Moses wanted to know God beyond just what he had to offer the Israelites like the promised land. He asked God to "teach me your ways so I may know you". The document contrasts the idea of a transactional "contract" relationship with God, where God does something only if the Israelites hold up their end, with the deeper "covenant" relationship Moses sought through constant intimacy with God. It encourages readers not to only seek God in times of crisis but to continuously walk in his ways.