Deuteronomy 1:21
Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
The land was already set before Israel by the Lord their God, with the command to go up and take possession of it on the strength of what the Lord God of their fathers had spoken to them, resting on His promise to their fathers and on His past care and power, with the charge to fear not nor be discouraged. The command belonged to Moses's retelling of Israel's failures and victories through forty years of wandering, given as they stood ready to possess the land and enter Jericho, a history preserved to teach later generations the principles God had given Israel. At Kadesh-barnea, when the spies returned, Israel refused to go up in rebellion and unbelief, turned aside by discouraging words and murmuring that God meant to destroy them. Such dissatisfaction springs up readily in hearts that are not sanctified.
The promise of the land was made upon condition of obedience, and the opening chapter explains why the adult army that came out of Egypt was refused entrance. They did not wholly follow the Lord but broke the condition by rebellion and disobedience, so that generation died in the wilderness and possession of the land was delayed. The verse is to be read together with all of Deuteronomy 1, 7 and 8, and especially Deuteronomy 7:6, as the Lord's own words written for the admonition of those upon whom the ends of the world are come.
For those readers it calls for learning God's word and appreciating and fully obeying His voice, rather than holding fast to human ideas, judgment and opinions or following His guidance only to the point that agrees with human judgment. It calls for remaining teachable and humble and faithful to duty in God's institutions, being molded after the Lord's likeness instead of living to please self. Everything is to be viewed in the light of Christ's example, for He is the truth and the true light, with His self-denial and self-sacrifice copied and His merits looked to that His glory of character may be bestowed. Human standards are feeble reeds, while the Lord's standard is perfection of character.