Deuteronomy 1:1-5
Before Israel moves forward into the land, the Lord places His people under the preached and explained covenant word, reminding them that inheritance must be received through obedient trust, not presumption.
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.
3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to them,
4 after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.
5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying,
Before Israel moves forward into the land, the LORD places His people under the preached and explained covenant word, reminding them that inheritance must be received through obedient trust, not presumption.
To introduce Deuteronomy as the covenant-renewal words Moses spoke to all Israel east of the Jordan, locating the book in the wilderness journey, after decisive victories, and at the threshold of entering the promised land.
East of the Jordan in the wilderness region, on the plains of Moab, after the defeats of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan All Israel, especially the generation poised to enter Canaan after the wilderness years
The LORD Commands and Israel Refuses
Moses opens Israel's covenant-renewal address by rehearsing the journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, showing that the generation now on the plains of Moab stands under both the mercy of a God who commands them forward and the warning of a generation destroyed by unbelief.