Deuteronomy 31:16

31:14-22 Moses and Joshua attended the Divine Majesty at the door of the tabernacle. Moses is told again that he must shortly die; even those who are most ready and willing to die, need to be often reminded of its coming. The Lord tells Moses, that, after his death, the covenant he had taken so much pains to make between Israel and their God, would certainly be broken. Israel would forsake Him; then God would forsake Israel. Justly does he cast those off who so unjustly cast him off. Moses is directed to deliver them a song, which should remain a standing testimony for God, as faithful to them in giving them warning, and against them, as persons false to themselves in not taking the warning. The word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of men's hearts, and meets them by reproofs and correction. Ministers who preach the word, know not the imaginations of men; but God, whose word it is, knows perfectly.

And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Out of the pillar of cloud: behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; a phrase expressive of death, frequently used both of good and bad men, which serves to render death easy and familiar, and less formidable; and to assure and lead into an expectation of an awaking out of it, or a resurrection from it: and this people will rise up; in their posterity; for not till after Joshua's death, and the death of the elders of Israel, did they revolt to idolatry, Joshua 24:31, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be amongst them; that is, after the gods of the Canaanites, who though at this time the inhabitants of the land, yet when the children of Israel became possessors of it, they were the strangers of it; and being suffered to continue contrary to the directions God had given to destroy them, would be a means of drawing them into the worship of their idols, expressed here by going a whoring after them, or committing whoredom with them. Idolatry in Scripture is frequently signified by fornication and adultery; and, as foretold, this was the case; see Psalm 106:35, and will forsake me: their husband, departing from his worship and service: and break my covenant which I have made with them at Sinai; and now again in the plains of Moab, and which had the nature of a matrimonial contract; see Jeremiah 31:32.

Deuteronomy 31:16 . Thou shalt sleep with thy fathers — Sleep is a common word for death, and, to those who believe a resurrection, has a peculiar propriety, to remind them that death shall not have dominion over them for ever, but that they shall awake as certainly as they fall asleep. This people will go after the gods of the strangers — That is, the Canaanites, who will be turned out of their possessions, and become as strangers in the land. This aggravates their folly to worship such gods as could neither preserve their friends nor annoy their enemies. What a convincing proof is this that these sacred writings are indeed divine! For what human knowledge could or would have pronounced this at a time when the whole people were undoubtedly actuated with the greatest willingness, and the strongest resolution to keep the commandments of God? Or what mere human legislator would, at the same time that he gave his laws, have left it upon record that his people would certainly forsake and break them?

(16, 19) Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers . . . now therefore write ye this song. —This prophecy that the children of Israel would forsake Jehovah and break His covenant is not a little remarkable, when we consider His dealings with them as a nation. It is one of the many proofs in Holy Scripture that our Creator is not like the man in our Lord’s parable, who “intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it.” When He chose Israel to be His people, He knew the risk of doing so, and He provided for it beforehand. Not less when He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” did He provide the means of forming in us the Divine character by all that Christ has done. The fall is recorded in the third chapter of Genesis. Redemption and restoration are exhibited in type and symbol in the second chapter. God brought Israel into Canaan in full foreknowledge of what the people would become when there. (16) And break my covenant.—With this, contrast Judges 2:1 : “I said, I will never break my covenant with you.” The phrases are identical in Hebrew. Comp. 2Timothy 2:13 : “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.”

Verse 16. - Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12 ; Psalm 13:3 ; Psalm 76:5 ; Daniel 12:2 ; Matthew 27:52 ; John 11:11 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:14 ). "The death of men, both good and bad, is often called a sleep , because they shall certainly awake out of it by resurrection" (Peele). Go a whoring (cf. Exodus 34:15 ; Judges 2:17 ) after the gods of the strangers of the land ; literally, after gods of strangeness of the land ; i . e . after gods foreign to the land, as opposed to Jehovah, the alone proper God of the land he had given to them. Deuteronomy 31:16

The death of men, both good and bad, is oft called a sleep, because they shall certainly awake out of it by resurrection. See Psalm 76:5 Daniel 12:2 1 Thessalonians 4:13 , &c.; 2 Peter 3:4 . This people will go a whoring : God certainly foresees all things to come, yea, even those which depend upon the wills of men, or contingencies of the things, as this unquestionably did. Of the strangers of the land, i.e. of the Canaanites, who now are possessors, but shortly will be turned out of their possessions, and become as strangers in their own land. This aggravates their folly, to worship such gods as could neither preserve their friends, nor annoy their enemies.

The future apostasy of the people is announced in the presence of Joshua that the latter might be fully aware of the danger and strive in his day to avert it. This he faithfully did (compare Joshua 24:31 ); but we find him in his own last address to Israel repeating Joshua 23:15-16 the self-same prediction and warning.

16-22. the Lord said unto Moses, … this people will rise up—In this remarkable interview, Moses was distinctly apprised of the infidelity of Israel, their corruptions of the true religion through intercourse with the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan (Am 5:26), and their chastisements in consequence of those national defections.

16 . Commences another saying of the Lord to Moses not connected with Joshua or with 14 f. except by reference to the approaching death of Moses. And the Lord said … Behold ] See on 14. thou art about to sleep with thy fathers ] In J, Genesis 47:30 , and frequently in Kings. go a whoring after the strange gods of the land ] Jehovah was Israel’s husband, and her worship of other gods is therefore figured as whoredom (as by Hosea), but the figure is the more forcible that such worship often involved physical unchastity as well. Strange , or foreign, gods , not elsewhere in Deut. (though in the Song, Deuteronomy 32:12 ), is found in E, Genesis 35:2 ; Genesis 35:4 , Joshua 24:20 ; Joshua 24:23 , and in some later books. Of the land whither it goeth in is probably a gloss (Klost., Dillm., Dri., etc.), for it renders the construction of the v . very awkward, which R.V. seeks to relieve by inserting the words ‘to be.’ Forsake me , Deuteronomy 28:20 , and in E, Joshua 24:16 ; Joshua 24:20 . Break my covenant is found in the Hex. only here, Deuteronomy 31:20 and H, Leviticus 26:15 ; Leviticus 26:44 and P, Genesis 17:14 , but is not uncommon elsewhere.

After handing over the office to Joshua, and the law to the priests and elders, Moses was called by the Lord to come to the tabernacle with Joshua, to command him (צוּה), i.e., to appoint him, confirm him in his office. To this end the Lord appeared in the tabernacle ( Deuteronomy 31:15 ), in a pillar of cloud, which remained standing before it, as in Numbers 12:5 (see the exposition of Numbers 11:25 ). But before appointing Joshua, He announced to Moses that after his death the nation would go a whoring after other gods, and would break the covenant, for which it would be visited with severe afflictions, and directed him to write an ode and teach it to the children of Israel, that when the apostasy should take place, and punishment from God be felt in consequence, it might speak as a witness against the people, as it would not vanish from their memory. The Lord communicated this commission to Moses in the presence of Joshua, that he also might hear from the mouth of God that the Lord foreknew the future apostasy of the people, and yet nevertheless would bring them into the promised land.

In this there was also implied an admonition to Joshua, not only to take care that the Israelites learned the ode and kept it in their memories, but also to strive with all his might to prevent the apostasy, so long as he was leader of Israel; which Joshua did most faithfully to the very end of his life (vid., Joshua 23 and 24). - The announcement of the falling away of the Israelites from the Lord into idolatry, and the burning of the wrath of God in consequence ( Deuteronomy 31:16-18 ), serves as a basis for the command in Deuteronomy 31:19 . In this announcement the different points are simply linked together with "and," whereas in their actual signification they are subordinate to one another: When thou shalt lie with thy fathers, and the people shall rise up, and go a whoring after other gods: My anger will burn against them, etc. קוּם, to rise up, to prepare, serves to bring out distinctly the course which the thing would take. The expression, "foreign gods of the land," indicates that in the land which Jehovah gave His people, He (Jehovah) alone was God and Lord, and that He alone was to be worshipped there. בּקרבּו is in apposition to שׁמּה, "whither thou comest, in the midst of it." The punishment announced in Deuteronomy 31:17 corresponds most closely to the sin of the nation.