Commentary - Deuteronomy 1:1-5

Bird's-eye view

The book of Deuteronomy is a series of farewell addresses from Moses to the people of Israel. They are poised on the edge of the promised land, and the entire generation that came out of Egypt has perished in the wilderness, with a few notable exceptions. This new generation needs to hear the law again, not because the law has changed, but because they have. The name Deuteronomy means "second law," not a different law, but a second giving of it for a new time. This is covenant renewal. Moses, standing as the federal head of the nation, preaches to them the terms of the covenant they are to live by in the land God is giving them. This book is fiercely monotheistic and lays the groundwork for all the subsequent prophets. More than that, it is one of the books most frequently quoted by the Lord Jesus, which ought to commend it to our careful attention.

This opening section sets the stage for everything that follows. It establishes the time, the place, and the circumstances. The time is the fortieth year, the end of the judgment of wandering. The place is the plains of Moab, just across the Jordan from their inheritance. And the circumstances are defined by God's recent victories over the Amorite kings, Sihon and Og. These victories are the down payment, the earnest, of what God intends to do for Israel in Canaan. Moses is not just giving them a dry legal code; he is expounding the law in the context of God's mighty acts of judgment and salvation. This is gospel preaching, grounded in history, aimed at the heart.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

These first five verses function as the introduction to the entire book. They are like the title page and preface combined. They anchor the sermons of Moses in a concrete historical moment. This is not abstract theology; this is God's word spoken by his prophet to his people at a pivotal point in their history. The forty years of wandering are over. The generation of unbelief is dead. A new generation stands ready, and they are about to receive their marching orders. The victories over Sihon and Og are crucial here. They are not just incidental details. They are tangible proof that God keeps His promises and that the enemies of God, no matter how strong, cannot stand before Him. This provides the immediate backdrop of encouragement for the exhortations and warnings that will follow.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab.

The book begins by identifying its nature. It is a collection of "words." This is preaching. This is proclamation. And the speaker is Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, the prophet of God. He is speaking to "all Israel," which is a crucial covenantal term. The nation is addressed as a single entity, a corporate whole. They are on the east side of the Jordan, still technically "in the wilderness," but on the very cusp of the promised land. The list of geographical names serves to pin this moment down in real space and time. This is not a fairy tale. These events happened at a particular place. While scholars debate the exact locations of some of these sites, the point for the original audience was their familiarity. It grounds the revelation in their lived experience.

v. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

This verse is a dagger to the heart. Horeb is another name for Sinai, where the law was first given. Kadesh-barnea was the staging point for the first, failed attempt to enter the land. Moses points out that the journey between these two points, a journey that should have taken less than two weeks, has stretched into forty years. Why? The answer, which will be unpacked in the coming chapters, is unbelief. This is a staggering indictment of the previous generation's sin. It is a parenthetical comment, but it drips with pathos and warning. It tells the new generation, "Do not be like your fathers." The distance was not the problem. The terrain was not the problem. The logistics were not the problem. The problem was the heart, rebellious and faithless. This verse sets a somber and cautionary tone right at the outset.

v. 3 Now it happened, in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Yahweh had commanded him to give to them,

Here we get the precise date. The forty years of judgment are complete. This is the eleventh month of the final year. The end is in sight. Moses' speech is not his own invention. He is speaking "according to all that Yahweh had commanded him." He is a faithful messenger, a steward of the divine revelation. This establishes the authority of the words that are to follow. This is not the wisdom of Moses; this is the Word of the Lord. The entire book of Deuteronomy, therefore, comes to us with this divine imprimatur. To disobey these words is to disobey God Himself.

v. 4 after he had struck down Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

History is theology taught by example. Before Moses expounds the law, he reminds them of the gospel. And the gospel here is that God fights for His people. Sihon and Og were formidable kings, giants in the land. Israel, by God's power, had utterly defeated them. These victories were not just military conquests; they were divine judgments against the Amorites, whose iniquity was now full (Gen. 15:16). And for Israel, they were a powerful object lesson. The God who could defeat Sihon and Og on the east side of the Jordan was more than capable of defeating the Canaanites on the west side. This is a call to faith, grounded in recent, undeniable evidence of God's power and faithfulness. God gives his people appetizers of victory to whet their appetite for the main course.

v. 5 Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

The location is reiterated: they are in Moab, on the threshold. And here we have the key verb for the entire book. Moses "undertook to expound" the law. The Hebrew word has the sense of making something plain, clear, or distinct. Moses is not simply repeating the law given at Sinai. He is applying it, explaining it, preaching it to a new generation in a new context. He is bringing the unchanging Word of God to bear on their present circumstances. This is the task of all faithful preaching. We don't invent a new word, but we must make the old word plain for the people who are hearing it now. And with that, after this thorough introduction, Moses begins to speak.

Application

The opening of Deuteronomy sets the stage for a covenant renewal, and we should see our own lives in this pattern. We are always on the verge of a new phase of obedience, and we always need to hear the law of God expounded afresh. Like Israel, we are prone to forget, and our hearts are prone to wander. The reminder of the "eleven day journey" that took forty years should be a stark warning against the sin of unbelief. How often do we prolong our own wilderness wanderings because we refuse to take God at His word?

But we are also reminded of God's mighty acts of salvation. The victories over Sihon and Og are a type of Christ's victory over sin and death. Our confidence in facing our own enemies, whether spiritual or physical, should not rest in our own strength but in the demonstrated power of our God. He has already won the decisive battle at the cross and the empty tomb. The giants we face are already defeated foes. Therefore, we are called to listen as the law is expounded, not as a means of earning our salvation, but as the pattern for a life of grateful obedience to the God who has already saved us.

Finally, we see the importance of faithful preaching. Moses undertook to make the law plain. This is the central task of the church's ministry. We need the Word of God explained and applied to our lives, in our time and place. We need to hear the commands of God in the context of the gospel of God, so that we might go forth and take possession of the inheritance He has promised us in Christ Jesus.