Where It All Goes Down
Scorching desert, dangerous waters, and massive castles defended by idol-worshipping giants with a vengeance. Who said the Bible was boring?
The book of Deuteronomy is mainly set near the Jordan River, the boundary between some pretty nasty desert country (think scorpions, no water, few oases, snakes) and the land of Israel, an Eden compared with the deserts that surround it. More importantly, it's the last boundary between the Israelites and the Promised Land.
The majority of Israelite history so far has occurred outside of the Promised Land. After all of this slavery, wilderness wandering, and fighting, the Israelites are finally in this lush, fertile land on the banks of the Jordan.
But don't get too excited. It's story-time for the Israelites before they get to take the land they've been dreaming of for so long. And how do they prepare? They think about all the time they spent in these other settings.