Unzipping the Law Deuteronomy Annotated

Deut 1:3-8 3 And it came about in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all the Lord had commanded him to give to them, 4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei. 5 Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying, 6 "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

7 "Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

8 "See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob to them and to their descendants after them.


A lot has happened since then. God's pronouncement upon the sons of Israel that they would wander in the wilderness for forty years is ending. It's impressive to see the promise of God fulfilled with such accuracy; Gen 15:15 "Then in the fourth generation they shall return here for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.

A lot has happened since then. God's pronouncement upon the sons of Israel that they would wander in the wilderness for forty years is ending.
Deuteronomy has come to mean “Second Law”. Moses is recounting the Law already given to them forty years ago. These are the guidelines God has set before His chosen people to live by in the land He promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s descendants.
Moses emphasizes the importance of keeping God’s commandments speaking of the blessings for obedience and the curses to befall if they don’t obey.