Deuteronomy 1:6-8 — The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: 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. Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

“The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount.” The Israelites had been in the dry district; “the parched or burnt region” in the plains of Moab for about a year. God had been using that time to give them the legal framework for their life in the promised land. There was more to it than that though …

The Israelites, you may recall, were on a “time out”. They had rebelled against God and He had put them in the “naughty corner” until every one of the rebellious generation had died. There was more to it than that though …

“The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, …turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites.” The Lord makes His wishes very clear. Three times He commands the Israelites — this time there is to be no hesitation, no spying out, no turning back … they are to go in, and possess the land. It’s not going to be easy though. But they are ready. They have been prepared. They have been long enough in the mountain, and long enough in the wilderness … It is time to go in and possess the land.

So how about you? Have you missed your way somehow? If you are one of God’s children you should know that He has plans for you. Just as God promised a land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He has a promised land for you. We are “the children of the promise”.

Does it seem that you are wondering from place to place? Does it even seem that you are in a harsh, dry, mountainous place. Be assured, there will come a moment when God will say “Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: turn you, and take your journey…”