Study Desk

Instead, they turned away to serve and worship gods they had not known before, gods that were not from the Lord .

In great anger and fury the Lord uprooted his people from their land and banished them to another land, where they still live today!'

Call them all together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns—so they may hear this Book of Instruction and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions.

The Lord said to Moses, "You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them.

Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, ‘These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!'

For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.

And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them."

"But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely, are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation.

Remember the days of long ago; think about the generations past. Ask your father, and he will inform you. Inquire of your elders, and they will tell you.

"But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.

Oh, that they were wise and could understand this! Oh, that they might know their fate!

Indeed, he loves his people; all his holy ones are in his hands. They follow in his steps and accept his teaching.

Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben: "Let the tribe of Reuben live and not die out, though they are few in number."

The Levites obeyed your word and guarded your covenant. They were more loyal to you than to their own parents. They ignored their relatives and did not acknowledge their own children.

They teach your regulations to Jacob; they give your instructions to Israel. They present incense before you and offer whole burnt offerings on the altar.

Bless the ministry of the Levites, O Lord , and accept all the work of their hands. Hit their enemies where it hurts the most; strike down their foes so they never rise again."

They summon the people to the mountain to offer proper sacrifices there. They benefit from the riches of the sea and the hidden treasures in the sand."

The people of Gad took the best land for themselves; a leader's share was assigned to them. When the leaders of the people were assembled, they carried out the Lord 's justice and obeyed his regulations for Israel."

until the Lord gives them rest, as he has given you rest, and until they, too, possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. Only then may you return and settle here on the east side of the Jordan River in the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord , assigned to you."

They answered Joshua, "We will do whatever you command us, and we will go wherever you send us.