seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 1:1 1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)
3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:
6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”
3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:
6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”
The easy English site has a lot to say about the Book of Deuteronomy.
The word Deuteronomy means ‘the second law’. This translates the Greek title of the book. (Greek is the language in the country called Greece. People used to speak that language in the whole region near the Mediterranean Sea.) The title in the Hebrew language is ‘these are the words’. (Hebrew is the language that the Israelites spoke.) The book does not just repeat earlier laws. It is a record of the covenant relationship between God and the Israelites. The book teaches people how to love God and their neighbours. There are 100 references from Deuteronomy in the New Testament. Deuteronomy is still important for Christians today, although the culture is different. The book is sometimes called ‘The Book of Covenant Life’.
The book tells us that Moses was the speaker. He spoke to the Israelites. They were in Moab on the east of the Jordan valley. The desert is a place where there is not much water. The bushes are small. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there. It was 40 years since they had left Egypt. Soon the Israelites would enter the country that God had promised to them. Now they remembered what had happened at Mount Sinai. (Sometimes this is called Mount Horeb.) There God showed the Israelites who he was. God had acted in powerful ways. He freed the Israelites from Egypt. By Moses, God had given laws to them. God told them how to build the special tent. That was where God met with the Israelites. And, God told them how they should bring sacrifices. He also told them how to celebrate festivals.
A person can walk from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea in 11 days. But the Israelites arrived at the edge of the country that God had promised to them after nearly a year. Then they became afraid of the people who were already in the country. So, God told the Israelites to travel round the country where they were. Moses was speaking 38 years later. They had come again to the edge of the country that God had promised to them. You can read about this from verse 19. They defeated King Sihon and King Og. (See Numbers 22:21-35.) ‘These are the words’ is an important phrase. Kings used it at the beginning of an agreement between themselves and the people that they ruled over. Moses used it at the beginning of the covenant that God made with the Israelites.
The book tells us that Moses was the speaker. He spoke to the Israelites. They were in Moab on the east of the Jordan valley. The desert is a place where there is not much water. The bushes are small. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there. It was 40 years since they had left Egypt. Soon the Israelites would enter the country that God had promised to them. Now they remembered what had happened at Mount Sinai. (Sometimes this is called Mount Horeb.) There God showed the Israelites who he was. God had acted in powerful ways. He freed the Israelites from Egypt. By Moses, God had given laws to them. God told them how to build the special tent. That was where God met with the Israelites. And, God told them how they should bring sacrifices. He also told them how to celebrate festivals.
A person can walk from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea in 11 days. But the Israelites arrived at the edge of the country that God had promised to them after nearly a year. Then they became afraid of the people who were already in the country. So, God told the Israelites to travel round the country where they were. Moses was speaking 38 years later. They had come again to the edge of the country that God had promised to them. You can read about this from verse 19. They defeated King Sihon and King Og. (See Numbers 22:21-35.) ‘These are the words’ is an important phrase. Kings used it at the beginning of an agreement between themselves and the people that they ruled over. Moses used it at the beginning of the covenant that God made with the Israelites.
I got this from BibleTrack.org.
Here's a sad time in Israel's history. We first saw the incident in Numbers 13 upon the return of the spies. The subsequent rebellion in Numbers 14 sealed their fate for the next 38+ years. They sent the spies into Canaan, but upon their return with land specimens and stories of their forty days away from home, the people were afraid to go into Canaan. What's worse, they murmured and threatened the lives of Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb on that occasion. One new item that we see in this passage of scripture that we did not get from Numbers is the fact that it was the peoples' idea to send the spies into Canaan rather than just go on in and possess it .
The people listening to Moses now don't remember the last time they were at the River Jordan just across the Promised Land. Let's face it, a lot of us don't remember 1979, which was 38 years ago. How many of us remember Jimmy Carter as President? How many of us were really sitting in those long lines at the gas pumps back then? There are some young adults who barely remember September 11, 2001 let alone what happened 38 years ago. So Moses was talking to those who didn't have the historical perspective.
