Deuteronomy 31:22 - Meaning and Application

Here, first, the charge is given to Joshua, the one God had said he would appoint in Moses’ place (verse 14). It is the same charge Moses had already given him: “Be strong and courageous” (verse 23). Joshua had just heard enough about the people’s sin to make him lose heart, since he was to lead such a stubborn people. But God tells him, in effect, that however bad they are, he must still go forward, because God will be with him. Joshua would lead them into the land of Canaan. If they later sinned and lost the land, that would not be his fault or shame, so he must take courage.

Next, the law book is solemnly handed to the Levites, who were to place it beside the ark of the covenant (verses 24-26), as had already been mentioned in verse 9. Here they are told more clearly where to keep this precious original copy, not inside the ark, where only the two stone tablets were kept, but in a container beside it. It is likely that this was the very book later found in the Lord’s house in Josiah’s day, after it had somehow been misplaced (2 Chronicles 34:14). If so, the words “it may be a witness against you” would especially point to that later event, when Josiah had the book read publicly as a witness against a people who were then close to destruction by the Babylonians.

Then the song in the next chapter is given to Moses, and through him to the people. He first wrote it down, as the Spirit of God guided him, and then spoke it in the hearing of the whole assembly (verse 30). He also taught it to them (verse 22), which means he gave copies of it and told the people to learn it by heart. It was first delivered by word of mouth and afterward in writing to the elders and officers, who stood for their tribes, so they could pass it on to their families and households (verse 28). It was given with a solemn appeal to heaven and earth, warning them clearly of the deadly results of turning away from God, and also showing how little joy and hope Moses had left concerning them.

Moses first tells them how little joy he had known while living among them. He does not say this in anger, as when he once spoke rashly, “Hear now, you rebels,” but from long experience with them: “You have been rebellious against the Lord” (verse 27). He says nothing here about their wrongs against himself. He had already forgiven and forgotten those. But he must make them face their sins against God, so they would truly repent and never do the same again.

He also tells them how little hope he had for them after his death. What God had just said to him (verse 16), even more than his own experience, though that was discouraging enough, led him to say, “I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt” (verse 29). It must have grieved this good man deeply to see ahead to the rebellion and ruin of a people he had worked so hard to guide and bless. Yet he found comfort in this, that he had done his duty, and that God would be honored, if not in their settling in the land, then in their scattering. In the same way, our Lord Jesus, shortly before his death, foretold the rise of false Christs and false prophets (Matthew 24:24). Even so, and despite all the later apostasies, we can be sure that the gates of hell will not overcome the church, because the foundation of God stands firm.