Judgment and Presumptuous Defeat

Deuteronomy 1:34–46 is the movement “Judgment and Presumptuous Defeat.” Read it inside Moses’ final covenant instruction to Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan as the people prepare for life in the land. The section opens with: “And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,” It closes with: “So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.”

Within the book’s larger story, this section advances several important biblical threads. Land, Inheritance, Exile, and Return: The unbelieving generation loses entry to the land, while Joshua and Caleb carry the inheritance story forward.