The activities associated with the Israelites' trip to the Promised Land
The activities associated with the Israelites' trip to the Promised Land are the main subject of chapters one through six of the book of Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy shows God's anger toward the Israelites in these chapters because they chose to disregard some of the laws that God had given them as they were leaving Egypt. The Israelites were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years without making it to the Promised Land as punishment for their disobedience to God. During the journey, the Israelites had begun to develop mistrust in the power of God. For instance, some of them had started to engage in idolatry. As such, God had indicated that the next generations of the Israelites are the ones that will reach the Promised Land. From the observations in these chapters, it is clear that God's promises are accompanied by conditions. Considerably, when God's conditions are not met, then instead of benefitting from the promises, one ends up being punished. In these chapters, God's nature of punishing wrongdoers is epitomized; the Israelites are a chosen community, but because of disobeying God's rules they had to wander in the wilderness for 40 days before reaching the Promised Land. When a person reads these chapters, there is some vivid description that entails the experience of the Israelites because of their insolence towards the laws of God.
Critical Thinking
When reading Chapters one to six of the book of Deuteronomy, one comes across insightful information concerning the relationship between the Israelites and God. In most religious teachings, the movements of Israelites from Egypt to Canaan focus on the brutality of King Pharaoh's kingdom and the need to liberate the Israelites. However, with the information from these chapters, people realize that God's will for the Israel community was an act that required commitment from the Israelites too. As such, the Israelites were also supposed to replicate by demonstrating their allegiance to the rules that God gave Moses. The information that is presented in these chapters creates a platform for learning how God managed the movement of Israelites. Most of the secondary sources that cover the movement of Israelites usually concentrate on portraying the Israel community as a preserve of God; these books fail to highlight the tumultuous journey and the reasons for such an experience.
Application
The revelations in chapter one to six of the book of Deuteronomy provide relevant lessons that one can utilize to change behavior. In most cases, people perceive certain occurrences in their lives as acts of fate. Rarely do people analyze their intentions before making decisions. The experience in the chapters demonstrates how the Israelites get punished because of failure to observe some of the rules that God had given to Moses. Apart from the conditions such as the Ten Commandments that exist in the Bible, in life, there are those rules that one has to observe for him or her to be successful. It is important to note that when an individual does not follow certain rules, in most occasions, there must be some form of punishment. For instance, I have always focused on avoiding promiscuity as envisaged in the Ten Commandments. I have seen my friends who have died of sexually transmitted diseases because of not being faithful in their relationships.
