Using the map that records Israels journey from Egypt to Canaan, Deuteronomy takes place at the foot of Mt.Pisgah (Deut.4:44-48) just outside the Promised Land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 4:44-48
44 This is the law Moses set before the Israelites.
45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt
46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt.
47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.
48 This land extended from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

Imagine waiting 40 years for your dream gift, being close enough to touch it, and then having to wait another indefinite period of time while terms for the gift are spelled out in a 34-chapter document. Israel is anxious and overly expectant, but God has some deathly serious business to transact with the Israelites before this inheritance gift is given.

The first generation of Israelites who were supposed to inherit Canaan broke the terms of their Testament. They not only forfeited the right to the land, but the ability to even enter the land. The first las of Moses (Exodus 20-24) is dead. If our parents own a house and lot, and they lose it due to not keeping the terms of the mortgage, then can the children claim the property is theirs? Certainly not! The children lose out due to the failure of the parents! Thus, God will now make the second law of Moses. This new Testament of Moses will be made with the second generation of the nation of Israel. Thus the name Deuteronomy - The Second Giving of the Law.

How do you think God and this second generation of Israelites feel about what has happened thus far? Bad, awful, terrible, shaky, distrustful? The questions are What went wrong and how did it happen so quickly? We know the answers as we look back today, but things were not so clear to the people who lived during these events. Physically, men of the flesh will fail sooner or later and physical inheritance gifts do not satisfy men long range. Man is truly a spiritual being whose ultimate need is for a spiritual relationsyhip with God and a spiritual home for his soul. The land will not satisfy and Israel will fail again. That is what God seeks to teach Israel and all men through the Bibles written record.

Deuteronomy 31:16-18
16 And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?'
18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

Deuteronomy is set-up amidst an atmosphere of distrust. The length of Deuteronomy 4-31(28 chapters) as opposed to Exodus 20-24(5 chapters) indicates God has added rules, warnings, details, curses and the like. These two broken covenants will serve as proof for us today that men will always fail when it comes to physical hopes and fleshly expectations. The Law exposes our sinful nature. It points out how our only hope is Jesus and a spiritual and truly lasting reward in the true heaven home of God.

Romans 3:19-26
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--
26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Why did the first generation of Israelites fail to enter and take the Promised Land? Was it because they had no help and the task was too difficult? Why did Israel march around some nations like Ammon, Moab and stop to destroy others like Sihon and Og? Can you relate this to the way God set up the promise to bless those who blessed Abraham and curse those who cursed Abraham?

Genesis 12:2
I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

Trust that everything that happens in our life is done by God or allowed by God and that if you are faithful to Him only the best will come of your life.