The Threshold of Promise Text: Deuteronomy 1:19-21
Introduction: The Geography of Obedience
The Christian life is a journey, a pilgrimage. But it is not a random, meandering stroll through the park. It is a march with a destination, under orders from a commanding officer. The book of Deuteronomy finds Israel at a critical juncture in this march. They are poised on the edge of the Promised Land, and Moses is recounting their history to them. He is reminding them of who their God is, what He has done, and what He has commanded. This is not a sentimental trip down memory lane. This is a covenant lawsuit. It is a legal brief being read to the jury before they are sent to deliberate. And the verdict will be determined by their action, or their inaction.
We are in the same position. Every generation of Christians stands at its own Kadesh-barnea. Every generation is brought to the threshold of a promise and given the command to go up and possess the land. The land might be the unevangelized mission field, the corrupt institutions of our culture, the idolatry in our own hearts, or the raising of the next generation in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The geography changes, but the command does not. God sets the land before us and says, "Go up, take possession."
But between the promise and the possession, there is always a wilderness. And at the border of the land, there is always the temptation of fear. The choice is always the same: will we believe the report of the giants, or will we believe the report of God? Will we be governed by what we see with our eyes, or by what we have heard with our ears from the mouth of the living God? This passage is a case study in the anatomy of faith and the pathology of fear. It shows us that obedience is not just a matter of the heart; it is a matter of the feet. It requires movement.
The Text
Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and fearsome wilderness which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as Yahweh our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which Yahweh our God is about to give us. See, Yahweh your God has given over the land before you; go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’
(Deuteronomy 1:19-21 LSB)
The Commanded Journey (v. 19)
We begin with the journey that brought them to this decisive moment.
"Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and fearsome wilderness which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as Yahweh our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea." (Deuteronomy 1:19)
Notice the bookends of this verse. They "set out from Horeb" and they "came to Kadesh-barnea." Horeb, another name for Sinai, was where the covenant was formalized. It was the place of law, of fire, of God's terrifying holiness. Kadesh-barnea was the staging ground for the invasion, the threshold of the promise. Between the two lies "all that great and fearsome wilderness."
This is the Christian life in miniature. We begin at the cross and the giving of the law, where we understand our sin and God's grace. Our destination is the consummation of the kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth. But the path between the two runs straight through a great and fearsome wilderness. This world is not our friend. It is hostile territory. It is filled with serpents, scorpions, and spiritual drought. It is designed to test us, to reveal what is in our hearts, to teach us that man does not live by bread alone.
But they did not wander into this wilderness by accident. They went "just as Yahweh our God had commanded us." God's commands do not always lead us on easy paths. In fact, they often lead us directly into difficulty. God is not interested in our comfort nearly as much as He is interested in our character. He leads us through the fearsome places to teach us to trust Him, and not our own resources. The wilderness is God's training ground for warriors. You don't learn to fight in the palace ballroom; you learn on the dusty plains where the enemy is real.
They arrived at Kadesh-barnea. This place name means something like "the consecrated place of the desert." It was a moment of decision, a holy moment. They had been led by God to the very door of their inheritance. All their training in the wilderness was for this moment. God had done His part. He had commanded, He had led, He had sustained. Now the ball was in their court.
The Presented Promise (v. 20)
Moses then frames the situation for them in covenantal terms.
"And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which Yahweh our God is about to give us.’" (Deuteronomy 1:20 LSB)
Moses's announcement is packed with theological weight. First, "You have come." Their arrival was not an accident. It was the culmination of God's providential guidance. They were precisely where God intended them to be, at the precise time He intended them to be there. We must have this same confidence. Our circumstances, our challenges, our opportunities are not random. We have come to this moment in history, to this cultural Kadesh-barnea, by divine appointment.
Second, he identifies the objective: "the hill country of the Amorites." The land is not empty. It is occupied by enemies. The promises of God are not fulfilled in a vacuum. They are fulfilled in the midst of conflict. The kingdom of God advances against opposition. We are not called to possess a vacant lot; we are called to displace giants. The Amorites were a formidable people, but their iniquity was now full (Genesis 15:16), and God was using Israel as His instrument of judgment.
Third, and most importantly, Moses identifies the giver: "which Yahweh our God is about to give us." The land is a gift. It is not something they will earn by their own strength or merit. Their victory is not contingent on their military prowess but on God's prior decision to give. This is grace. Salvation is a gift. Sanctification is a gift. The final inheritance is a gift. But it is a gift that must be received, and the reception requires action. It is not a gift that is delivered to your couch while you sit and watch. It is a gift that is laid on the other side of the river, and you must get your feet wet to retrieve it.
The Required Action (v. 21)
The conclusion is therefore inescapable. The command is clear, based on the character and promise of God.
"See, Yahweh your God has given over the land before you; go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 1:21 LSB)
The command begins with an exhortation to see. "See, Yahweh your God has given over the land before you." This is a call to see with the eyes of faith. With the physical eye, they would see fortified cities and tall enemies. But faith sees the reality behind the reality. Faith sees that God has already "given over" the land. The victory is secured in the heavenlies before it is enacted on the earth. The verb is in the perfect tense, indicating a completed action. From God's perspective, the deal is done. All that remains is for Israel to act on that reality.
Because the victory is already given, the command is simple: "go up, take possession." Faith has feet. Faith is a verb. It is not a warm feeling or a doctrinal affirmation that remains inert in the head. It is trust in God that results in obedient action. God gives the land, but Israel must take the land. This is the divine synergy we see throughout Scripture. We are to work out our salvation, for it is God who works in us (Philippians 2:12-13). God gives the growth, but Paul must plant and Apollos must water.
This command is grounded in God's covenant history: "as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you." This is not a new plan. This promise was made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob centuries before. God is not fickle. He is a covenant-keeping God, and His promises are generational. Our confidence in moving forward is not based on our present abilities but on His past faithfulness. He has spoken, and His word is more solid than the hill country of the Amorites.
And so, the final part of the command is the necessary consequence of all that came before: "Do not fear or be dismayed." Fear is the natural human reaction to the visible circumstances. Dismay is the paralysis that follows fear. But both are forms of practical atheism. To fear the Amorites more than you trust Yahweh is to declare that the Amorites are, in fact, your god. It is to say that the visible is more real than the invisible. Fear is a failure of worship. It is giving the creature the honor and respect that is due to the Creator alone.
The choice before them was a choice of whom to fear. Would they fear the giants in the land? Or would they fear the God who made the giants and who had commanded them to be dispossessed? The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and it is also the beginning of courage. When you fear God properly, you will fear nothing and no one else. But if you refuse to fear God, you will become a slave to a thousand lesser fears.
Conclusion: Your Kadesh-barnea
We know, tragically, how this story played out. The people chose to believe the faithless report of the ten spies. They feared the giants, they grumbled against God, and they were sentenced to wander and die in that fearsome wilderness for forty years, until a new generation, a generation of warriors, was ready to take God at His word. Their fear did not keep them safe; it destroyed them.
We stand today at our own Kadesh-barnea. Our culture is a great and fearsome wilderness, filled with intimidating giants of secularism, sexual chaos, and state overreach. The hill country is occupied by hostile Amorites who hate the God of our fathers. And the command to us is exactly the same. "See, Yahweh your God has given over the land before you; go up, take possession."
The Great Commission is our promise. Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. He has given us the land. He has commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded. The victory is already secured in His death and resurrection. He has disarmed the rulers and authorities. All that remains is for us to act.
Will we send spies? Will we measure the giants and conclude that they are too big for our God? Will we listen to the fearful reports of the evangelical hand-wringers who tell us that we must retreat, that the culture is lost, that we should just hunker down and wait for the rapture? Or will we, like Joshua and Caleb, have a different spirit? Will we say that the giants are bread for us? Will we believe that the God who commanded us is able to give us what He has promised?
Do not fear. Do not be dismayed. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is our God. The victory belongs to Jesus Christ. So go up. Take possession. In your homes, in your schools, in your businesses, in your communities. The land is before you. Take it.