The stage is being set. After pronouncing Joshua to be his official successor, Moses spends a few chapters basically reviewing ordinances that had already been proclaimed. He reiterates what sacrifices are to be made and the festivals that are to be observed. Some think that during the 40 years spent in the desert, many of these sacrifices and feast days were not observed simply because it would have been impractical. But now that the Israelites had arrived at the threshold of the Promised Land, Moses needed to reemphasize the importance of these ordinances and the fact that they must be followed once they entered their permanent home. There is also, in Chapter 30, a reminder of the importance of oaths. And then, in Chapter 31, we come to a significant altercation the Israelites had with the Madianites. God calls for "revenge" to be taken on the Madianites for drawing the Israelites into sin. The battle that is fought is seemingly short and quite decisive, as the Hebrews lose not one man, and nearly all the Madianite soldiers are killed. Even Balaam is destroyed, which concludes the life of an evil prophet. The Israelite army is proving to be quite formidable, but it is an army guided by God. All impediments are being removed; any obstacle, be it an army or a prophet, that would prevent the Israelites from entering the Promised Land is being handled by God through His people's army.
What all this demonstrates is that entering the Promised Land is not a thing done lightly. Just as entering heaven is no light matter. In both cases, battles must be fought, temptations overcome, obstacles hurdled, evil resisted. The Israelites, though they're having military success, are finding that entering the land that is theirs is taking longer than they expected. What matters, though, is that they persevere. Just as with our spiritual journey in life -- it is going to be a struggle, a battle even, and we may lose at times, but all that matters is that we persevere, that we get up to fight another day.
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