(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 29:1–9, “These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God. And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh. Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.”
The Lord made a contract with Israel to make sure that they would be worthy of the great Land that He had given them. The previous generation had made a contract with the Lord at Horeb but the broke it soon after when they refused to take possession of the Promised Land because they were afraid of giants. {Both Horeb and Sinai are associated with the Lord giving the Law to Moses, it is most likely that both are names for the same place, probably in different languages. When Moses was in Midian, keeping his father in law’s sheep he met the Lord in Horeb and the Lord told him that he would serve the Lord in that mountain (Ex 3:1, 11, 12, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb...And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”) However, later, when Moses was with Israel, the Lord met him in Mount Sinai (Ex 19:20, “And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.”) In the first context Moses was living with the Midianites but in the second context Moses was living with the released Israeli slaves.} Moses reminded Israel of everything that the Lord had done for them since they left Egypt so that they would have confidence in the fact that the Lord was only interested in doing good things for them. He also reminded them of the fact that the Lord had made them prosper while they lived in the desert, wandering from place to place. They also were able to defeat any enemies along the way and now, the Lord wanted them to keep trusting Him, exclusively so that they would continue to enjoy all the good things that He had in store for them.
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