Deuteronomy 1

This chapter opens Deuteronomy. With Israel encamped in the land of Moab at the close of Numbers, Moses begins his first address, reviewing events from the departure from Mount Horeb to the failure at Kadesh.

Outline

• Verses 1–5: Introduction. On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, after the defeat of Sihon and Og, Moses begins to expound the law in the land of Moab beyond the Jordan.
• Verses 6–8: The command to leave Mount Horeb and go to the land sworn to the patriarchs.
• Verses 9–18: Wise men are chosen from each tribe and appointed as captains over thousands down to captains over tens, and impartial judgment is commanded.
• Verses 19–25: At Kadesh Barnea, at the people's suggestion, twelve men are sent to spy out the land. The spies bring back fruit from the valley of Eshcol and report that the land is good.
• Verses 26–33: Disheartened by reports of the Anakim, the people murmur and refuse to believe Moses' assurance that the LORD will fight for them.
• Verses 34–40: The LORD swears that this generation will not see the land. Only Caleb, Joshua, and the children will enter; even Moses will not enter.
• Verses 41–46: The people go up in defiance of the command and are defeated by the Amorites, who chase them from Seir to Hormah.

Key Verses

• Deuteronomy 1:17: "for the judgment is God's" — presented as the basis for impartial judgment that does not respect persons.
• Deuteronomy 1:31: "as a man doth bear his son" — an image comparing God's guidance in the wilderness to a father's care.
• Deuteronomy 1:32: "ye did not believe the LORD your God" — summarizing unbelief as the cause of the failure at Kadesh.

People and Places

• Moses, Caleb, and Joshua appear, along with the patriarchs to whom the land was promised: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• Sihon and Og: The Amorite king of Heshbon and the king of Bashan, whom Moses had already defeated.
• The Anakim: The people whom the spies described as great and tall.
• Mount Horeb: The mountain where the law was given; Deuteronomy usually refers to Mount Sinai by this name.
• Kadesh Barnea: The wilderness encampment where the spying out of the land and the rebellion took place.
• Mount Seir and Hormah: The places to which the defeated Israelites were driven. Seir is the hill country of Edom.

Points for Reflection

• The account of the spies overlaps with Numbers 13 and Numbers 14. Numbers records that the LORD commanded the spying, while this chapter says the people proposed it first. Traditionally, the two accounts are harmonized as God granting the people's request. Critical scholarship regards the difference as reflecting distinct traditions or differing emphases.
• This chapter attributes Moses' exclusion from the land to the people ("for your sakes," verse 37), whereas Numbers 20 cites the incident of the water at Meribah.
• Verses 9–18 are read in connection with the counsel of Jethro (Exodus 18).
• In the New Testament, Hebrews 3 cites the wilderness generation's failure to enter because of unbelief as a warning.

In the Korean Church

• Sermons warning against disobedience commonly contrast the "eleven days' journey" of verse 2 with the forty years actually spent in the wilderness. This contrast, however, is not an interpretation offered by the text itself but an application added in preaching.
• Verses 6–7, "Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: Turn you, and take your journey," are used in sermons for the New Year or for new beginnings.