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534 | Deuteronomy 31 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, We invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Have you ever faced a season of change and wondered how you would move forward?
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  Deuteronomy chapter 31 meets us right in the middle of one of those moments.
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  As Moses prepares to leave the people he has shepherded for 40 years,
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  he speaks words that every believer needs to hear.
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  Be strong and of a good courage, for the Lord thy God goes with you.
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  This chapter is a reminder that even when seasons shift, God remains faithful.
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  Moses passes leadership to Joshua, but the real leader, the Lord himself, never changes.
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  The people of God are called to courage, not because life is easy,
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  but because God is present.
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  In this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast,
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  Erica Closes teaches from Deuteronomy chapter 31, and focuses on verse 6,
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  a verse filled with strength, comfort, and promise.
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  He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
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  Join us as we learn how to face life's transitions with confidence,
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  how to anchor our hearts in the Word of God, and how to trust the Lord who goes
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  before us, walks beside us, and keeps His promises to the very end.
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  Join with me as we read Deuteronomy chapter 31.
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  And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them,
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  I am a hundred and twenty years old this day.
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  I can no more go out and come in.
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  Also the Lord has said to me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
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  The Lord thy God, he will go before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee.
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  And thou shalt possess them, and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord has said.
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  And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og,
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  kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them who he destroyed.
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  And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according
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  unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. Be strong and of a good courage.
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  Fear not, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee.
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  He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
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  And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel,
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  Be strong and of a good courage.
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  For thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto
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  their fathers to give them, and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
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  And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee, he will be with thee,
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  he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee, fear not, neither be dismayed.
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  And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests,
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  the sons of Levi, which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
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  and unto the elders of Israel.
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  And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of seven years.
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  And the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of the tabernacles,
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  when all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which
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  he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
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  Gather the people together, men and women and children,
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  and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that thou may hear,
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  and that they may learn and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the
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  words of this law, and that their children, which have not known anything,
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  may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land
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  whither you go over Jordan to possess it.
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  And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die.
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  Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation,
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  that I may give him a charge.
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  And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.
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  And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud,
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  and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.
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  And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers,
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  and this people will rise up, and go whoring after the gods of the strangers
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  of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me,
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  and break my covenant which I have made with them.
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  Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake
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  them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured,
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  and many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that
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  day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?
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  And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they have
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  wrought, in that they have turned unto other gods.".
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  Now, therefore, write ye this song for you, and teach it to the children of Israel.
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  Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
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  For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swear unto their fathers,
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  that floweth with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves,
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  and wax and fat, then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them,
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  and provoke me, and break my covenant.
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  And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them,
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  that this song shall testify against them as a witness.
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  For it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed.
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  For I know their imagination, which they go about, even now,
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  before I have brought them into the land which I swear.
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  Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
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  And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good
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  courage, for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I swear
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  unto them, and I will be with thee.
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  And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this
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  law in a book until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites,
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  which bear the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, saying,
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  Take this book of the law, and put it inside of the Ark of the Covenant of the
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  Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
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  For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck.
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  Behold, while am I yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against
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  the Lord, how much more after my death?
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  Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes and your officers,
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  that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
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  For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves,
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  and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you, and evil will befall
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  you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord,
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  to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
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  And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of the
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  song until they were ended.
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  As we move into Deuteronomy chapter 31, we can feel the tone of the book begin to shift.
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  The chapters that follow are Moses' final words, final instructions,
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  and final moments of ministry before God calls him home.
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  We really are reaching the end of the book.
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  And if you stuck it out this long with us, bravo.
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  Moses is now 120 years old, and this chapter gives us a glimpse into his heart
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  for the people he has led for 40 years.
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  It also shows us the faithfulness of God in raising up a new leader and ensuring
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  that his people would continue to follow him even after Moses' earthly ministry came to a close.
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  Verses 1 through 8 mark a major transition point.
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  Moses tells the Israelites that he is no longer able to go out and come in.
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  He reminds them that it is not ultimately he who leads them into the promised
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  land, but it is God himself who goes before them.
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  God will defeat their enemies just as he did with Sihon and Og,
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  and Joshua will be the one to lead the people across the Jordan.
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  Moses then turns to the Israelites and charges them to be strong and have a.
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  Good courage, reminding them that the Lord would not fail them nor forsake them.
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  In verses 7 and 8, Moses publicly commissions Joshua with the same words of
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  encouragement, charging him to lead the people boldly, because God himself would go with him.
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  Joshua was not asked to lead in his own strength, but in the strength and presence of the Lord.
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  In verses 9-13, Moses gives instructions about how the word of God was to be
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  kept central in the life of the nation.
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  Moses wrote the law and delivered it to the priests, and every seven years during
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  the Feast of Tabernacles, the law was to be read publicly to all the people.
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  This reading was not merely a ritual. It served a spiritual purpose.
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  The entire congregation, men, women, children, and even strangers living within
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  their communities were to hear the law so that they would learn to fear the
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  Lord, keep His commandments, and teach their children to do the same.
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  Hearing the word was essential for knowing the word, and knowing the word was
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  essential for obeying him.
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  In verses 14 through 18, God calls Moses and Joshua into the tabernacle of the congregation.
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  This is a holy moment, filled with both promise and grief.
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  The Lord tells Moses that his days are numbered, and that Israel,
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  after entering the promised land, will eventually turn to other gods.
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  Because of this disobedience, God warns that his anger will be kindled and he
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  will hide his face from them.
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  But God, in his mercy, instructs Moses to write down a song.
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  This was a song that would serve as a witness, a reminder, and a warning to
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  the people when they turned away.
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  This song, which we get to see in the next chapter, is both poetry and prophecy,
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  giving Israel something that they were to remember long after Moses was gone.
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  In verse 23, the Lord comes back and encourages Joshua, commanding him to be
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  strong and courageous because he would lead Israel into the land that God had sworn to give them.
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  Moses then finishes writing the law and gives it to the Levites,
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  instructing them to place it beside the Ark of the Covenant.
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  Moses knows the people well. In verses 27-29, he warns them that after his death,
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  they will turn away from God's commandments.
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  His words are not bitter. They are compassionate.
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  Moses is simply acknowledging their humanity and reminding them that forsaking
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  the Lord brings sorrow, but obedience brings blessing.
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  This chapter closes with Moses beginning to speak the words of the song in the
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  ears of all the congregation.
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  This song, which we find in chapter 32, our next chapter, is Moses' final teaching
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  tool, a lasting witness designed to draw the people back to God every time they hear it.
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  So Deuteronomy chapter 31 is a chapter that's filled with transition,
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  warning, encouragement, and hope.
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  For the Israelites, this moment marked the end of an era.
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  Moses, the only leader they had ever known since they left Egypt,
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  knew that his life was coming to an end.
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  He was stepping aside and passing the mantle to Joshua.
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  Even with all of that, the message of this chapter is not about Moses. It's about the Lord.
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  It's about his faithfulness, his presence, his word, and his desire for his
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  people to walk closely with him.
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  And that message is just as true for us today.
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  Moses told the Israelites that God was going before them and that he would never
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  fail nor forsake them. He told Joshua the same truth.
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  Leadership may change.
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  Seasons may change. Life may bring transitions, troubles, and trials that we never expected.
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  But the God who walked with Moses and Joshua is the same God who walks with us now.
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  This chapter reminds us that our confidence is never in people or in circumstances.
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  Our confidence must rest solely in the unchanging presence of the Lord.
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  He is the one who fights our battles. He is the one who prepares the way.
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  He is the one who takes us where he has called us to go.
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  Because of that, we too can be strong and have a good courage,
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  just as Joshua was commanded.
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  The command to read the law publicly every seven years shows us the priority
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  that God places on His Word.
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  The people were to hear it so they could learn it, fear the Lord,
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  and teach their children.
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  Listening to God's Word was not optional. It was essential.
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  On this side of the cross, the same is true for us.
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  We cannot obey what we do not know, and we cannot know what we do not hear.
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  God's Word must be continually read, heard, and remembered.
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  Our families need it. Our churches need it. Our communities need it. We need it.
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  Faith grows when the Word of God is present, and faith drifts when the Word of God is ignored.
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  God told Moses that Israel would one day turn aside to other gods.
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  This was not meant to discourage Moses. It was meant to show that God already
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  knew their weakness, already knew their struggles, and already had a plan to draw them back.
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  The song Moses wrote, which we get to read in the next chapter,
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  was not only a witness against the Israelites, it was a reminder of God's mercy.
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  The Lord often warns us in the same way. His warnings are not harsh or punitive. They're protective.
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  They're reminders that wandering brings sorrow, but that obedience brings blessing.
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  Every warning from the Lord is
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  an expression of His love for us and His desire to bring us close to Him.
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  Those warnings may come in the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in our
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  hearts or in the counsel of a trusted friend or mentor, but regardless of how
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  they come, we need to listen.
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  Moses told both the people and Joshua to be strong and have a good courage.
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  This was not a command to try harder. It was an invitation to trust deeper, to trust more.
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  Courage does not come from within. Courage comes from knowing who goes with
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  us and who goes before us.
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  Joshua's strength wasn't rooted in leadership experience. It was rooted in God's promise.
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  And the same is true for us. When God calls us to a task, we can step forward
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  with confidence because it is God himself that equips, sustains,
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  and strengthens his people.
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  At the heart of this chapter is the reminder that obedience to God flows from belonging to God.
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  Israel was called to walk in God's ways because they were his people.
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  Moses told them to listen to the voice of the Lord because listening is the
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  natural overflow of love and devotion.
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  Obeying God today, on this side of the cross, is not about legalism or performance. It's about love.
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  It's about responding to the God who has rescued us, redeemed us,
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  and claimed us as his own. Remember, you are loved.
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  Jesus loves you.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
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  Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  Remember that God loves you. You are loved.