Deuteronomy 31:24-29

4. The preservation of God’s words 31:24-29

Moses charged the priests with the care and keeping of the law he had written (Deuteronomy 31:25-26), perhaps the whole Book of Deuteronomy. [Note: Deere, p. 317.] It was normal for priests to bear this responsibility in the ancient Near East. [Note: Thompson, pp. 290-91.] They kept this document beside, not in, the ark (Deuteronomy 31:26; cf. 2 Kings 22:8). Only the Ten Commandments were in the ark (Exodus 25:16; cf. Exodus 16:33-34; Numbers 17:10-11). The Levites who carried the ark were Kohathites. The song (Deuteronomy 31:15-16) and the scroll were two witnesses to the people’s obedience and disobedience. Moses also warned the priests of Israel’s future apostasy as God had revealed this to him (Deuteronomy 31:27-29). It was important for these spiritual leaders to be ready for what was coming.

"What appears to be in view is a miniature preenactment of the ceremony that the whole nation was to engage in at Ebal and Gerizim once Canaan had been overcome and occupied (cf. Deuteronomy 27:1-14)." [Note: Merrill, Deuteronomy, p. 405.]