Deuteronomy9

Deuteronomy 9 warns Israel not to attribute their success in possessing the land to their own righteousness, but rather to God's power and the wickedness of the nations they displace. Moses reminds them of their persistent rebellion throughout their wilderness journey, particularly the incident of the golden calf at Horeb. He recounts his fervent intercession that saved them from divine wrath, emphasizing their "stiffnecked" nature.

Listen to this chapter

Israel Will Conquer, Not by Merit

Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.

The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?”

But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them swiftly, as the LORD has promised you.

When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness.

It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Remember Israel’s History of Rebellion

Remember this, and never forget how you provoked the LORD your God in the wilderness. From the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place, you have been rebelling against the LORD.

The Sin of the Golden Calf at Horeb

At Horeb you provoked the LORD, and He was angry enough to destroy you.

When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.

Then the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by the finger of God with the exact words that the LORD spoke to you out of the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly.

And at the end of forty days and forty nights, the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.

And the LORD said to me, “Get up and go down from here at once, for your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten image.”

The LORD also said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.

Leave Me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation mightier and greater than they are.”

So I went back down the mountain while it was blazing with fire, with the two tablets of the covenant in my hands.

And I saw how you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, shattering them before your eyes.

Then I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD and provoking Him to anger.

For I was afraid of the anger and wrath that the LORD had directed against you, enough to destroy you. But the LORD listened to me this time as well.

The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I also prayed for Aaron.

And I took that sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust, and I cast it into the stream that came down from the mountain.

Continued Rebellion in the Wilderness

You continued to provoke the LORD at Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah.

And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “Go up and possess the land that I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him.

You have been rebelling against the LORD since the day I came to know you.

Moses' Intercession for the Nation

So I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said He would destroy you.

And I prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people and the wickedness of their sin.

Otherwise, those in the land from which You brought us out will say, ‘Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’

But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 9

Verse 1

Moses assures Israel of victory despite the overwhelming strength of the Canaanite nations. The phrase 'fenced up to heaven' emphasizes the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that only divine power can overcome.

Verse 2

The Anakims were a race of giants whose presence terrified the spies at Kadesh-barnea (Num 13:33). Moses reminds the people that even the most feared enemies are powerless before the LORD.

Verse 3

God is described as a 'consuming fire' (cf. Deut 4:24), emphasizing His holiness and the certainty of His promised destruction of the wicked inhabitants of the land.

Verse 4

This verse preempts the possibility of national pride. The conquest is explicitly attributed to God’s judgment of the Canaanites, not Israel’s supposed moral superiority.

Verse 5

The conquest is driven by two theological principles: the judgment of the present wickedness of the nations and the faithfulness of God to the covenant sworn to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

Verse 6

The epithet 'stiffnecked' refers to stubbornness or rebellion, metaphorically suggesting an ox that refuses to submit to the yoke. This confirms that Israel’s possession of the land is purely an act of divine grace.

Verse 7

Moses shifts from future conquest to past history, providing concrete evidence that Israel is indeed 'stiffnecked.' The wilderness experience was characterized by continuous provocation of God's wrath.

Verse 8

Horeb (Mount Sinai) was the location where the covenant was established. To rebel immediately after receiving the Law signifies a profound and grievous breach of faith.

Verse 9

Moses' 40-day fast was a period of intense communion with God while receiving the Law, highlighting the contrast between his devotion and the people's quick descent into idolatry below.

Verse 12

The phrase 'thy people which thou hast brought forth' is God distancing Himself from the rebellious nation, speaking to Moses as the immediate leader. They had quickly 'corrupted themselves' by making the molten calf.

Verse 14

God's offer to destroy Israel and make a new nation through Moses tests Moses' character and commitment. His subsequent intercession proves his faithfulness as a mediator.

Verse 17

Moses breaking the tablets was a symbolic act demonstrating that the covenant, which those tablets represented, had already been shattered by Israel's idolatry (Exod 32:19).

Verse 18

This second 40-day fast was an act of desperate intercession on behalf of the people. This demonstrates Moses’ essential mediatorial role between a righteous God and a sinful people.

Verse 20

Aaron, despite being the high priest, was complicit in the creation of the calf (Exod 32:4). His life was spared only through Moses’ fervent prayer, underscoring the severity and breadth of the sin.

Verse 22

Moses lists three specific locations where Israel rebelled: Taberah (complaining, Num 11), Massah (testing God, Exod 17), and Kibrothhattaavah (craving meat, Num 11). This proves their continual rebellion.

Verse 23

The refusal to enter the land at Kadesh-barnea (Num 14) was the climactic act of faithlessness, directly rebelling against the clear command of God and resulting in the 40-year delay in the wilderness.

Verse 25

This verse reiterates Moses’ persistent intercession (first mentioned in v. 18). The repetition emphasizes the intensity and length of the prayer required to turn away God’s destructive anger.

Verse 27

Moses’ prayer appeals not to the people’s merit but to God's loyalty to the unconditional covenant promises made to the forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). This is the foundation of the plea.

Verse 28

Moses strategically appeals to God's reputation among the nations. If God destroyed Israel, the Egyptians would interpret it as divine weakness or hatred, potentially dishonoring the LORD’s great name.

Verse 29

The final affirmation reminds God that Israel, despite their failings, remains 'thy people and thine inheritance,' redeemed by the visible demonstration of God's power in the Exodus.

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate

Deuteronomy9

Israel Will Conquer, Not by Merit

Remember Israel’s History of Rebellion

The Sin of the Golden Calf at Horeb

Continued Rebellion in the Wilderness

Moses' Intercession for the Nation

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Reading Width 45 chars

Options