The Book of Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 31

God will help the Israelites when they move into Canaan.
 

Please click here to read more about why Moses cannot enter Canaan.

Moses talked to the Israelites. He told them he was 120 years old. He cannot be their leader anymore. Also, God told Moses that he cannot cross the Jordan River and live with the Israelites in Canaan.
[1] And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.
[2] And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.


Moses told the Israelites that God will go in front of the Israelites.  He will defeat the people who live there now. The Israelites will take their land. Joshua will be the new leader of the Israelites. Joshua will help them fight the people in Canaan.
[3] The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.


God will defeat the Canaanites the same as He did Kings Og and Sihon.
[4] And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.
 

From:  Deuteronomy 7 God will help the Israelites defeat the people who live in Canaan now. When the Israelites move into Canaan, they will have wars with other groups of people.  God will help them defeat these people. The groups are: the  Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These groups of people are bigger and stronger than the Israelites.  [1] When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; God will help the Israelites defeat these groups in Canaan. The Israelites should not feel sorry for the other people. They should not make promises or peace treaties with them. They should kill all of them.  [2] And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: The Israelites should not marry the other groups of people. They should not let their children marry any of the other people.  The other people do not worship God. They worship false gods, statues, and idols. If the Israelites marry the other people, they might start to worship the wrong things. God would be very angry. He would destroy the Israelites. [3] Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. [4] For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. The Israelites should destroy the places where the other people worship false gods. They should destroy their altars, destroy and burn their statues, and cut down their groves. Groves means a group of trees. Some of the people used these groves of trees to worship a false god named Asherah. They cut off the tree branches. Then they cut in the tree trunks and made statues. This was wrong, and God did not want the Israelites to worship the false god Asherah.   [5] But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

After the Israelites defeat the Canaanites, they should follow God rules. Please look to the left to see God's rules about the Canaanites.
[5] And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.


The Israelites should be brave and strong. They should not be afraid. God will be with them. God will not fail them.
[6] Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.


Moses called Joshua.  All of the Israelites were watching. Moses told Joshua that he will be the new leader of the Israelites.  Joshua will lead the Israelites into Canaan.  Joshua should be strong and brave. Joshua and the Israelites will get the land that God promised their ancestors. 
[7] And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.


God will go in front of them. God will help them. God will not leave them or fail them. They should not be afraid.
[8] And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

 

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The priests should read God's laws to the people every 7 years.


Moses wrote down God's laws. He gave the laws to the priests who carried the ark (box with the Ten Commandments). He also gave the laws to the elders (leaders) of the Israelites.
[9] And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.
 

The Israelites have special celebration days every year.  They also have some special years.

Every 7 years, the Israelites' debts will be cancelled. They will not have to pay back money that they owe.

During this special year, the priests and elders should read God's laws to the people.

They should read the laws when the Israelites come together to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles.
[10] And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,
[11] When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.


All of the people should come--men, women, children, and the people from other countries who live with the Israelites.  They should listen to the elders read God's laws.  The children and grandchildren should learn the laws. They should honor and worship God.  They should obey His laws as long as they live in Canaan.
[12] Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:
[13] And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

 

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Moses and Joshua meet God in the tabernacle.


God told Moses that he would die soon.  God told Moses to bring Joshua to the tabernacle. God will make Joshua the new leader of the Israelites.  Moses obeyed God. Moses and Joshua went to the tabernacle.
[14] And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Moses and Joshua with God in the tabernacle Picture from www.breadsite.org

God went to the tabernacle. He was in a tall cloud in the door.
[15] And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.
 

God talked to Moses. God said that Moses will die soon.  God also said that the Israelites will choose bad in the future. They will start to worship the Canaanites' false gods. They will break their covenant promise with God.
[16] And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.


After the Israelites break their promise to God, He will be angry with them.  He will not be with them. He will not help them anymore. He will not protect them. Many bad things will happen to them.  The Israelites will understand that God is not helping them anymore. They will understand why bad things are happening to them.
[17] Then 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 befall them; so that they will say in that day. Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?
 

God will not be with them because they worshiped false gods.

Click here for more information about the false gods of the Canaanites.

[18] And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.


God told Moses to write a song. He should teach the song to the Israelites. When the Israelites sing the song, they will know exactly what they should do.  They will have no excuse to do bad things and worship false gods.
[19] Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this  song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.


After the Israelites move into Canaan, they will have a lot of food and good things. Then, they will start to be bad. They will start to worship false gods. They will break their promise to God. They will make God angry.
[20] For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.


The Israelites and their descendants will know the words of the song.  They will do bad things anyway. But they will know the song, and they will have no excuse. God knows what the Israelites think. He knows what they will do in the future.
[21] And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
 

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Moses writes a song about God's laws.


Moses obeyed God. He wrote the song the same day. He taught the song to the Israelites.
[22] Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.


Moses made Joshua the new leader. Moses told Joshua to be strong and brave. God promised to give Canaan to the Israelites. Joshua will lead the Israelites into Canaan.
[23] And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.


Moses finished writing all of God's laws in a book. Then Moses told the Levites to put the book next to the Ark of the Covenant (the box that holds the Ten Commandments). The book of laws will always be there. The Israelites will have no excuse not to obey God. 
[24] And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
[25] That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
[26] Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.


Moses knows that the Israelites are stubborn and rebellious (don't like to obey rules). They have been stubborn and rebellious while Moses was alive.  He worried that they will be more stubborn and rebellious after he dies.
[27] For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
 

Moses had a meeting for all of the elders and leaders of the tribes.  Moses wanted to tell them the laws again. Then they will have no excuse if they break the laws.
[28] Gather unto 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 record against them.


Moses said that he knows the Israelites will do bad things in the future.  God will be angry with the Israelites in the future.
[29] For I know that after my death ye 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 ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.


Moses began to sing his song.
[30] And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
 

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Deuteronomy 32


Moses' sings his song. The song talks about the past, the present, and the future.


Moses asked the earth and sky to listen to him.
[1] Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.


Moses said his words will drop down like rain on new plants and grass. His words will be like dew (water in the morning).
[2] My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:


Moses will praise God's name.  The Israelites should tell about God's greatness. God is the Rock. God is perfect.  God judges people. God is always fair and true.
[3] Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
[4] He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Moses said that the Israelites are not honest. They are not worthy to be God's children. The Israelites lie and cheat.
[5] They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.


God is the Israelites' father. He created (made) them. The Israelites repay God by acting foolish.
[6] Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?


The Israelites should think about the past. They should ask their fathers and elders about the past. The older people will tell the younger people about the past.
[7] Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.


After Noah and the flood, God divided all of the people on earth. He sent groups of people to different parts of the earth.  But he set up Canaan to be the land for the Israelites. Canaan is God's land. The Israelites are God's people.
[8] When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
[9] For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.


God led the Israelites in the desert wilderness. He took care of them. He taught them what to do. He loved them, and they were special to Him.
[10] He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.


God was like a mother eagle when she teaches her babies to fly.  A mother eagle encourages her babies to fly.  If they don't fly well, she carries them on her wings.  
[11] As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:


God led the Israelites by Himself. No false gods helped God.
[12] So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.


(This is about what will happen after they move into Canaan and have lived there for a while.) 

The Israelites were on the high places in Canaan. They ate things they grew on their farms. They got honey out of rocks. They also got olive oil out of rocks.
[13] He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;


They had butter, meat, and wheat to eat.  They had milk and wine to drink.
[14] Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.
 

The Israelites got fat, and then they rebelled against God. They did not obey God. God was their rock and their savior. He protected them and saved them.
[15] But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.


But they worshiped false gods. They made God angry.  They made sacrifices to false gods they never heard of in the past. They sacrificed to false gods that their ancestors never heard of.
[16] They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
[17] They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.


God created the Israelites. Now they have forgotten about Him.
[18] Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.


God saw His children the Israelites worshiping false gods. He was angry. He rejected them. He stopped answering their prayers. He will watch and see what happens to them. He knows they are stubborn people. They were not faithful to Him, and they worshiped false gods.
[19] And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
[20] And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.


The Israelites' actions made God mad. He will send another group of people to make the Israelites mad.
[21] They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

God is angry. His anger is like fire. It will burn the earth and burn under the earth.
[22] For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.


God will send many disasters (bad events) to the Israelites.
[23] I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.


The Israelites will have no food. They will starve to death. They will have fevers. God will send wild animals to bite them.  Poisonous snakes will bite them.
[24] They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.


People will die in their homes and outside their homes. All kinds of people will die--young men, virgin women, babies, and old men.
[25] The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.


God will prefer to scatter the Israelites (they will not live in Canaan, but they will live all over the world). But He doesn't want the Israelites' enemies to brag. The enemies will brag that they defeated the Israelites themselves without God's help.
[26] I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
[27] Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.


God says that the Israelites don't listen to good advice. They don't have good sense.
[28] For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.


If the Israelites had been wiser (smarter), they would understand better.  They would understand what would happen to them if they chose to do bad things.
[29] O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!


Israel's enemies will defeat them easily. One enemy soldier will chase 1,000 Israelite soldiers.  Two enemy soldiers will chase 10,000 Israelite soldiers. The only way this can happen is if God does not protect the Israelites.
[30] How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?


The enemies know that their gods are not strong like the Lord God.
[31] For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

 

Moses compared the Israelites' enemies to grapevines. The grapevines are plants that have roots. The roots are in the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. The grapevines grow grapes. But the grapes do not taste good. The grapes are bitter. The grapes make poison wine. The wine is like poison from snakes.
[32] For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
[33] Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.


God remembers what His enemies have done.  In the future, he will punish His enemies.  He will pick the right time to punish them. 
[34] Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
[35] To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.


Later, God will see that there are only a few Israelites left. He will see that they have no power. God will feel pity for the Israelites then. Then God will rescue them.
[36] For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.


Before He rescues them, God will ask them why their false gods didn't help them. The Israelites worshiped false gods. They made sacrifices to the false gods. They sacrificed meat and wine to the false gods. God will ask why the false gods aren't protecting them now.
[37] And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
[38] Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.


God will say that He is the only true god. God can kill, and God can make alive. God can cause hurt, and God can heal. No one can escape Him.
[39] See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.


God says He raises His hand to make a promise. God lives forever, and He makes this promise.
[40] For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.


God will punish the people who hate Him.  He will make His sword sharp. God will take revenge on His enemies.
[41] If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.


God's arrows will get drunk because they drink the enemies' blood.  God's sword will destroy His enemies' skin. Everyone will be destroyed including the prisoners.
[42] I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.


All of the nations should be happy. God will punish His enemies because they killed His people.  He will forgive the Israelites' sins. He will make the Israelites' land pure.
[43] Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.


Moses and Joshua sang this song. All of the Israelites heard the song.
[44] And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.

Moses finished the song. Then he talked to the Israelites. He told the Israelites to think about the words in his song. They should always obey God's laws.  They should teach their children to obey God's laws.
[45] And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
[46] And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.


It is very important. If they obey God's laws, they will have life.  If they obey God's laws, they will live for a long time in the land of Canaan.
[47] For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

 

God will show Canaan to Moses.


God told Moses to go up on the mountain named Mt. Nebo. Mt. Nebo is in Moab. Moab is on the east side of the Jordan River. Canaan is on the west side of the Jordan River.
[48] And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
[49] Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:


God told Moses that he will die on top of the mountain. Moses' brother Aaron also died on top of a mountain. He
died on top of Mt. Hor.

[50] And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:


 

Neither Aaron nor Moses will be able to go into Canaan.  They sinned at Kadesh. God told Moses to talk to the rock to get water, but Moses hit the rock. All of the Israelites were watching. Moses and Aaron did not honor and respect God.
[51] Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
 

God told Moses that he will be able to see Canaan from on top of the mountain. But Moses is not allowed to go into Canaan.
[52] Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
 

Deuteronomy 33


Moses blesses each tribe before he dies.

***The next 2 verses are controversial. People who study the Bible have different opinions about them.***

Sinai, Seir, and Paran were mountains in places where the Israelites traveled. . God gave the laws to the Israelites, and there were 10,000 angels with Him. God loved the Israelites and gave them His laws.
[2] And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
[3] Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.


Moses talked to all of the tribes. He told them to obey God's laws. God is the king of the Israelites.
[4] Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.
[5] And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.


Tribe of Reuben

Moses blessed the tribe of Reuben.  He said it is a small tribe, but it will always continue.
[6] Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.


Tribe of Judah

Moses blessed the tribe of Judah.  He prayed for God to hear the people of Judah. He prayed for God to bring Judah back with the other tribes. He prayed for God to help the tribe of Judah.
[7] And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.
 

Tribe of Levi

Moses blessed the tribe of Levi. The Levites will use the Urim and Thummim to know God's will. God tested the Levites at Massah and Meribah.
[8] And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;


The Levites were loyal and faithful to God. They obeyed God's laws. They were more loyal to God than they were to their families.
[9] Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.

The Levites will teach God's laws to the Israelites. They will put the Israelites' sacrifices on the altar. They will burn incense for God.
[10] They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.


Moses asked God to bless the tribe of Levi. He asked God to accept the Levites' work.  Moses asked God to defeat the Levites' enemies so the enemies will never fight them again.
[11] Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.



Tribe of Benjamin

Moses said that God loves the tribe of Benjamin.  God will live with the tribe of Benjamin and protect them.
[12] And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.


The tribe of Joseph

Moses asked God to bless the people in the tribe of Joseph.  He prayed for good water for their farms. He prayed for water from dew in the morning and water from wells in the ground.
[13] And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,


He prayed for the sun to help the fruit grow every month (every cycle of the moon).
[14] And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,


He prayed that many things will grow in their farms that are on hills.
[15] And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,


He prayed for them to grow a lot of food. He prayed that God will be happy with them. God was in the bush when He appeared to Moses back in the book of Exodus. (To read about this, please click here.) Moses prayed that God will bless the tribe of Joseph. Back in the book of Genesis, Joseph was separated from his brothers (To read about this, please click here.
[16] And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.


Joseph's two tribes are Ephraim and Manasseh. These were the names of Joseph's sons. Ephraim's tribe has over 10,000 people.  Manasseh's tribe has over 1,000 people.  The tribes of Joseph are strong like animals with horns.   They will be like animals with horns pushing other people to other parts of the world.
[17] His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.


The tribes of Zebulun and Issachar

Moses tells the tribe of Zebulun to be happy when they are traveling. He tells the tribe of Issachar to be happy when they are at home. They will have a lot of wealth from the sea and from the sand. They will invite other people to their worship places in the mountains. They will offer the right sacrifices there.
[18] And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.
[19] They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.


The tribe of Gad

Moses praises God for Gad's large part of land. God gave Gad the land on the east side of the Jordan River.  Gad is like a lion. A lion tears up the other animals it catches. Gad took the first land that the Israelites came to. Back in Numbers 32, the tribe asked Moses if they could have the land on the east side of the Jordan River.
[20] And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.
[21] And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.


The tribe of Dan

Moses said that the tribe of Dan is like the cub of a lion.  The lion jumps from the mountain of Bashan.
[22] And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.


The tribe of Naphtali

God is happy with Naphtali.  God will bless the tribe and give them land in the west and south.
[23] And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south.
 

The tribe of Asher

Moses asked God to bless the tribe of Asher and give them children.  They will be the favorite of all the other tribes.  Moses prayed for them to be rich with olive oil.  Their towns will be protected with iron and bronze gates. They will be very strong as long as they live.
[24] And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.
[25] Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
 

No other god is like the Lord God. He comes to help the Israelites. He rides on the clouds in the sky.
[26] There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.


God lives forever.  God protects the Israelites. He holds them with His arms.  He defeats their enemies before they get there. Then He tells the Israelites to destroy the enemies.
[27] The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.


Then Israel will live alone in Canaan. They will be safe. They will have a lot of corn and wine. They will have water from the dew in Heaven.
[28] Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.


The Israelites will be happy. God will save them. God is like a shield and a sword. He will protect and help them. The Israelites' enemies will say they will defeat the Israelites. But they will not.  The Israelites will defeat their enemies. The Israelites will then live in their enemies' land. 
[29] Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
 

Deuteronomy 34
 

Moses sees Canaan and then he dies.


The plains (flat land) of Moab
From Bibleplaces.com
 

What Moses saw from the top of Mt. Nebo
Photo from:  http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/blog-6891.html

The Israelites were now in Moab.  Moab is a low, flat place. Then, Moses went up to the top of the mountain, Mt. Nebo, to the part called Pisgah. The mountain was very tall. Moses could see land that was near and land that was far away. God showed Moses all of the land of Canaan. He could see north and see Gilead. Gilead is the land on the east side of the Jordan River where the tribe of Dan lived.
[1] And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,


Moses could see to the west. He could see the land that the tribes of Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Judah will live in. He could see all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.
[2] And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,


Moses could see to the south. He could see the low place (valley) near the city of Jericho. Jericho is also called "the city of palm trees". He could also see the place called Zoar. 
[3] And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.


God told Moses that he was seeing the land He promised. God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. God let Moses see the Canaan, but Moses cannot travel into Canaan.
[4] And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.


Moses died on Mt Nebo.  Moses was buried near the town of Beth-peor, but no one knows the exact place.  Moses was 120 years old when he died. But Moses was not blind or frail (weak) when he died.
[5] So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
[6] And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
[7] And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.


The Israelites mourned and cried for Moses for 30 days. They were still in the place called Moab.
[8] And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.


Before Moses died, he laid his hands on (touched) Joshua. Now Joshua had the spirit of wisdom. God made him very smart. He was the new leader.  The Israelites now followed Joshua. They obeyed the laws that God gave Moses to give to them.
[9] And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.


God talked to Moses face to face. There has not been a prophet like Moses since that time.
[10] And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,


No other prophet has done miracles like Moses did in Egypt.  God sent Moses to Egypt to show His power to Pharoah, Pharoah's workers, and all of the Egyptians.
[11] In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,

No other prophet after Moses had power like Moses..  
[12] And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.