Deuteronomy 31:1-13
Joshua Commissioned as Moses' Successor
311 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel; 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 And when Jehovah giveth them up before you, ye shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.
9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, at the set time of the year of release, at the feast of tabernacles, 11 when all Israel cometh to appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he will choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their ears. 12 Gather the people together, the men, and the women, and the children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Jehovah your God, and take heed to do all the words of this law; 13 and that their children who do not know it may hear it and learn, that they may fear Jehovah your God, as long as ye live in the land, whereunto ye pass over the Jordan to possess it.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 31:1-13
Commentary on Deuteronomy 31:1-8
(Read Deuteronomy 31:1-8)
Moses assures Israel of the constant presence of God with them. This is applied by the apostle to all God's spiritual Israel, to encourage their faith and hope; unto us is this gospel preached, as well as unto them; he will never fail thee, nor forsake thee, Hebrews 13:5. Moses commends Joshua to them for a leader; one whose wisdom, and courage, and affection they had long known; one whom God had appointed to be their leader; and therefore would own and bless. Joshua is well pleased to be admonished by Moses to be strong and of good courage. Those shall speed well, who have God with them; therefore they ought to be of good courage. Through God let us do valiantly, for through him we shall do victoriously; if we resist the devil, he will flee from us.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 31:9-13
(Read Deuteronomy 31:9-13)
Though we read the word in private, we must not think it needless to hear it read in public. This solemn reading of the law must be done in the year of release. The year of release was typical of gospel grace, which is called the acceptable year of the Lord; for our pardon and liberty by Christ, engage us to keep his commandments. It must be read to all Israel, men, women, children, and to the strangers. It is the will of God that all people should acquaint themselves with his word. It is a rule to all, therefore should be read to all. Whoever has read of the pains taken by many persons to get scraps of the Scriptures, when a whole copy could not be obtained, or safely possessed, will see how thankful we should be for the thousands of copies amongst us. They will also understand the very different situation in which the Israelites were placed for many ages. But the heart of man is so careless, that all will be found too little, to keep up a knowledge of the truths, precepts, and worship of God.