31:14
God speaks to Moses telling him that “the day of your death is near”. We know that on the last day Christ will raise us from the dead (John 6:39-44), but I believe we can also be confident that He will be with us as we enter that last phase of this life. While Moses’ death is near, God still has things for him to do, namely to commission Joshua, or rather to call Joshua so that God can commission him. Our lives are always useful, even until the very end. So Moses and Joshua both presented themselves at the tent of meeting.
31:15,16
The commissioning of Joshua is in some ways rather strange. The Lord is present in a pillar of cloud, so there is no doubt that God is present. He tells Moses that he is “going to rest with his ancestors”. Why “rest”? The promises have not yet been fulfilled in full, nothing like it, and will not be fulfilled for many, many years. Moses would be resting until the time of fulfilment. God then tells them that the people will not keep the covenant, but instead “prostitute themselves to the foreign gods”. God always knew that the old covenant would “fail”. It was never intended to be “it”. How is Joshua feeling now? He has to lead the people, and will do so with much success, but he knows what will eventually happen.
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