Deuteronomy 31:19

Deuteronomy 31:19 says, 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.  God instructed Moses to write a divinely inspired song to be sung as a witness for God against the people of Israel when they failed to remain true to Him. We usually have songs that remind us of God's goodness and mercy, but maybe we need more that remind us of what will happen when we as Christians stray away from God.  Verse twenty adds, 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 song said that when the people of Israel had grown fat from the abundance food that God blessed them with in the land that He had given them that they would turn to other gods and provoke God.  Often, when Christians are blessed with more than what they need by the graciousness of God, they turn away from Him and His word.  Verse twenty-two continues, 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.  God told Moses that the song would be a testimony against them when evils and troubles befell them.  God didn't say if, but when, because He said that He knew their thoughts often turned away from Him before He brought them into the land.  God was willing to fulfill His part of the covenant even when He knew that the people of Israel would fail in theirs.  God sent Jesus Christ to completely forever fulfill His covenant with any who would accept Him and become a pert of God's people, even though He knows that we will often fail to live up to our promise to follow Him in obedience to His guidance.  Verse twenty-two concludes, Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.  Moses wrote the song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel, even before they had entered the Promised Land.  Though it says Moses wrote the song, it was given to Him by God.  The whole Bible, though written by many different people, is inspired by God.  Verse twenty-three states, 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 gave Joshua the charge to lead the people of Israel, but it was God's charge and not just that of Moses.  We today need to make sure that what we as followers of Christ teach is God's word and not our own.  Verse twenty-four adds, 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,  Moses then finished writing all the words of the Law that God had given Him in a book.  Verse twenty-five continues, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,  Verse twenty-six, 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 then called the Levites and told them to take the book and put it in the Ark of the Covenant.  This represented God's presence with them when they were traveling, and God's word written in our heart and the presence of the Holy Spirit is God's presence with us today.  Verse twenty-seven declares, 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 said that he knew their rebellion and tendency to be stiffnecked even while he was with them, and asked how much worse would they be when he wasn't with them.  Verse twenty-eight adds, 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 then called for the elders of all the tribes to be gathered to him so he could speak these words in their ears.  We need to hear God's word proclaimed often and accurately today, when we gather in His name especially.  Verse twenty-nine continues, 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 said he knew that when he was gone that they would utterly corrupt themselves and it would lead to their having evil befall them in the latter days.  Verse thirty concludes, And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.  Moses then spoke not just to the elders but to all the people the words of the song.  Though ministers may lead us in worshipping God today, we are all individually responsible for our relationship with God.