Deuteronomy 1:35
"Not one of the men of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your fathers,
Not one of the men of this evil generation
This phrase refers to the Israelites who were delivered from Egypt but failed to trust in God's promise to give them the land of Canaan. The Hebrew word for "generation" is "dôr," which can imply a period or a group of people characterized by certain qualities. Here, it underscores the collective failure of faith among the Israelites. Historically, this generation witnessed God's miracles yet succumbed to fear and disbelief, leading to their exclusion from the Promised Land. This serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of unbelief and disobedience.

shall see
The verb "shall see" in Hebrew is "yir'eh," which means to perceive or experience. In this context, it signifies the denial of experiencing the fulfillment of God's promise. Theologically, it highlights the principle that faith is necessary to witness God's promises. This is a reminder that spiritual insight and blessings are often withheld from those who lack faith.

the good land
The "good land" refers to Canaan, described as a land flowing with milk and honey. The Hebrew word for "good" is "ṭôb," which conveys not only physical abundance but also moral and spiritual goodness. This land was a tangible representation of God's covenant and blessings. Archaeologically, Canaan was a fertile region, and its description as "good" underscores the richness of God's provision.

I swore to give your fathers
This phrase emphasizes the covenantal promise God made to the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Hebrew word for "swore" is "nišba‘," indicating a solemn oath. This underscores the faithfulness of God to His promises despite human unfaithfulness. Historically, this promise was central to Israel's identity and hope, serving as a reminder of God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites, who is recounting the events of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

2. The Israelites
The chosen people of God, who were delivered from slavery in Egypt but often rebelled against God during their journey.

3. The Promised Land
The land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as an inheritance for their descendants.

4. The Wilderness
The place where the Israelites wandered for 40 years due to their disobedience and lack of faith.

5. The Evil Generation
The generation of Israelites who left Egypt but were not allowed to enter the Promised Land due to their rebellion and unbelief.
Teaching Points
The Consequences of Disobedience
The Israelites' failure to trust and obey God resulted in severe consequences, including missing out on the blessings He had promised. This serves as a reminder of the importance of obedience in our own lives.

Faith and Trust in God's Promises
The promise of the land was sure, but the Israelites' lack of faith prevented them from receiving it. We are called to trust in God's promises, even when circumstances seem challenging.

Generational Impact of Sin
The disobedience of one generation can have lasting effects on future generations. It is crucial to live in a way that honors God and sets a positive example for those who come after us.

God's Faithfulness Despite Human Failure
Although the "evil generation" did not enter the Promised Land, God's promise was ultimately fulfilled through their descendants. God's faithfulness is unwavering, even when we fall short.
Bible Study Questions
1. What specific actions or attitudes led to the Israelites being labeled as an "evil generation" in Deuteronomy 1:35, and how can we avoid similar pitfalls in our own spiritual journey?

2. How does the concept of the Promised Land in Deuteronomy 1:35 relate to the promises God has made to believers today? What are some modern "promised lands" we might be striving for?

3. In what ways can the account of the Israelites' disobedience and its consequences serve as a warning for us in our personal and communal faith lives?

4. How can we ensure that our faith and actions positively impact future generations, avoiding the negative generational consequences seen in Deuteronomy 1:35?

5. Reflect on a time when you faced a challenge to your faith. How did you respond, and what can you learn from the Israelites' example to strengthen your trust in God's promises?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Numbers 14:22-23
This passage provides the context for God's judgment on the "evil generation," detailing their repeated testing of God and the resulting punishment.

Hebrews 3:16-19
This New Testament passage reflects on the unbelief of the Israelites and serves as a warning to believers to remain faithful and obedient.

Psalm 95:10-11
This psalm echoes the sentiment of God's frustration with the Israelites' disobedience and His oath that they would not enter His rest.
Irrecoverableness of Wasted OpportunityD. Davies Deuteronomy 1:19-46
The Excluded and the AdmittedJ. Orr Deuteronomy 1:34-40
The Heirs of PromiseR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 1:34-46
People
Amorites, Anakites, Caleb, Canaanites, Eshcol, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jephunneh, Joshua, Laban, Moses, Nun, Og, Seir, Sihon
Places
Arabah, Ashtaroth, Bashan, Dizahab, Edrei, Egypt, Euphrates River, Hazeroth, Heshbon, Horeb, Hormah, Jordan River, Kadesh-barnea, Laban, Lebanon, Moab, Mount Seir, Negeb, Paran, Seir, Suph, Tophel, Valley of Eshcol
Topics
Evil, Fathers, Forefathers, Generation, None, Surely, Sware, Swore, Sworn, Truly, Wise
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 1:19-40

     5923   public opinion

Deuteronomy 1:34-35

     6257   unbelievers

Deuteronomy 1:34-36

     5431   oaths, divine

Library
Foretastes of the Heavenly Life
Early in the year 1857. NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1857 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 45, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 45: 1899

Preventive against Backsliding.
It is most instructive to note how exceedingly anxious the early Christians were, that, as soon as a man was converted, he should be "filled with the Holy Ghost." They knew no reason why weary wastes of disappointing years should stretch between Bethel and Peniel, between the Cross and Pentecost. They knew it was not God's will that forty years of wilderness wanderings should lie between Egypt and the Promised Land (Deut. i. 2). When Peter and John came to the Samaritans, and found that they were
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

Afraid of Giants
'And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain; 18. And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists,
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf.
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Deuteronomy 1:35 NIV
Deuteronomy 1:35 NLT
Deuteronomy 1:35 ESV
Deuteronomy 1:35 NASB
Deuteronomy 1:35 KJV

Deuteronomy 1:35 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Deuteronomy 1:34
Top of Page
Top of Page