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36 illustrations
Deuteronomy 31
1Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
2He said to them, I am one hundred twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and Yahweh has said to me, You shall not go over this Jordan.
3Yahweh your God, he will go over before you; he will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them: [and] Joshua, he shall go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
4Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land; whom he destroyed.
5Yahweh will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you.
6Be strong and of good courage, don`t be afraid, nor be scared of them: for Yahweh your God, he it is who does go with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you.
7Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of good courage: for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
8Yahweh, he it is who does go before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neither forsake you: don`t be afraid, neither be dismayed.
9Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.
10Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of [every] seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tents,
11when all Israel is come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
12Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your sojourner who is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;
13and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.
14Yahweh said to Moses, Behold, your days approach that you must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may give him a charge. Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.
15Yahweh appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.
16Yahweh said to Moses, Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land, where they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, Haven`t these evils come on us because our God is not among us?
18I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have worked, in that they are turned to other gods.
19Now therefore write you this song for you, and teach you it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
20For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat; then will they turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
21It shall happen, when many evils and troubles are come on them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.
22So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
23He gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them: and I will be with you.
24It happened, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
25that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying,
26Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.
27For I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against Yahweh; and how much more after my death?
28Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
29For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because you will do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
30Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.
"Moses speaks to Joshua entering dangerous territory—God goes before the vulnerable, the threatened, those facing powerful opposition. This is solidarity with the marginalized: God does not abandon His people to empire. The promise sustains those who march toward justice." — Walter Brueggemann.
SermonWise.ai generates complete sermon outlines for any passage across 17 theological traditions. Try it with Deuteronomy.
Generate a sermon →"The Lord goes BEFORE you—He scouts the terrain, prepares the way, faces the enemy first. He is WITH you—present companion on the journey. He will never leave nor forsake—permanent promise, unbreakable bond. The God who goes before will see you through." — Charles Spurgeon.
"God goes before to fight our battles; He stays with to comfort our fears. This is grace upon grace! When the devil accuses, God defends. When danger threatens, God protects. Never leave, never forsake—hold to this promise when everything else fails." — Martin Luther.
"'Be not afraid!'—the promise Moses gives Joshua echoes through salvation history. God goes before His Church in every age. Through Mary, through the saints, through the sacraments, His presence accompanies. He will never leave His Church; the gates of hell...
"The Lord goes before—this is missio Dei! God is already at work in the territory before the missionary arrives. We do not bring God; we join what He is doing. Fear not the unknown culture, the resistant people—God goes before.
"God goes before the disinherited into hostile territory—He knows the danger, He prepares the way. He is with those who march toward freedom. He will never forsake His suffering people. This promise sustained the enslaved; it sustains all who struggle for dignity." — Howard Thurman.
"God's promise to never leave nor forsake is COVENANT promise—rooted in His character, not our performance. He goes before because He is faithful; He remains with because He is unchanging. Covenant security: our confidence rests in who HE is, not who we are." — R.C.
"Three assurances balance each other: God goes before (leadership), God is with (companionship), God will never leave (permanence). This is comprehensive care—past, present, future covered. Moses' words to Joshua become Scripture's words to us. Fear is dispelled by presence." — John Stott.
"God goes before as light in darkness; He accompanies as friend on pilgrimage. This is synergy: divine initiative and human journey intertwined. Through the Liturgy, through icons, through the Church's life, His presence is experienced. He never leaves His faithful." — St.
"God goes before those who march toward liberation—He knows the danger, He faces the opposition. He is with the persecuted church, the threatened community. He will never forsake His suffering people. This promise is for all who struggle against oppression." — Oscar Romero.