Deuteronomy 1 through 4

Deuteronomy starts out telling about wandering in the desert for 40 years. They did not obey God´s earlier command to possess the promised land and failed to follow His plan. The fighting men were sentenced to die in the desert. When the last one had died, the were commanded to move in the direction of the same land and were told not to take any of the lands that God had promised to others or that Jacob had promised to Esau. They went past those lands and only took Heshbon as directed by the Lord.

They then defeated King Og, Bashan and his army. The Lord gives us small battles to prepare us for the big ones. Then Moses divided the land up and guided them towards Gods promised land. Moses pleaded with the Lord to go and continue to lead his people in this new land, but the Lord would not allow that. So Moses prepared Joshua for that assignment. It is sometimes hard to accept God´s plan when we ask and He says no. That is a huge sign of spiritual maturity.

He then shows us how we are to be obedient to the things He has taught us and pass them down to others. We are to keep from making graven images and idle worship. He the tells us to always acknowledge the Lord as God. This is critical to always follow His lead, even when it is hard or we don´t like it.