These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness… Deuteronomy 1:1
After 38 years passed in the wilderness and the last of the fighting men of that generation had died, God finally told Moses to move forward (2:14-18). That brought God’s people right to the threshold of the Promised Land, ready to cross the river Jordan.
So they set up camp there, and Moses speaks to them for the last time. Deuteronomy records what God taught his people during the final 70-day countdown to entering the Promised Land.
It took 40 years for them to get there, and now God is preparing this new generation for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of them. Moses begins with a flashback before setting out the challenge: “Let me take you back before any of you were born. We were at Horeb, and God called us to move forward. If your parents had believed God, you would have been born in Canaan. But fear took over, and so you were born in the desert and that’s all you have ever known. Now God is calling you! It’s your moment of opportunity. It’s your moment of destiny.”
This is a story about God’s people facing a major transition. This book is God’s Word for people on the threshold of an entirely new experience, believers on the cusp of something new. God is bringing new opportunities, new challenges, and new blessings. You need to be ready.
Are you facing a major transition? Do you feel that you’re ready? Why or why not?