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Podcast Introduction

Today is  Epistles Sunday James 4-5. I’m calling today’s episode “Golden Nuggets.” 

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Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 29 CEV; Ch. 30 ERV; Ch. 31 NCV

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STEVE WEBB – 0:00
Moses doesn’t just fade away.

INTRO S12E355 – 0:09
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. This is Monday, so our reading will be Deuteronomy 29 through 31. I’m calling today’s episode, “Remember”. Today’s show notes page is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e355. And my email address is st***@*************ia.com. For those of you that had problems downloading yesterday’s show, I’m sorry about that. That was operator error, once again. I did get it fixed in the morning after I received some emails from several of you. I thank you for sending those to me. So if you tried and gave up, go ahead and go back and you should be able to get it now. Let’s get started.

DEUTERONOMY 29 (CEV) – 1:01
Deuteronomy, chapter 29. (1) So Moses finished telling the Israelites what they had to do in order to keep the agreement the Lord was making with them in Moab, which was in addition to the one the Lord had made with them at Mount Sinai.

(2-3) Moses called the nation of Israel together and told them:

When you were in Egypt, you saw the Lord perform great miracles that caused trouble for the king, his officials, and everyone else in the country. (4-6) He has even told you, “For 40 years I, the Lord, led you through the desert, but your clothes and your sandals didn’t wear out, and I gave you special food. I did these things so you would realize that I am your God.”

But the Lord must give you a change of heart before you truly understand what you have seen and heard.

(7) When we first camped here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan attacked, but we defeated them. (8) Then we captured their land and divided it among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

(9) Israel, the Lord has made an agreement with you, and if you keep your part, you will be successful in everything you do. (10-12) Today everyone in our nation is standing here in the Lord’s presence, including leaders and officials, parents and children, and even those foreigners who cut wood and carry water for us. We are at this place of worship to promise that we will keep our part of the agreement with the Lord our God.

(13-15) In this agreement, the Lord promised that you would be his people and that he would be your God. He first made this promise to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and today the Lord is making this same promise to you. But it isn’t just for you; it is also for your descendants.

(16-17) When we lived in Egypt, you saw the Egyptians worship disgusting idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold. Then as we traveled through other nations, you saw those people worship other disgusting idols. (18) So make sure that everyone in your tribe remains faithful to the Lord and never starts worshiping gods of other nations.

If even one of you worships idols, you will be like the root of a plant that produces bitter, poisonous fruit. (19) You may be an Israelite and know all about the Lord’s agreement with us, but he won’t bless you if you rebel against him. You may think you can get away with it, but you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you. (20-21) The Lord will be furious, and instead of forgiving you, he will separate you from the other tribes. Then he will destroy you, by piling on you all the curses in The Book of God’s Law, and you will be forgotten forever.

(22) The Lord will strike your country with diseases and disasters. Your descendants and foreigners from distant countries will see that your land (23) has become a scorching desert of salt and sulfur, where nothing is planted, nothing sprouts, and nothing grows. It will be as lifeless as the land around the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, after the Lord became angry and destroyed them.

(24) People from other nations will ask, “Why did the Lord destroy this country? Why was he so furious?”

(25) And they will be given this answer:

Our ancestors worshiped the Lord, but after he brought them out of Egypt and made an agreement with them, they rejected the agreement (26) and decided to worship gods that had never helped them. The Lord had forbidden Israel to worship these gods, (27-28) and so he became furious and punished the land with all the curses in The Book of God’s Law. Then he pulled up Israel by the roots and tossed them into a foreign country, where they still are today.

(29) The Lord our God hasn’t explained the present or the future, but he has commanded us to obey the laws he gave to us and our descendants.

DEUTERONOMY 30 (ERV) – 4:37
Deuteronomy, chapter 30. (1) Everything that I have mentioned will happen to you—both the blessings and the curses. And you will remember these words when the Lord your God sends you away to other nations. (2) Then you and your descendants will turn back to the Lord your God. You will follow him with all your heart and completely obey all his commands that I have given you today. (3) Then the Lord your God will be kind to you. The Lord your God will make you free again! He will bring you back from the nations where he sent you. (4) Even if you were sent to the farthest parts of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back. (5) The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors had, and the land will become yours. He will do good to you, and you will have more than your ancestors had. You will have more people in your nation than they ever had. (6) The Lord your God will make you and your descendants want to obey him. Then you will love the Lord your God with all your heart. And you will live!

(7) “Then the Lord your God will make all these bad things happen to your enemies, who hate you and cause you trouble. (8) And you will again obey the Lord. You will obey all his commands that I give you today. (9) The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. He will bless you with many children. He will bless your cows—they will have many calves. He will bless your fields—they will grow many good crops. He will be good to you. The Lord will again enjoy doing good for you, the same as he enjoyed doing good for your ancestors. (10) But you must do what the Lord your God tells you to do. You must obey his commands and follow the rules that are written in this Book of Teachings. You must obey the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Then these good things will happen to you.

(11) “This command that I give you today is not too hard for you. It is not a secret hidden in some far away land. (12) This command is not in heaven so that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear and do it?’ (13) This command is not on the other side of the sea so that you should say, ‘Who will go across the sea for us and bring it to us, so that we can hear it and do it?’ (14) No, the word of God is very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart. So you can obey it.

(15) “Today I have given you a choice between life and death, success and disaster. (16) I command you today to love the Lord your God. I command you to follow him and to obey his commands, laws, and rules. Then you will live, and your nation will grow larger. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take for your own. (17) But if you turn away from your God and refuse to listen, if you are led away to worship and serve other gods, (18) you will be destroyed. I am warning you today, if you turn away from God, you will not live long in that land across the Jordan River that you are ready to enter and take for your own.

(19) “Today I am giving you a choice of two ways. And I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses of your choice. You can choose life or death. The first choice will bring a blessing. The other choice will bring a curse. So choose life! Then you and your children will live. (20) You must love the Lord your God and obey him. Never leave him, because he is your life. And he will give you a long life in the land that he, the Lord, promised to give to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

DEUTERONOMY 31 (NCV) – 8:04
Deuteronomy, chapter 31. (1) Then Moses went and spoke these words to all the Israelites: (2) “I am now one hundred twenty years old, and I cannot lead you anymore. The Lord told me I would not cross the Jordan River; (3) the Lord your God will lead you across himself. He will destroy those nations for you, and you will take over their land. Joshua will also lead you across, as the Lord has said. (4) The Lord will do to those nations what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, when he destroyed them and their land. (5) The Lord will give those nations to you; do to them everything I told you. (6) Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t be frightened, because the Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.”

(7) Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in front of the people, “Be strong and brave, because you will lead these people into the land the Lord promised to give their ancestors, and help them take it as their own. (8) The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.”

(9) So Moses wrote down these teachings and gave them to the priests and all the elders of Israel. (The priests are the sons of Levi, who carry the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord.) (10-11) Then Moses commanded them: “Read these teachings for all Israel to hear at the end of every seven years, which is the year to cancel what people owe. Do it during the Feast of Shelters, when all the Israelites will come to appear before the Lord your God and stand at the place he will choose. (12) Gather all the people: the men, women, children, and foreigners living in your towns so that they can listen and learn to respect the Lord your God and carefully obey everything in this law. (13) Since their children do not know this law, they must hear it. They must learn to respect the Lord your God for as long as they live in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to take for your own.”

(14) The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will die. Get Joshua and come to the Meeting Tent so that I may command him.” So Moses and Joshua went to the Meeting Tent.

(15) The Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent in a cloud; the cloud stood over the entrance of the Tent. (16) And the Lord said to Moses, “You will soon die. Then these people will not be loyal to me but will worship the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will leave me, breaking the Agreement I made with them. (17) Then I will become very angry at them, and I will leave them. I will turn away from them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible things will happen to them. Then they will say, ‘It is because God is not with us that these terrible things are happening.’ (18) I will surely turn away from them then, because they have done wrong and have turned to other gods.

(19) “Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites. Then have them sing it, because it will be my witness against them. (20) When I bring them into the land I promised to their ancestors, a fertile land, they will eat as much as they want and get fat. Then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will reject me and break my Agreement. (21) Then when many troubles and terrible things happen to them, this song will testify against them, because the song will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they plan to do, even before I take them into the land I promised them.” (22) So Moses wrote down the song that day, and he taught it to the Israelites.

(23) Then the Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and brave, because you will lead the people of Israel to the land I promised them, and I will be with you.”

(24) After Moses finished writing all the words of the teachings in a book, (25) he gave a command to the Levites, who carried the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord. (26) He said, “Take this Book of the Teachings and put it beside the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord your God. It must stay there as a witness against you. (27) I know how stubborn and disobedient you are. You have disobeyed the Lord while I am alive and with you, and you will disobey even more after I die! (28) Gather all the older leaders of your tribes and all your officers to me so that I may say these things for them to hear, and so that I may ask heaven and earth to testify against them. (29) I know that after I die you will become completely evil. You will turn away from the commands I have given you. Terrible things will happen to you in the future when you do what the Lord says is evil, and you will make him angry with the idols you have made.”

(30) And Moses spoke this whole song for all the people of Israel to hear:

COMMENTS – 12:35
Well, Beloved, chapter 31 ended with these words, “And Moses spoke this whole song for all the people of Israel to hear.” So that’s really ending the chapter with a cliffhanger, isn’t it? We’ll read the song next week. And, by the way, next week, we’ll conclude our reading of the books of the Law or the Pentateuch or the Torah, as it is known by the Jews. But today, I want to say a few words about chapter 31.

Moses is near the end of his life, and he’s brought the people to the threshold of the Promised Land. But because of his disobedience that we read about in Numbers 27 through 12, Moses will not be able to lead them in. As a matter of fact, God is not even going to allow him to set foot on the Promised Land. But after leading these people for 40 years, Moses doesn’t just fade away. He has parting words for the people, for Joshua, whom God has appointed to be Moses’ replacement, and for the priests. Now, Moses knew these people, right? But more than that, God knew these people. And once more, Moses wrote the Law down and told the Levites to keep it beside the Ark of the Covenant. He knew these people and he knew that they would stray from the Law and would need to be reminded, yet again, what God requires. I think Moses felt a heavy burden of responsibility for these people, even when he knew that his time with them was drawing to a close and I think that’s why he wrote the song that follows this chapter. His words here in chapter 31, almost sounded cross but in the final chapters next week, he takes the edge off.

You have a comment about today? Let me know, lifespringmedia.com/s12e355. Tomorrow is History Tuesday, and we’ll read the first half of the book of Esther. We’ll read chapters 1 through 5.

Boost!

SUPPORTER SHOUT-OUTS – 14:28
I have a couple of people today to thank for supporting the show.

Number one is Andy Gardner who came in with $143. He said, “Happy Birthday. This donation is to wrap up the year at $1 a day in addition to the row-of-ducks from show 222. Thank you for the hard work you’ve put in and for the thoughtful commentary you provide.” Well, Andy, thank you very much for this very generous birthday gift. I appreciate it. Thank you.

And then this morning I got one in from Ginger Wilder. She sent $50 in and she said, “My husband and I are behind, but are listening together as we do our exercise walk. We thoroughly enjoy this time to hear the word and your comments. We’re truly grateful for this work you’re doing.” And then she ends with, “ln the morning”. Well, Ginger, thank you very much, “In the morning” to you. Thank you for your courage. And thank you so much for the donation, I appreciate it.

PRAISE REPORT – 15:26
I’ve got a praise for you, Kathi had a good day today. According to Del, she was even able to take a shower and wash her hair. Del said she felt like a new woman after that. So praise the Lord for that.

CLOSING PRAYER – 15:37
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, in reading through the books of the Law, we’ve seen your great mercy over and over again. Yes, you had to discipline the people but you always took them back when they repented. And then you even went above and beyond that, because the Law could never save us. You provided Jesus and not just for the Jews, but for everyone who believes. It’s so good to be yours, Lord. We thank you and we worship you.

And thank you, Lord, for giving Kathi some relief over the last few days. She does need a break, Father, and we thank you for giving her some relief. Please continue the healing, I ask in Jesus’ name.

And Father, I thank you so much for the good people you’ve brought into the Lifespring family, those that have been around for many years and those whom you brought in this year. It’s been truly a joy to get to know some of them through their emails, and I thank you for that, Lord. Bless each one today, I ask in Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

OUTRO S12E355 – 16:43
Well, there are just eight more episodes left of the season, Beloved. If you’ve not yet sent a The Next Step email, please do it today. Give some thought and prayer to the question of what you’d like to see me do once this season is over. And then send that email to me at st***@*************ia.com with the words THE NEXT STEP in the subject line. I’ve gotten some really, really good ideas from many of you, but I don’t have your ideas if you haven’t sent that email in. So, therefore, I haven’t heard all the good ideas. I know, you meant to send it, but you got busy. But now the time truly is ticking away. It’s getting closer. Send that email today. Please?

Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e355. And thanks to the team: Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise. Thanks to Andy Gardner and Ginger Wilder and her husband for the support on today’s show. God bless you. And for those of you streaming those sats and sending the boosts, God bless each of you. And now it’s time to thank you for sharing your time with me again today. Thank you for inviting me into your day.

Now until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

It’s a piece of cake.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise