After the forty years in the wilderness, the people came to the plain east of Jordan, and there they slew the two kings who were guarding the entrance into the good land—Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan (1:4).
The slaying of these two kings was the end of the wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness. If we want our wandering to end, we need to slay today's Sihon and Og.
The slaying of these two kings also opened the gate into the promised land.
God charged the children of Israel to leave the mount of God that they might enter the good land which He promised to their fathers (1:5-8). They had been trained by God and formed into a priestly army and they had a definite goal for the journey—the good land promised to their fathers.
Deuteronomy 1:9-18 describes the appointing of officers.
The appointing of officers indicates that it was not easy to keep the condition of the children of Israel in a good order. The people were more than two million in number, and it was not possible for Moses alone to keep them in order.
The keeping of a good order was needed for God's dwelling and service and for fighting the enemies. The dwelling place, the priesthood, and the army all required a good order.
Maintaining the order among the children of Israel needed both the deputy authority and the submission. The deputy authority represented God as the authority. The people were required to submit to this deputy authority.