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Dt 3:23-29 is touching but tragic. Moses takes on truly heroic proportions in this graphic depiction of his vain pleadings for grace from Yahweh so that he might enter the land. He is denied and even rebuked (v.26); he accepts the Lord’s sovereign decision. His character here is exemplary, for Moses does not ask for redress, even though Yahweh is angry with him because of the people who provoked him. Moses is not accustomed to Yahweh’s rejection of his pleadings (9:19-20, 25-29). He is, however, assured that the land will be taken by Joshua. But the warning in the passage is to Israel. If Moses is kept from the land because of a sin that Israel provoked in him, how much more should Israel be denied entrance. And how can Israel remain in the land?