Lesson 141 - Junior
Memory Verse
"Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22).
Notes
A Charge to Keep
Moses and Joshua presented themselves before God in the Tabernacle as they were told to do. The presence of the Lord in the form of a cloud was in the Tabernacle just as God had met with Moses in times past ([EXO:33:9]). The Tabernacle was the place around which the Children of Israel gathered to worship the Lord while the priests offered the sacrifices. No doubt Moses and Joshua were very quiet so they could hear the words that God would speak to them.
The Lord said that the day of Moses' death was near. Joshua would then be the leader of the Children of Israel. This was the charge that God gave Joshua. The responsibility would be great -- to lead the Children of Israel into the land of promise. Joshua was told to be strong and courageous, not giving way to fear and weak-ness. His strength and help would be the Lord who promised to be with Joshua.
Everyone is not given the work of a leader as Joshua was given. God does give to all His children a charge (a work and a responsibility). We have "gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us" (Romans 12:6).
"A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify; A never-dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky."A Witness Against Them
The Lord gave Moses one more thing to do before his death. Moses was directed to deliver a song unto the Children of Israel. Moses had sung a song of deliverance after the Lord had led them through the Red Sea ([EXO:15:1]). The song that God gave him this time was a witness against the Children of Israel who would again disobey the Lord. The time would come when God would no longer protect and provide for them when they had turned away from the Lord. God never leaves any person until that person first turns away from Him. Even if the song of Moses would not prevent the Children of Israel from disobeying, it might bring them to repentance.
The selfsame day that Moses received the order, he was inspired of God to write the song as a witness of God's faithfulness. Moses wrote the song and taught it to the Children of Israel for instruction. Paul wrote, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16).
The Song
By this song, the Children of Israel were reminded of the greatness of the Lord and His righteousness. A heart set to do the will of the Lord would prevent them from sinning. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). "They that know thy name will put their trust in thee" (Psalm 9:10).
Moses likened the Lord unto a rock which would be a shelter for them, one which had foundation and could not be moved. "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. For who is God, save the LORD? And who is a rock, save our God?" (II Samuel 22:31, 32).
The Children of Israel should have been inspired to give glory to God for His faithfulness to them, as was their duty. They were told to "remember the days of old," how God had cared for them. If they were too young to remember, their parents could tell them how God led them through the wilderness and kept them "as the apple of his eye."
How different was God from the Children of Israel -" "a God of truth and without iniquity"! The Children of Israel had sinned and rebelled against God. The Lord is a God of truth -" One who cannot lie ([TIT:1:2]; [HEB:6:18]). "There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass" (Joshua 21:45). Such could not be said of the Children of Israel. They served a true and holy God but they were not true to Him as He was to them. Many years before, the Children of Israel had made a vow: "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do" (Exodus 19:8). That beautiful vow and pledge of obedience was broken.
God is just and righteous. None will lose by serving Him. "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (Matthew 19:29). The Lord does not send more punishment than one deserves. "The judgements of the LORD are true and righteous altogether" (Psalm 19:9). God does not fail to repay one for service or suffering for Him. "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matthew 25:23). "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (II Timothy 2:12).
The Same Today
Many people today have the same testimony as that which was contained in Moses' song of God's faithful-ness. Every one of God's children, at one time, was wandering in the wilderness of sin. The Lord found them in a desert and sent down the spiritual rain. The Lord alone delivered them. He led and guided them into a good land. Just as the Children of Israel were given honey, oil, the finest of the wheat, and juice of grapes, so God's people today are spiritually fed an abundance of the very best. They enjoy the fruit and comforts of His Word and Spirit.
Warning
The song of Moses is a warning to us today. The theme of the last of the song is not so happy for it tells of the life of backsliders. May we take heed lest the last of the song as well as the first part of it be our testimony. As the Children of Israel prospered, they lost the fear of the Lord. They grew fat, dull, and unfit. They could not be pleased, and "kicked" against the Lord. No doubt they thought that they had done well and gave not the credit to God for their victories over the enemy. They wanted their own way and longed for a change. "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Jeremiah 6:16).
We can see how one sin will lead to another. Probably the Children of Israel were at first just a little care-less, by omitting to do good; then they began to commit evil. Instead of honouring God, they forgot Him and worshiped idols (new gods) which had done and could do nothing for them. "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13).
Judgement
Those who forsake the Rock of salvation run upon the rock of destruction. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). If people were wise, they would think about how they are living ([DEU:32:29]). Are you living so that God's blessing can be up-on you now as well as in the Judgement Day?
In the time when the Children of Israel would fail to acknowledge the good that God had done for them, He would withdraw all those good things from them. God would hide His face from them (verse 20); no longer would He protect and prosper them. They would not have the Lord to teach and guide them. They would be scattered and destroyed by war from the outside and fear from the inside (verses 25, 26).
When the Children of Israel insulted their Creator, then they would be insulted by their fellow men. God said that he, in judgement, would send His arrows -" hunger, war, and trouble (verses 23-25). There can be no escape and none can deliver out of His hand. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).
The song of Moses told the Children of Israel all these things before they had happened. So long as the Children of Israel obeyed the Lord and trusted in Him, they had all the good things that He had promised. The blessings included victory over their enemies, as well as food and prosperity. When they depended upon the Lord, one man could chase a thousand of their enemies ([JOS:23:10]). Samson did more than that: he "slew a thousand men" with the jawbone of an ass ([JUG:15:15]).
Even though the Children of Israel were taught this song of Moses, and were warned about the judgements of God to the disobedient, the time came when they forgot God. By failing to be doers as well as hearers ([JAM:1:22), the Children of Israel became captives instead of victors. "Oh that my people had hearkened un-to me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries" (Psalm 81:13, 14).
Questions
1. Why did Moses and Joshua go to the Tabernacle?
2. What work did God give Joshua?
3. What words of instruction did God give him?
4. What did God ask Moses to do before his death?
5. For what purpose was this song given?
6. To whom was the song taught?
7. What happened when the Children of Israel prospered and forgot God?
8. What did they gain by wanting a change and turning to new gods?