Moses recaps more history of the travails wandering the desert. He mentions a couple of times how it’s everyone else’s fault that he won’t be allowed in the Promised Land. I think he’s still bitter.

What’s fun is how exalted the Lord is. He reminds everyone about the land of giants, where they exterminated everyone, thanks to the Lord’s help. He also goes on for many verses about how the Lord comes down and is visible, unlike all those other gods.

Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? (Deuteronomy 4:33 KJV)

Of course, all these reminders are not for the people listening to Moses in the book, but the people reading later. The people who never hear the voice of God, or see a pillar of fire. They just think that their ancestors did, and they are chosen!

And one more thing: don’t forget about those six safe cities! Moses is really hung up on that. Were there lots of accidental killing back then?

Next: Deuteronomy 5-7.