Deuteronomy 31:1-8
When Moses can no longer lead Israel across the Jordan, the Lord remains the true leader who goes ahead, keeps His promise, and equips Joshua with courage for covenant succession.
1 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
2 He said to them, “I am one hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Yahweh has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’
3 Yahweh your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
4 Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them.
5 Yahweh will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”
7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
8 Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
When Moses can no longer lead Israel across the Jordan, the LORD remains the true leader who goes ahead, keeps His promise, and equips Joshua with courage for covenant succession.
Moses announces his approaching departure from leadership, explains that he will not cross the Jordan, and redirects Israel's confidence away from himself to the LORD who will cross ahead of them. He then commissions Joshua before the people, grounding Joshua's courage in the LORD's presence and in the LORD's proven victories over Sihon and Og.
Moses speaks on the plains of Moab as Israel stands near the Jordan after the wilderness generation has fallen. The Transjordan victories over Sihon and Og have already demonstrated the LORD's power, and Joshua has been designated as Moses' successor before Israel enters Canaan.
Succession, Written Torah, and the Song as Witness
When Moses' ministry ends, the LORD preserves His covenant purpose through Joshua's commission, the written Torah, public hearing, and a song that will testify against Israel's future apostasy.