AVROHOM YAAKOV
The book of Devarim is set a month before Moshe’s passing.
It starts with Moshe summoning all the people and reminding them of the less pleasant things that happened during the past four decades. The events are hinted to by Moshe by referencing the locations in the first few sentences of Devarim.
“These are the words which Moshe spoke to all Israel on that side of the Jordan in the desert, in the plain opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tofel and Lavan and Hazeroth and Di Zahav.” (1:1)
Rashi tells us what Moshe was referring to with his each of his geographical references.
The last - Di Zahav – is not an actual place but refers to the abundance of gold that the Jews had and used to construct the Golden Calf.
The Sifri states, “... Moshe said to Israel: (You gave) "an abundance of gold" for the Mishkan (the tabernacle) — (You gave) "an abundance of gold" for the golden calf! ... Let the gold of the mishkan atone for the gold of the calf!”
Yalkut Yehuda suggests a closer connection between the Mishkan and the Golden Calf.
Eliyahu HaNavi (Melachim 1:18: 21) famously asked the people at the duel with the Baal priests at Mount Carmel, “How long will you keep hopping between two opinions?”. As commentators note, the people would vacillate between idol worship and worshipping Hashem. The prophet was challenging them to get off the fence.
Similarly, Moshe was alluding to the same behaviour here. On the one hand they were generous in donating to the Mishkan and yet they did the same for the Golden Calf! It was time to pick a side and make a commitment.
Most of us are scared to make decisions. What happens if we choose wrong? We will look silly or stupid? Noone wants to be seen as the fool and obviously we want to appear to choose correctly.
But the truth is that most of us have no idea.
So we don’t commit and hope things resolve themselves.
But Moshe wanted his people to throw the bat, take the gamble, to commit and choose.
