Deuteronomy 32

These people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering” (31: niv).

That’s the message the Lord gave Moses after he finished his farewell address to the people he had served so faithfully for forty years. Certainly these words grieved his heart, but Moses knew that Israel had a long history of turning away from the Lord and worshipping idols. At Sinai they had made a golden calf and indulged in a pagan orgy (Ex. 32), and at Kadesh-Barnea they wanted to appoint a new leader and return to Egypt (Num. 14). In both rebellions, it was the intercession of Moses that saved the nation from being destroyed by God’s judgment. During their wilderness journey, the Jews had frequently complained to Moses about the way he was leading them. When the new generation arrived at the border of Canaan, the men indulged in immorality and idolatry with the women of Moab, and God sent a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites (Num. 25). Israel’s history was a tragic story indeed.

How could Moses encourage his beloved people to stay true to their Lord who had done so much for them? Moses did what God commanded him: he appointed Joshua to be his successor; he gave the people the book of the law and told them how to use it, and he sang them a song of warning. What Moses did to help prevent apostasy in Israel needs to be done to prevent apostasy in the church today, for the church’s record isn’t much better than that of Israel. We have three responsibilities before the Lord: to honor godly leaders, to hear the Word of God, and to heed the warnings God gives us.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). Moses wrote those words probably after the great crisis at Kadesh-Barnea, when Israel rebelled against God and He numbered the days of the older generation (Num. 13—14). But Moses was now numbering his hours, for it would soon be time to leave the camp of Israel, climb Mount Nebo, and surrender into the loving arms of God to be put to sleep. Moses left the camp and left this life, but he also left behind some wonderful gifts for his people and for us today.