What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 1:3? In the fortieth year “ In the fortieth year …” (Deuteronomy 1:3) • The number forty in Scripture consistently marks completion of a testing period (Numbers 14:33-34; Psalm 95:10; Acts 7:36). • God literally kept Israel in the wilderness a full forty years because of the first generation’s unbelief (Numbers 32:13). • By the close of that span, every adult who refused to trust God at Kadesh-barnea had died (Deuteronomy 2:14-16), proving both the certainty of divine judgment and the patience of divine grace. • The verse signals the end of wandering and the dawn of fulfillment: the promises given in Genesis 12:7 are about to materialize for their children. On the first day of the eleventh month “… on the first day of the eleventh month …” • The date Isaiah 1 Shebat, only five weeks before Israel will camp opposite Jericho (Joshua 4:19) and a mere thirty-eight days before Moses’ death (Deuteronomy 34:8). • This precise time-stamp shows God’s orderly planning: He schedules renewal of the covenant before His servant departs, just as He had scheduled Passover’s timing before the Exodus (Exodus 12:2-6). • It reminds us that God’s purposes unfold on a real calendar, anchoring faith in verifiable history (Luke 1:1-4). Moses proclaimed to the Israelites “… Moses proclaimed to the Israelites …” • Moses, the servant who spoke with God “face to face” (Exodus 33:11), now turns his full attention to the second-generation community. • What he proclaims is not mere advice but covenant truth, the same pattern later mirrored when Ezra read the Law to post-exilic Israel (Nehemiah 8:1-8). • The audience matters: these Israelites had not personally witnessed the Red Sea crossing (Deuteronomy 5:3), yet they still belonged to the covenant family. • Moses models pastoral diligence—explaining, reminding, and urging obedience (Deuteronomy 1:5; 31:12-13). All that the LORD had commanded him concerning them “… all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them.” • Moses holds nothing back; he relays the whole counsel of God (compare Acts 20:27). • Faithful transmission marks every true servant: – God’s charge to Moses (Exodus 34:27) – Joshua’s later charge to keep the Book of the Law intact (Joshua 1:7-8) – The prophets’ repeated refrain, “Thus says the LORD” (Jeremiah 1:7) • Omitting or editing God’s word was forbidden (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32), a principle reaffirmed even at the close of Scripture (Revelation 22:18-19). • Because Moses spoke exactly what God commanded, Israel could not claim ignorance; their response would be a matter of obedience or rebellion (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). summary Deuteronomy 1:3 roots the entire book in concrete time, place, and authority. After a literal forty-year season of testing, on a precisely dated day, God’s chosen leader gathers the new generation to deliver every word the Lord has spoken for their blessing and direction. The verse signals that wandering is over, covenant instruction is complete, and the people now stand poised to trust, obey, and enter all that God promised. |
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