John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 1:37

"Also Jehovah was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither:" — Deuteronomy 1:37 (ASV)

Also the Lord was angry with me. It is in no cowardly spirit that he transfers to them the guilt of unfaithfulness, which he had confessed for himself; but, since he had only fallen because he was overwhelmed by their obstinate wickedness, he justly reproaches them with the fact that God was angry with him on account of their sin. If under this pretext he had attempted to lessen his guilt before God, or to substitute their wrongdoing for his own, he would have done nothing else than double the evil. But, in rebuking the people, he rightly and appropriately complained that the cause of his sin had come from them. It was as if he had said that they were so perverse that even he had been corrupted by them and drawn into association with their guilt and its punishment.

Here, however, he adds concerning Joshua what he had previously passed over in silence. His appointment as successor to Moses served to encourage the people, for it was a significant reason for hope that they would hear that provision had already been made, so that after the death of Moses they would not be without a leader who would rule them under God's guidance.

Why God preferred this man to all others, especially when Caleb is more highly praised elsewhere, is known only to Himself. We know that He chooses according to His own will those whom He appoints to any office, so that human dignity may depend upon His gratuitous favor. To stand before a person is equivalent to being ready to serve him; and it seems that this was stated to be Joshua's position, so that the punishment might be more apparent, since, by a complete reversal, a successor is given to Moses, who had been his servant.