Deuteronomy 31:10

Deuteronomy 31:10 says, 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,  Verse eleven adds, 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.  Moses commanded that every seven years, at the feast of tabernacles that all of Israel were to gather together in the place that God designated and read the law so that they all could hear it.  This would have been no easy undertaking.  We as Christians should read God's word daily, and especially when we are gathered together in His name in the place He designates for us to worship Him, and though we don't do it daily, we should read through the entire Bible often.  Verse twelve continues, 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:  Moses said everyone in Israel was to be gathered together, even the stranger, so that they could hear and learn the law of God and fear, or respect, Him.  We still need to do this today as we gather together as the church, and we need to reach the strangers with God's word as well.  Verse thirteen concludes, 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.  Moses said this was to be done so that the children who had not seen the great works of God could hear and learn about Him and enter into a covenant relationship with Him as well.  We as Christian parents must teach our children to know God and pray that they will enter into a covenant relationship with Him by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  This was to be done as long as the people of Israel lived in the Promised Land, and it is to be done by Christians today as long as we are on this earth.  Verse fourteen states, 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.  God told Moses that the time for him to die was near, and that he was to call Joshua and that they were to appear together in the tabernacle of the congregation so that God could give Joshua his charge.  The transfer of leadership was to be done openly and with the people knowing that God was the One Who ordained it.  We need that same orderly transfer of leadership in the church todsy when one pastor leaves and another takes his place.  Verse fifteen adds, 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. When Moses and Joshua appeared together before the people of Israel in the tabernacle, God came down in the pillar of cloud and stood over the door of the tabernacle.  Though we do not have this visible presence of  God today, when we do gather in His name, we should be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit with us to guide us in all that we do.  Verse sixteen declares, 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.  God told Moses that after he died that the people would start to follow false gods.  Moses through his faith and by God's power had kept them following God's law, often interceding with God on their behalf, but he could not ensure that they would always follow God, and neither could Joshua when he replaced Moses.  We cannot ensure that coming generations will follow Jesus Christ today, but as long as we live, we must present His gospel to them.  Verse seventeen adds, 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 said once they started following false gods that He would turn away from them and they would experience many troubles and be devoured by other nations.  Their strength came from God and not from the fact of their birth.  We as followers of Christ today only have power over the world by our faith in Jesus Christ, and this could be gone in a generation if we fail to reach them with the gospel.  Verse eighteen continues, 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 said that His hiding His face from the people of Israel was a certainty if they turned away from Him and followed false gods.  We cannot follow the gods of this world and expect God to bless us, individually or as a nation.