has made, as
it were, a solid rock. Some are like glue that holds
the things together, and when they're gone, sometimes things
fall apart, such as a grace preacher might leave or die, and the people
might fall into Arminianism. I know a sad case of a church
in Kentucky, pastor many years there, Got old, sick, unable
to continue, retired, new preacher called, new doctrine preached,
church split. Again, the death of one or both
parents. Sometimes the family falls apart. Sometimes the family goes to
the dogs when they lose their parents who were as a solid rock. What a change came in Israel
when Joseph died. No more were they favored for
the sake of Joseph. I've been intrigued by one of
Solomon's reflections from Ecclesiastes 2, 18 and 19. Ever since I learned
this, it has intrigued me. Solomon said basically this,
all that I've gained by my labor, all that I've gathered together
by my wisdom and by my frugality, will be left to the man that
comes after me." That is, his heirs in verse 19. And he says,
that person will have rule over all of the works of my hand. You know, have you ever thought
about that? Everything you have will someday pass into the hands
of others. But here's Solomon's concern.
Will he be a fool or a wise man? Will he labor and watch it good? Will he be a good steward or
will he be a fool and scatter it under the wind? I have known
parents who died, left their children with quite a bit of
money. First thing they do is sell the house and you see them
in a red, high-powered sport car. A few days later, it's gone,
squandered to the wind. Finally, we must admit, no matter
how useful one is to their generation, No matter how much influence
or good they might have upon others, no matter how well they
may guide the family and tend to those things, yet they will
go the way of all flesh. This will be the end of all,
even though their removal will oftentimes result in a worsening
of the ones that they were guiding. is God's Word. After I'm gone
and dead, he said, you will corrupt yourself. Paul said, after I'm
gone and not here, grievous wolves will come and will ravage you. Great men they were who stood
in the gap for God and made up the hedge. All right, let's bow
our heads please for a word of final prayer.