“You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north,” Deuteronomy 2:3
As Moses begins the Book of Deuteronomy, he rehearses to Israel the events that took place after leaving Egypt. In Chapter 1 he summarizes what took place for the previous 40 years. In today’s verse, he encapsulates that sentiment. Basically, you have a Million people circling a mountain for 38 years for disobeying God’s Word. What Severe Consequences! The entire generation (except Joshua and Caleb) would die off. That’s a lot of graves! Lesson? Obedience to God’s Word is PARAMOUNT!
However, because of the reality of the New Covenant, God has changed our hearts to embrace His Word, no matter how challenging or difficult, and then extends Grace to us when we fail!