Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite the Red Sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

2 (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.)

3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke unto the children of Israel according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them,

4 after he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei.

5 On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

6 "The LORD our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying: 'Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount.

7 Turn you and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills and in the vale, and in the South and by the seaside, to the land of the Canaanites and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the River Euphrates.

8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.'

9 "And I spoke unto you at that time, saying, `I am not able to bear you myself alone.

10 The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

11 (The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you as He hath promised you!)

12 How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance and your burden and your strife?

13 Take you wise men of understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.'

14 And ye answered me and said, `The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.'

15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, `Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother and the stranger who is with him.

17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment, but ye shall hear the small as well as the great. Ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's. And the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me and I will hear it.'

18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

19 "And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadeshbarnea.

20 And I said unto you, `Ye have come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.

21 Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee. Go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.'

22 "And ye came near unto me, every one of you, and said, `We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land and bring us word again by what way we must go up and into what cities we shall come.'

23 And the saying pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one from a tribe.

24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the Valley of Eshcol and searched it out.

25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, `It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.'

26 "Notwithstanding, ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God;

27 and ye murmured in your tents and said, `Because the LORD hated us, He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

28 Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven, and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there."'

29 Then I said unto you, `Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

30 The LORD your God who goeth before you, He shall fight for you according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

31 and in the wilderness where thou hast seen how the LORD thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went until ye came into this place.'

32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

33 who went in the way before you to search you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34 "And the LORD heard the voice of your words and was wroth, and swore, saying,

35 `Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I swore to give unto your fathers,

36 save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD.'

37 Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, `Thou also shalt not go in thither.

38 But Joshua the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall go in thither. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39 Moreover your little ones, who ye said should be a prey, and your children, who in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither; and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.'

41 "Then ye answered and said unto me, `We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us.' And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up onto the hill.

42 And the LORD said unto me, `Say unto them: Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest ye be smitten before your enemies.'

43 So I spoke unto you, and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up onto the hill.

44 And the Amorites, who dwelt in that mountain, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

45 And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

46 So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

Deuteronomy 1 Commentary

Chapter 1

This book repeats much of the history and of the laws contained in the three foregoing books: Moses delivered it to Israel a little before his death, both by word of mouth, that it might affect, and by writing, that it might abide. The men of that generation to which the law was first given were all dead, and a new generation was sprung up, to whom God would have it repeated by Moses himself, now they were going to possess the land of Canaan. The wonderful love of God to his church is set forth in this book; how he ever preserved his church for his own mercies sake, and would still have his name called upon among them. Such are the general outlines of this book, the whole of which shows Moses' love for Israel, and marks him an eminent type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us apply the exhortations and persuasions to our own consciences, to excite our minds to a believing, grateful obedience to the commands of God.

The words Moses spake to Israel in the plains of Moab, The promise of Canaan. (1-8) Judges provided for the people. (9-18) Of the sending the spies-God's anger for their unbelief and disobedience. (19-46)

Verses 1-8 Moses spake to the people all the Lord had given him in commandment. Horeb was but eleven days distant from Kadesh-barnea. This was to remind them that their own bad conduct had occasioned their tedious wanderings; that they might the more readily understand the advantages of obedience. They must now go forward. Though God brings his people into trouble and affliction, he knows when they have been tried long enough. When God commands us to go forward in our Christian course, he sets the heavenly Canaan before us for our encouragement.

Verses 9-18 Moses reminds the people of the happy constitution of their government, which might make them all safe and easy, if it was not their own fault. He owns the fulfilment of God's promise to Abraham, and prays for the further accomplishment of it. We are not straitened in the power and goodness of God; why should we be straitened in our own faith and hope? Good laws were given to the Israelites, and good men were to see to the execution of them, which showed God's goodness to them, and the care of Moses.

Verses 19-46 Moses reminds the Israelites of their march from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, through that great and terrible wilderness. He shows how near they were to a happy settlement in Canaan. It will aggravate the eternal ruin of hypocrites, that they were not far from the kingdom of God. As if it were not enough that they were sure of their God before them, they would send men before them. Never any looked into the Holy Land, but they must own it to be a good land. And was there any cause to distrust this God? An unbelieving heart was at the bottom of all this. All disobedience to God's laws, and distrust of his power and goodness, flow from disbelief of his word, as all true obedience springs from faith. It is profitable for us to divide our past lives into distinct periods; to give thanks to God for the mercies we have received in each, to confess and seek the forgiveness of all the sins we can remember; and thus to renew our acceptance of God's salvation, and our surrender of ourselves to his service. Our own plans seldom avail to good purpose; while courage in the exercise of faith, and in the path of duty, enables the believer to follow the Lord fully, to disregard all that opposes, to triumph over all opposition, and to take firm hold upon the promised blessings.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY

This book is sometimes called "Elleh hadebarim", from the words with which it begins; and sometimes by the Jews "Mishneh Torah", the repetition of the law; and so in the Syriac version, with which agrees the Arabic title of it; and when the Greeks, and we after them, call it "Deuteronomy", it is not to be understood of a second, a new, or another law, but of the law formerly delivered, but now repeated, and also more largely explained; to which are likewise added several particular laws, instructions, and directions; all which were necessary, on account of the people of Israel, who were now a new generation, that either were not born, or not at an age to hear and understand the law when given on Mount Sinai; the men that heard it there being all dead, excepting a very few; and these people were also now about to enter into the land of Canaan, which they were to enjoy as long as they kept the law of God, and no longer, and therefore it was proper they should be reminded of it; and besides, Moses was now about to leave them, and having an hearty desire after their welfare, spends the little time he had to be with them, by inculcating into them and impressing on them the laws of God, and in opening and explaining them to them, and enforcing them on them, which were to be the rule of their obedience, and on which their civil happiness depended. And sometimes the Jews call this book "the book of reproofs", because there are in it several sharp reproofs of the people of Israel for their rebellion and disobedience; and so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem begin it by calling it the words of reproof which Moses spake That this book was written by Moses there can be no doubt, from De 1:1, 31:4,9,24, only the eight last verses, which give an account of his death, and of his character, were wrote by another hand, equally inspired by God, as either Eleazar the priest, as some, or Samuel the prophet, as others; or, as it is the more commonly received opinion of the Jews, Ezra; though it is highly probable they were wrote by Joshua his successor. This book was written and delivered by Moses, at certain times in the last month of his life, and towards the close of the fortieth year of the children of Israel's coming out of Egypt. And that it is of divine authority need not be questioned, when the several quotations out of it are observed, as made by the apostles of Christ, in Ac 3:22, Ro 12:19 Heb 10:30, Ga 3:10 out of \De 18:15 32:35,36 27:26\ and by our Lord himself, Mt 18:16 from De 19:15. Yea, it is remarkable, that all the passages of Scripture produced by Christ, to repel the temptations of Satan, are all taken out of this book, Mt 4:7,10 compared with De 8:3, 6:10,13, and the voice from heaven, directing the apostles to hearken to him, refers to a prophecy of him in De 18:15.

\\INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 1\\

The time and place when the subject matter of this book was delivered to the Israelites are observed by way of preface, De 1:1-5, and it begins with reminding them of an order to them to depart from Mount Horeb, and pass on to the land of Canaan, which the Lord had given them, De 1:6-8, and with observing the very great increase of their number, which made it necessary for Moses to appoint persons under him to be rulers over them, whom he instructed in the duty of their office, De 1:9-18, and he goes on to observe, that when they were come to the mountain of the Amorites, they were bid to go up and possess the land; but, instead of that, they desired men might be sent to search the land first, which was granted, De 1:19-23, and though these men upon their return brought of the fruits of the land, and a good report of it, particularly two of them; yet being discouraged by the report of the rest, they murmured, distrusted, and were afraid to enter, though encouraged by Moses, De 1:24-33, which caused the Lord to be angry with them, and upon it threatened them that they should die in the wilderness, and only two of them should ever see and enjoy the land, and therefore were bid to turn and take their journey in the wilderness, De 1:34-40, but being convinced of their evil, they proposed to go up the hill, and enter the land, which they attempted against the commandment of the Lord, but being repulsed by the Amorites, they fled with great loss, to their great grief, and abode in Kadesh many days, De 1:41-46.