1:29 “Do not be in dread, nor fear the inhabitants of the land. Yahweh your God, who goes before you, will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness…”

In many ways Deuteronomy explains what it means to be the people of God. One of the greatest men of faith on the verge of his death gives a comprehensive sermon that prepares Yahweh’s nation for both a sprint and a marathon of faith: the conquest of the land and the abiding in the land. As the church of Jesus Christ, we can apply these concepts as we endeavor to be faithful to our Lord and be proven genuine on Judgment Day.

We can see Moses’s sermon of Deuteronomy in four sections: the preamble (chs 1-4), the heart of God’s people (chs. 5-11), the wise judgments (chs. 12-26), and the final words and procedures before the conquest (chs 27-34). The preamble consists of a detailed history of the journey (chs. 1-3), and an exhortation to keep oneself carefully in the purpose of God (ch. 4). 

Moses first recounts the journey from Mt. Sinai to the current rating place across the Jordan River from the promised land. We see that the reason Israel has wandered in the wilderness forty years, and why all their fathers have died, is because of the fear generated by their unbelief. Rather than remembering the great power of Yahweh, they believed in the superior strength of the Canaanites from a scouting report and decisively turned from God. As immature and finite beings, we overweight what we see and hear in the moment, and we put confidence in our ability to see the future (Gen 3). God’s people are to “walk by faith and not by sight”, ascribing the greatest informative weight to His word as we remember the past, trust in His future, and make decisions in that solid framework. Peter teaches “do not fear those who may harm you and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” (1 Pet 3:15) He is saying that it is a decision and a discipline to make the Lord our supreme authority despite what we feel. In our ultimate mission to preach the gospel and make disciples, we must battle against fear of whatever the cost and follow our Lord’s command in faith. 

Moses closes the preamble and repeats the phrase “keep yourselves very carefully.” This means that loving God by abiding in His purpose will require much effort. Our wandering eyes and recency bias will create desires to love and serve things in front of us rather than what we know is true. The prophecy in this section shows us that we are corrupt and we will sin, but the Lord God in His compassion will restore us and mature us as we return to Him.