Moses began his recital of Israel's history at Horeb because this is where Yahweh adopted the nation by making the Mosaic Covenant with her. The trip from Egypt to Sinai was only preparation for the giving of the covenant. The Mosaic Covenant is central in Deuteronomy.
"The importance of history has two focal points: (a) there is the covenant tradition of promise, from Abraham to Moses; (b) there is the experience of God in history working out in deed the content of the promise. Thus, for the renewal of the covenant described in Deuteronomy, the prologue recalls not only the covenant's history, but also the ability of the Lord of the covenant to fulfill his promise. What God had done in the past, he could continue to do in the future. There is thus a presentation of a faithful God, whose demand was for a faithful people."22
Moses reflected on the past mainly as Israel's history stands revealed in the earlier books of the Pentateuch. He did not assume knowledge of Israel's history that is independent of the biblical account nor did he recount events previously unrecorded. Occasionally in Deuteronomy he supplemented what he had written earlier with other explanatory material. This indicates that Moses assumed that those who read Deuteronomy would have prior knowledge of his preceding four books. He did not just write Deuteronomy for the generation of Israelites about to enter the Promised Land but for later generations as well including our generation.23
1:6-18 Moses called Mt. Sinai Horeb almost exclusively in this book, ". . . in keeping with the rhetorical style of the book."24The events in this section of verses took place before Israel left Horeb. The references to "the river Euphrates"(v. 7) and "the stars of heaven for multitude"(v. 10) hark back to God's promises to Abraham.
"Virtually all of Palestine and Syria are included in these terms [in v. 7], an area larger than Israel ever possessed in fact, even during the reigns of David and Solomon."25
"The Lord's gift of Canaan to Israel (v. 8) and his command to them to enter and to possess the land began here and was reiterated and emphasized repeatedly in the speeches of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy. They are cardinal elements of the teaching of the book and show that, as Baly has said, Palestine was, in fact, the Chosen Land for the Chosen People; not, it should be noticed, chosen bythem, but chosen forthem' (p. 303)."26
God had already multiplied the Israelites, and He was ready to give them the land. However the "strife"(v. 12) of the people would prove to be their undoing. God appointed judges (v. 16) to help Moses carry the burden of legal decisions that resulted from the giving of the law. It was very important, therefore, that these men judge fairly (v. 17).
1:19-46 These verses deal with Israel's failure at Kadesh-barnea, its causes and its consequences.
The Hebrew word translated "take possession"(v. 21), referring to the Promised Land, occurs over 50 times in Deuteronomy. God's great desire for His people had been that they possess what He had promised them. Unfortunately the older generation would not because of fearful unbelief.
The sending of the spies was the people's idea (v. 22; cf. Num. 13:1-3). Moses agreed to it, as did the Lord, because it was not wrong in itself. It had the potential of being helpful to the Israelites. Nevertheless God had not commanded this strategy. He knew that the sight of the threatening people and fortified cities (v. 28) would discourage them.
The people's sin in failing to enter the land was not just underestimating God's power. They could have blamed themselves for their weak faith. Instead they blamed God and imputed to Him the worst of motives toward them. God loved them, but they claimed He hated them (v. 27). In covenant terminology to love means to choose, and to hate means to reject (cf. Gen. 25:23; Mal. 1:2-3; Rom. 9:10-13).27The Israelites doubted God's goodness, denied His word, and disobeyed His will (cf. Gen. 3).
"The most subtle danger for Israel was the possibility that they might doubt the gracious guidance of God and His willingness to fulfill His promises. It was to become the besetting sin of Israel that they doubted the active and providential sovereignty of Yahweh in every crisis."28
"Such familial language was common in ancient Near Eastern treaty texts where the maker of the covenant would be father' and the receiver son.'"29
The Book of Deuteronomy reveals the wrath of God (v. 34) as well as His love.
The account of Moses' sin (v. 37) is out of chronological order. Moses' purpose in this narrative was not to relate Israel's experiences in sequence but to emphasize spiritual lessons.
"Moses . . . looked behind his own failure and referred to the cause of his action, which was the people's criticism of the Lord's provision of food."30
God's provision of a new leader who would take the nation into the land followed Moses' failure (v. 38). The point is that God provided for the Israelites even when they failed. Moses did not try to hide his own guilt.
Moses connected entering the Promised Land with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The new generation of Israelites was in a position similar to the one in which their original parents found themselves. They had "no knowledge of good or evil"and so had to depend on God to "give it to them"as a gracious father (v. 39; cf. 32:6). The instruction (Torah) that Moses gave the people was the means that God would use to provide for their good (cf. 30:15-16).31
The former generation tried to salvage an opportunity lost at Kadesh through unbelief (v. 41). This is not always possible, and it was not in this instance.32
". . . chapter 1 sets up what Deuteronomy is about. It will echo and anticipate disobedience and unwillingness to live by promise and instruction. Further, the chapter gives us clues about the purpose and context of Deuteronomy. It is a word of instruction about how to live in the land, addressed to a people whose history reflects persistent faithlessness and disobedience . . ."33
Following Israel's second departure from Kadesh (Num. 20) the nation set out for "the wilderness"(v. 1). This was probably the wilderness of Moab to the east of the Dead Sea. They travelled by "the way to the Red Sea"(v. 1). This probably refers to the caravan route that ran from several miles south of the Dead Sea to Elath. Elath stood at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqabah. Then they "circled"around to the mountains of the Seir range southeast of the Arabah (v. 1).
When Israel lay camped at Kadesh, Moses had asked permission from the Edomites to pass through their land on the Arabah road (v. 8). This route ran east from Kadesh to the King's Highway, the main north-south road east of the Seir mountains (cf. Num. 20:14-21). The Edomites denied his request. Apparently later when Israel was moving north toward Edom from Elath God told Moses that they would pass through Edom (vv. 4-6). They did this through "the way of the wilderness of Moab"(v. 8), a minor route east of and roughly parallel to the King's Highway. We may assume that the Israelites did buy food and water from the Edomites at this time (v. 6).
Verse seven is a testimony to God's care for His people during their wilderness wanderings.
The sites of Elath and Ezion-geber (v. 8) seem to have been very close together.
". . . the main settlement was the oasis of Aqabah, at the northeast corner of the gulf, and . . . both names, Elath and Ezion-geber, referred to this place, perhaps to two parts of the oasis."34
God's care of Moab (v. 9) and Ammon (v. 19) as well as Edom (v. 5) is traceable to the source of these nations in Abraham's family. They were partakers in the benefits of the Abrahamic Covenant. Note that God gave these nations their lands. The thrice repeated phrase, "I have given"(vv. 5, 9, 19), indicates Yahweh's sovereign prerogative to assign His land to whomever He chose.
A later editor, under divine inspiration, may have added the parenthetic sections (vv. 10-12, 20-23) to Moses' narrative after Israel had settled in the land. They refer to events that happened after Israel crossed the Jordan (vv. 12, 23).
"The Hurrians are referred to frequently in the Old Testament as the Horites [vv. 12, 22] . . ."35
Verse 14 is a flashback. The crossing of the Zered was a benchmark event for the Israelites. It signalled the end of the wilderness wanderings as the crossing of the Red Sea had marked the end of Egyptian bondage. The crossing of the Jordan River would mark the beginning of a new era in the Promised Land.
"The reference to the demise of all the fighting men accomplishes at least two purposes: (1) it brings that whole era of desert sojourning to an end, and (2) it emphasizes more than ever that the impending victories of Israel in both the Transjordan and Canaan must be attributed not to Israel but to the Lord alone. With the heart of military capacity gone, there can be no doubt that victory is achievable only as he, the Warrior of Israel, leads them to triumph in holy war."36
The Caphtorim (v. 23) were part of the sea people who invaded Canaan from the northwest and settled in the southwest portion of that land. The Caphtorim came from Caphtor (Crete) as a result of the invasion of their northern Mediterranean homelands by the Dorians (Greeks). These people became known as the Philistines. The whole land of Canaan became known as Palestine, the land of the Philistines. The Roman Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 117-138) gave it this name.
This narrative closely parallels the one in Numbers 21:21-32. In this account Moses emphasized for the people God's faithfulness to them. Note especially verses 25, 29, 30, 31, 33, and 36.
"All the nations under heaven' (v. 25) is an idiomatic hyperbole signifying all the nations in the vicinity; that is, at least from horizon to horizon (under heaven)."37
"The process of Sihon's fall was much the same as that of the fall of . . . the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Each was approached with a request to favor the Israelites (vv. 26-29), which he refused, because the Lord . . . hardened his spirit(v. 30). Each made a hostile advance against Israel (v. 32) and suffered defeat, as the Lord fought for His people (vv. 31, 33ff.)."38
As God had promised His people, "No city was too high"for them (v. 36). Moses gave God all the credit for this victory.
"Apart from the Lord's intention to provide a home and land for God's people, there are two criteria for the destruction of inhabitants of the land: (1) those who oppose God's purpose and promise to Israel--that is, Sihon and Og; and (2) those who seem to pose in a special way the problem of religious contamination and syncretism--that is, the Canaanites and Amorites."39
". . . the divine hardening described here [v. 30] was part of Yahweh's sovereign judgment on a morally corrupt culture."40
This record is also very similar to the previous account of this conquest in Numbers 21:33-35, though Moses provided more information here. Again Moses interpreted Israel's history to emphasize God's faithfulness. The land of Bashan, or Argob, was a fertile, heavily forested plateau famous for its oaks (Isa. 2:13) and livestock (32:14; Amos 4:1).41The spies had feared the giants and walled cities of Canaan. Nevertheless in this campaign God delivered to His people 60 heavily fortified cities besides many other rural towns plus at least one real giant, Og. Moses probably recorded the size of his king size bed (v. 11) to document the fact that God gave the Israelites victory over the giants they had so greatly feared. Some writers have argued that the Hebrew word eresmeans sarcophagus rather than bed.42Most translators disagree. His bed probably contained iron decorations since at this time iron was a precious metal.43
The division of the land of these two Amorite kings among two and one-half Israelite tribes (cf. Num. 32) further fulfilled God's promise to give the land to His people. This extensive portion of real estate was part of the land God promised to Abraham.
Moses' earlier description of this conquest stressed Israel's role in taking this land (Num. 32), but in this one he stressed that it was God who gave it to them (v. 20).
Moses encouraged Joshua, his successor, to take courage on the basis of all that God had done for Israel thus far, especially in defeating Sihon and Og (vv. 21-22). A better translation of verse 22 is ". . . for Yahweh [the covenant-keeping God] your Elohim [strong One], He[emphatic] is the one fighting for you."Israel's future success was certain because of Israel's God, not because of Israel's strength or wisdom.
Moses was so eager to see the Promised Land that he requested permission to enter it even for just a brief visit (vv. 23-25). Because of his sin, which the people provoked by their incessant complaining but which Moses did not shirk responsibility for, God did not permit this (v. 26). God did, however, allow Moses to view the land from a good vantage point (v. 27; cf. 34:1-3).
"In this section we also have one of Moses' prayers (vv. 23-29). These prayers contribute to a profile of Moses as a type or model figure that is anticipatory of later figures in the biblical tradition. The primary components of this profile show Moses as a suffering servant [here], teacher (see discussion of 5:22-33), intercessor (see ch. 9), and prophet (see 18:9-22)."44
God charged Moses with encouraging Joshua further (v. 28). It is much easier to live by sight than by faith in God's promises.
