Deuteronomy 31: Moses, Songwriter

You know him as a Law-Giver.  You've heard him referred to as a Prophet.  But did you know that Mr. "I-drew-him-from-the-water" is also a smashing Songwriter?

It's true.  You can read his work in the Psalms, of course (at least Psalm 90 for sure, and possibly Psalm 91 on the B-side), but Moses is far from a one-hit wonder.  Here, at the end of Moses' life, God commissions him to write a final song.

What prompted this sudden foray into songwriting?  The main concern in Deuteronomy 31 is passing on the Law from generation to generation.  The first job is finding a successor for Moses.  His assistant, Joshua, is tapped to continue the mission after Moses' death.  Joshua is told, "Be strong and bold" (vs. 7) and "[God] will be with you...Do not fear or be dismayed" (vs. 8).  [This goes down as the first of many times that Joshua will receive such a message.]

The second task is ensuring that the words of the Law are not forgotten by the people.  So Moses comes up with a new rule: Every seven years, call an assembly and read out the words of the book to everyone - men, women, and children (vs. 10-13).  This way, the message will be successfully transmitted from generation to generation.

The third aspect of passing on the mantle of leadership is to have a public commissioning service for Joshua at the tent of meeting with the Lord's presence (vs. 14-15).  Everyone will see that Joshua has inherited God's blessing and is now to be the main man in place of Moses.  During this commissioning, Joshua receives the encouraging message, "Be strong and bold...I will be with you" (vs. 23).  [That's two.]

Fourth, the testimony of the Law is preserved as a physical witness against the people.  Moses commands that the Book be placed alongside the Ark of the Covenant (vs 26).  Even with all these safeguards, Moses and God are still fully aware that the people will fail to obey the words of the Law, transgress the covenant and break God's heart.  It is an open secret that they will ultimately bring down upon themselves all the curses that Moses had told them about.

There is one final act that God orders Moses to do - to write a song reminding the people of all that he had spoken to them on behalf of God (vs. 19).  Why a song?  As many people intuitively understand, a song can teach and reach much deeper than a speech.  Poetry can touch the heart and memory in a way that prose may not.

As a pastor, I remember visiting Alzheimer's patients and leading a worship service in a care center where people who could not recall the names of family members were able to sing all the verses to "Amazing Grace" by heart.  Faith expressed in song had left its trace deep in the mind in places where other memories could not.

So God gives the command: "Now therefore write this song, and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths, in order that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites" (vs. 19).  "And when many terrible troubles come upon them, this song will confront them as a witness, because it will not be lost from the mouths of their descendants" (vs. 21).  Moses was spiritually empowered to write the song that very day (vs. 22).  Not bad for a 120-year-old!  As we will see, the song is contained in the next chapter.