Exodus 33:1 (NKJV)
¹  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.'

Some thoughts about applying the Bible, pursuing spiritual growth even in the midst of failure, based on the above verse and the two chapters prior to it. 

If you read the previous two or three chapters, you find that the children of Israel quickly prove they are prone to apostasy, not better than the Egyptians, nor the tribes listed in the next verse that God will send an angel to displace.  Are we any better?  The pursuit of the Promised Land remains the same for them, and for us, due to the faithfulness of God to promises made centuries before us, not because we are worthy.  They were to depart Mt. Sinai after receiving the Law, and they quickly disobeyed it.  There would be no “do over”, or practice for better obedience.  They were to stay on the journey.  They had a journey through space, over land.  We have a journey through time, and we are to grow and change during that journey, thus making progress even if we live our whole lives on earth in the same location.  Staying at one point of revelation, or failure, or state in our spiritual life is not acceptable.  We must journey, and for us that means we are to grow in character and in our spiritual life.  When you succeed, keep moving.  When you fail (and you will), keep moving. 

A note about application:  I find it reasonable to accept that these events are not fictional but really happened, including the miraculous and supernatural.  If the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually took place, then anything is possible, and if He did not rise from the dead, then all this is pointless.  I do believe, however, that there is a point of “over spiritualizing” everything in an effort to learn and make applications to our lives today from ancient events.  Yet God is eternal, and is the same today as He once was.  What was valuable then still holds today, even if the focus is a little different.  The Promised Land, for example, for us is not geography, it is heaven, but then, according to Hebrews (11:9-10), that was the real Promised Land all along.  Furthermore, they were prone to failure from the beginning, and, if we are truly honest, so are we.  So their journey speaks to our journey, and there is more in common than what first meets the eye.