SERIES F --- WILDERNESS WANDERINGS --- LESSON 16

MOSES’ FAREWELL

MOSES’ FINAL CHARGE TO THE PEOPLE

From Deuteronomy 31

I am one hundred and twenty years old, Moses told the people of Israel one day. [I cannot lead you across the Jordan River, for Adonai told me that I cannot go into the Promised Land. But Adonai will go before you and will destroy your enemies and give you victory over them. Joshua will be your new leader, for this is what Adonai has Commanded. Adonai will do to the people of the land as He has done to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites. He will deliver these people into your hand so that you may destroy them as I have commanded you. But you must have courage and not fear these people, for Adonai will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you.] Then while all Israel watched, Moses called Joshua before him and commissioned him as the new leader. [Be strong and courageous,] he charged, [for Adonai has Promised this land to your people and you will lead them into the land and help them conquer it. Adonai will go before you and will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.] Moses wrote all the Laws which he had been given and gave them to the priests, the descendants of Levi, who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai containing the Ten Commandments of Adonai. He also gave copies of the Law to the leaders of Israel with this command, [At the end of every seventh year, in the Year of Release, during the Feast of Tabernacles, read this Law before all the people of Israel as they assemble before Adonai. Bring together the men, women and children, as well as the foreigners living in your community and instruct them in these laws so that all of you may learn to reverence Adonai as long as you live in this land which Adonai is giving to you.] Then Adonai said to Moses, [The appointed time for you to die has come. Call Joshua to come to the tabernacle so that I may commission him.] Moses and Joshua came before Adonai at the entrance to the tabernacle. Adonai appeared to Moses and Joshua in a great cloud at the tabernacle. Then He spoke to Moses. [You will soon die and go to be with your ancestors,] He said. [But when you do, these people will soon forget Me and My Covenant and will start to worship the foreign gods of the land where they are going. In My anger I will turn from them and hide My face from them, permitting great trouble to come to them until they are destroyed. Finally, they will cry out and ask if these troubles have come because I am no longer with them. However, I will not completely abandon them, even though they have turned away from Me to other gods. [Now write this song and teach it to your people. It will become My witness against the people of Israel when they turn away from Me to go after other gods in their new land. When they enter the land and have all they need and are full and fat, they will turn away from Me to serve other gods. They will even despise Me and ignore My Covenant which I have made with them. But when disaster comes to them because of their unfaithfulness, this song will be My witness against them and a memorial to their children, for it will live in the memories of their descendants. I know now what these people are thinking, even before I bring them into the Promised Land.] That same day Moses wrote the song and taught it to the people of Israel. He also charged Joshua, [Be courageous and bring the people into the land which Adonai Promised, for Adonai has said that He will go with you.] Moses recorded all the Laws in a book. When he had finished, he commanded the Levites who carried the Ark to place the Book of the Law beside the Ark. [Place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai so that it will be a witness against the people,] he said. [I know how stubborn and rebellious you are for I have seen it while I have been among you. How much greater will be your rebellion when I am gone! Now bring the leaders of Israel together so that I may speak to them and call heaven and earth to witness against them. I know that when I am dead you will turn from my commandments and act with great evil. Then evil will return to punish you, for you have provoked Adonai to anger with the things you have done.]

COMMENTARY

THE LIFE THEY LEFT BEHIND: LEATHER MAKING IN ANCIENT EGYPT

The ancient Egyptians were masters of the art of leather making. They knew how to tan, dye and shape it for many different purposes, from sandals to ropes. The process of making leather from animal hides, which is tanning, was a time-consuming, bad-smelling one. But it was necessary, because without it, animal hides dry out and become hard, brittle and useless. Tanning was a very unpopular occupation however, no matter how necessary it was. The Egyptians despised its untidiness and unpleasant smell and the Hebrews shunned it also because of the contact with dead animals. Tanners usually lived on the edges or outside of town and preferably downwind. Simon the tanner, the apostle Peter’s host, lived by the sea. After the animal was slaughtered and skinned, the tanner soaked the hide in a vat of water. After that the skin was smeared or rubbed with lime to remove fat, hair and blood. It was then more thoroughly cleaned and made thinner by scraping with knives or sharp stones. This entire procedure was called {curing}; the word here means {cleaning.} The hide was then dried. It was next treated by rubbing it with pads from the sumac bush, oak or pine bark or leaves. This softened and preserved it. The skins were dyed by dipping them in vats of the desired colour; red and blue were especially popular. Some skins were blackened on one side by being rubbed with a solution made from used nails or bits of copper boiled in vinegar. A dressing made of olive oil was vigorously rubbed into the skin for softness and flexibility. The final step in tanning the skin into usable leather was to go over it with mineral salts. Only mourners, prophets and the extremely poor wore skins that had not been prepared in this way. They were coarse, rough, clumsy and brittle, with fur remaining on the inside. These were called {hair shirts.} The bristles of a hairbrush feel something like it. John the Baptist wore one made of camels’ hair. The ancient Egyptians used a great variety of animal hides for leather. The most common were sheep, goats and bulls. But camels, pigs and donkeys were also used. Crocodiles and leopards lost their skins to the tanner and so did desert creatures like lizards and badgers. Leather was used in the ancient world to produce sandals, hats, shirts, aprons, belts, even purses. Shoes of tanned goats’ skin were considered the ultimate in elegance. Leather coverings appeared on beds, chairs and thrones. Egyptians even used it for walls, ceilings and doors. Twisted leather made the sturdiest rope. Soldiers perhaps appreciated leather more than anyone else. Besides leather kilts, they wore wide leather belts or girdles; their helmets were often of leather. So were the quivers that held their arrows. Leather boots protected them from ankle to knee. Daggers and swords were held in leather sheaths. Bowstrings were made of leather, along with harnesses, whips and saddles. Expert tanners supplied the sturdiest possible leather shields. The most flexible leather went into slings that snapped back instantly when pulled, like a rubber band on a slingshot. Leather-trimmed chariots rode on leather wheels. Leather rafts, made of large pieces tied together and inflated, floated men and equipment across rivers. In the Bible leather is always called {skins.} Certain skins were used as containers for liquids. Pottery worked well as bowls, but leather served best for bottles and pouches. Containers to hold large amounts of liquid were sometimes made by using a whole goat’s skin and tying the neck and legs together. The ancients knew they were not to put new wine in an old wineskin, for the gasses from the fermenting liquid would burst open a used thin skin. The most expensive writing material was made from carefully tanned lamb or kid. Part of the Book of Isaiah was written on this material, called vellum; it was meant to last a very long time.