1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, 4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6 “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’” – Deuteronomy 1:1-8 ESV
A new generation of Israelites was positioned on the plains of Moab, waiting for word from Moses to enter the land of Canaan. The people of Israel had made their way back to the very same spot where, 40 years earlier, their fathers and mothers had disobeyed God’s command to enter the land and subdue it. Instead, they had chosen to listen to the majority opinion of the 12 men who had spied out the land and returned with a less-than-favorable report. While they validated God’s claim that the land was rich and bountiful, filled with fertile farmland, abundant livestock, and some of the most productive vineyards they had ever seen, they also reported that it was also full of fortified cities and armies populated by soldiers who looked like giants. So, the Israelites had voted to take the advice of the terror-stricken spies and ignore the command of God. And their disobedience had resulted in a curse. God sent them wandering in the wilderness for four decades, until each and every one of them had died off and a new generation had taken their place.
Now, the next crop of Israelites were just weeks away from entering the land God had promised to Abraham hundreds of years earlier. They had made their way to Moab, on the eastern border of the land of Canaan, and it was there that Moses delivered his state-of-the-union address. He began by reminding them of God’s original command.
While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the Lord’s instructions as follows. – Deuteronomy 1:5 NLT
Moses proceeded to give the Israelites an intensive review of the expectations God had given them at Mount Sinai more than 40 years earlier.“When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’” – Deuteronomy 1:6-8 NLT
Now, here they were, standing at the edge of the land of promise. But getting to the border was not going to be enough. The land was theirs, but they were going to have to step into it if they were going to occupy it. And that would require a step of faith.
Moses’ little speech was meant to remind the people of Israel of the covenant God had made with them. God had unilaterally committed Himself to Abraham and his offspring, promising to provide them with the land of Canaan, even before Abraham and Sarah had given birth to their first son. In fact, God made His commitment in spite of their advanced years and Sarah’s barrenness.
“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:4-8 ESV
The ball was now in Israel’s court. God had promised them the land. He had freed them from captivity in Egypt and led them to the land. Now, it was up to them to obey God by entering and occupying the land.
“Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers.” – Deuteronomy 6:8 ESV
This is the exact point at which the previous generation had balked. They had arrived at the border but had refused to cross over the Jordan and occupy the land. And Moses was not willing to sit back and watch the next generation repeat the mistakes of their forefathers. God was not interested in getting Israel to the land. He wanted to see them fully entrenched in the land. The covenant would not be complete until the land became their “everlasting possession.”
The promise of the land required possession of the land. This is an essential point in understanding the book of Deuteronomy. God had done His part. He had led the people to the land, but now they were going to have to enter it and trust God for giving them possession of it. When Moses had lived in the land, he had never owned single acre. In fact, the author of Hebrews states:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. – Hebrews 11:8-9 ESV
And yet, a little later on in this book, Moses will let the people know that their occupation of the land will be accompanied by incredible blessings from God.
“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” – Deuteronomy 6:10-12 ESV
They would not be living in some kind of temporary tent city. Instead, they would live in houses they didn’t build filled with items they didn’t buy. They would harvest the produce of fields they didn’t plant and the fruit of vineyards they didn’t cultivate. And all they had to do was remember that it was all the work of God.
Forty years earlier, at Mount Horeb (Sinai), God had given Moses His Law. And He had promised to send an angel before the people of Israel when the time came for them to enter and occupy the land.
“When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.” – Exodus 23:23-25 ESV
God was going to give them the land, but they were going to have to give God their undivided allegience. No unfaithfulness. No spiritual adultery. And their obedience would bring God’s blessing.
It’s important the land of Canaan was chosen for the people of Israel, and not by them. It was God’s divine will that they occupy this particular parcel of land in this particular part of the world. God had His reasons. There was a method to His madness. And He had great things in store for His people if they would only submit to His will for them. God’s will is always better. His ways are always better than ours. But will we trust Him by obeying Him? The Book of Deuteronomy is going to give us an up-close-and-personal glimpse into Israel’s response to God’s faithfulness. And, as always, there will be vital lessons for us to learn.
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