Deuteronomy 31:1 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 isit 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. 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. 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
This is a landmark passage. That day was Moses’ birthday; his 120th at that! And the end had finally come to Moses’ service for the Lord. From the time he was hidden in the bulrushes to 120 years later. He had lived out his time. His long, hard, incredible journey was at the end. He led Israel to their Promised Land. He was not going to their land but to a better place. Moses was getting ready to ascend to Mount Nebo for God’s Promised Land.
A thousand years later Moses appeared on the mountain of transfiguration with Jesus. He had done his part. We all have a part. We’re born for a purpose. Moses was on the other side of salvation. He died in faith looking for the Messiah to come. We are on the latter side of Christ on our same journey home. On this side we have the same devil who tries to trip us up. We have the same Lord leading us.
Moses and the people had ended their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. If you think about it that’s a lifetime. That would be from 1970 for us. Think about all you have done and experienced in these past 40 years. Imagine going around in circles from then to now. Not everyone was allowed to enter the land. The adults at the beginning of the wandering died because they chose not to believe Joshua and Caleb. How many of those we knew have gone on since 1970? Yet, we move on.
Moses told the people collectively it was not the time to be scared. They were facing a new frontier. We face the same because every day we live is a new beginning. There is always a devil to fight and a light to shine. There are people to win to the Lord. It’s a necessity to pass on to our children the ways of God.
Moses was about to die; a new leader was stepping up in his place. Things were changing for them. There is always change. Some is good; some is bad. Moses told them they may feel weak, but they must go on. “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.”
Moses then called Joshua before the people. He told him the same thing he had just told the children of Israel. “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.” Be strong. He would lead the people into the Promised Land. The Lord had already been there. Before the first mountain, before the first valley they would face—God had been there.
Collectively he gave the message to the people. Individually God gave it to Joshua. I am with YOU. Don’t YOU be afraid. YOU to be strong. God speaks directly to us as a congregation, but he speaks to each of us individually. The same God that told Joshua not to be afraid but be strong is the same God who speaks to us today. We have the same God. We have the same truth. Remember. There is, and always will be, hope and there is God….forever.
We can make it. We also have God’s promise.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 