Deuteronomy 1:7

My Notes

What Does Deuteronomy 1:7 Mean?

"Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates." Moses recalls God's ORIGINAL command at Sinai: TURN. TAKE YOUR JOURNEY. GO. The direction was toward the PROMISED LAND — described in COMPREHENSIVE geographic terms: the Amorite hill-country, the plain, the hills, the valley, the south, the seacoast, Lebanon, and the Euphrates. The scope of the promise is ENORMOUS — from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates. The geography of the promise covers EVERY terrain: plain, hill, valley, coast, river.

The phrase "turn you, and take your journey, and go" (penu use'u lakhem ulekhu — turn, pull up stakes for yourselves, and go) is a THREE-VERB command of MOVEMENT: TURN (change direction — from Sinai toward Canaan). TAKE YOUR JOURNEY (nasa — pull up stakes, break camp, set out). GO (halakh — walk, travel, move). The three verbs create MOMENTUM: the turning produces the setting-out. The setting-out produces the going. The commands build on each other to create FORWARD MOTION.

The GEOGRAPHIC CATALOG — "plain, hills, vale, south, sea side, Lebanon, Euphrates" — describes EVERY TERRAIN-TYPE in the Promised Land: the PLAIN (arabah — the Jordan rift valley). The HILLS (har — the central mountain ridge). The VALE (shephelah — the western foothills). The SOUTH (negev — the desert south). The SEACOAST (choph hayyam — the Mediterranean shore). LEBANON (the northern mountains). The EUPHRATES (the eastern boundary-river). The promise covers EVERY landscape. The inheritance includes EVERY terrain.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What full territory has God promised — and are you occupying only a fraction?
• 2.What does the three-verb momentum (turn, journey, go) teach about the sequence of forward motion?
• 3.How does the promise covering EVERY terrain-type describe the comprehensiveness of the inheritance?
• 4.What does the promise being LARGER than the occupation teach about gifts exceeding our claiming?

Devotional

Turn. Journey. GO. To the hills, the plains, the valleys, the coast, Lebanon, the Euphrates. The original command was COMPREHENSIVE — every terrain, every direction, every landscape included in the promise. The geography of the gift covers EVERYTHING: from the Mediterranean coast to the Euphrates River, from the Negev desert to the mountains of Lebanon.

The 'turn you, and take your journey, and go' is THREE-VERB momentum: each verb builds on the previous. TURN (reorient — face the right direction). JOURNEY (break camp — pull up the stakes). GO (move — start walking). The sequence is: orientation → mobilization → motion. You can't go without first journeying. You can't journey without first turning. The turning is the prerequisite for everything.

The GEOGRAPHIC CATALOG covers EVERY terrain-type: PLAIN (the flat valley). HILLS (the mountain ridge). VALE (the foothills between mountains and coast). SOUTH (the desert). SEA SIDE (the coast). LEBANON (the northern heights). EUPHRATES (the great eastern river). The promise doesn't give Israel one KIND of landscape. It gives EVERY kind. The inheritance is COMPREHENSIVE — plains AND hills, desert AND coast, mountains AND rivers. The gift includes the FULL RANGE of geography.

The SCOPE — Mediterranean to Euphrates — is the MAXIMUM promise: the full extent of the promised territory stretches from the WESTERN SEA to the EASTERN RIVER. The breadth is ENORMOUS — far larger than Israel ever fully occupied. The promise EXCEEDS the occupation. The gift is BIGGER than the claiming. The geography God promised extends beyond what Israel ever settled. The promise is always LARGER than the possession.

What 'full geography' has God promised you — and are you occupying only a fraction of the territory?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture