Moses’ Last Sermon (29:1-29)
Neal Pollard
The sermon actually spans two chapters, ending at 30:20. It is delivered “in the land of Moab” (1). It bears the concluding remarks you would expect from a man who is summing up all that he’s already said. Notice the “you have” statements (2,6,17) and the “I have” statement (5) which serves to review where they have been under the steady hand of Moses’ leadership.
They were delivered by God’s power (2-3), preserved and provided for by God’s benevolent hand (4-5), and protected by God’s wisdom (6). They were enabled to defeat their enemies by God’s help (7-8) and endowed with the privilege of entering covenant with God from their greatest to their smallest citizen (9-13). God is establishing this covenant not only with those present, but for those who would come to know of it who were not there that day (14-18). Moses warns that no one could coast on the righteousness of the nation, being stubborn in heart, without facing the wrath and judgment of a God who would not forgive such rebelliousness (19-21).
In fact, future generations were going to need to have this covenant refreshed for their understanding (22-29). If they lived in the wake of Israel’s unfaithfulness and felt the brunt of the curses outlined in Moses’ previous sermon, then this sermon would provide the answer to their questions: “Why has the Lord done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?” (24). They would have to say, “Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day” (25-28).
It is in this context that we read a passage often-quoted out of its context, that the secret things belong to God and the things which are revealed are to be observed and obeyed (29). Only God knows the future, but He has revealed the Law for them. Predictably, if they keep what God has revealed they would enjoy blessings unimaginable. If they rebelled against God’s written revelation, they should anticipate wrath and punishment that they could not predict or fully anticipate. It is true that we should not overly speculate about things God has chosen not to reveal to us, but Moses’ point here is that the future is foreknown only by God (Isa. 46:9-10). We have no reason to fear it because of what God has revealed. There are no surprises on the final exam!
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