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.

Israel Will Conquer, Not by Merit

"Listen, Isra'el! You are to cross the Yarden today, to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities fortified up to the sky;

a people great and tall, the 'Anakim, whom you know about and of whom you have heard it said, 'Who can stand before the descendants of 'Anak?'

Therefore understand today that ADONAI your God will himself cross ahead of you as a devouring fire; he will destroy them and bring them down before you. Thus will you drive them out and cause them to perish quickly, as ADONAI has said to you.

"Don't think to yourself, after your God has pushed them out ahead of you, 'It is to reward my righteousness that ADONAI has brought me in to take possession of this land.' No, it is because these nations have been so wicked that ADONAI is driving them out ahead of you.

It is not because of your righteousness, or because your heart is so upright, that you go in to take possession of their land; but to punish the wickedness of these nations that ADONAI your God is driving them out ahead of you, and also to confirm the word which ADONAI swore to your ancestors, Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov.

Therefore, understand that it is not for your righteousness that ADONAI your God is giving you this good land to possess. "For you are a stiffnecked people!

Remember Israel’s History of Rebellion

Remember, don't forget, how you made ADONAI your God angry in the desert. From the day you left the land of Egypt till you arrived at this place, you have been rebelling against ADONAI.

The Sin of the Golden Calf at Horeb

Also in Horev you made ADONAI angry -ADONAI was angry enough with you to destroy you!

I had gone up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets on which was written the covenant ADONAI had made with you. I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights without eating food or drinking water.

Then ADONAI gave me the two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God; and on them was written every word ADONAI had said to you from the fire on the mountain the day of the assembly.

Yes, after forty days and nights ADONAI gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.

Then ADONAI said to me, 'Get up, and hurry down from here, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt, have become corrupt. So quickly have they turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have made themselves a metal image!'

Moreover, ADONAI said to me, 'I have seen this people, and what a stiffnecked people they are!

Let me alone, so that I can put an end to them and blot out their name from under heaven! I will make out of you a nation bigger and stronger than they.'

I came down from the mountain. The mountain was blazing fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.

I looked, and there, you had sinned against ADONAI your God! You had made yourselves a metal calf, you had turned aside quickly from the way ADONAI had ordered you to follow.

I seized the two tablets, threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.

Then I fell down before ADONAI, as I had the first time, for forty days and nights, during which time I neither ate food nor drank water, all because of the sin you committed by doing what was evil in the sight of ADONAI and thus provoking him.

I was terrified that because of how angry ADONAI was at you, of how heatedly displeased he was, that he would destroy you. But ADONAI listened to me that time too.

In addition, ADONAI was very angry with Aharon and would have destroyed him; but I prayed for Aharon also at the same time.

I took your sin, the calf you had made, and burned it up in the fire, beat it to pieces, and ground it up still smaller, until it was as fine as dust; then I threw its dust into the stream coming down from the mountain.

Continued Rebellion in the Wilderness

"Again at Tav'erah, Massah and Kivrot-HaTa'avah you made ADONAI angry;

and when ADONAI sent you off from Kadesh-Barnea by saying, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you,' you rebelled against the order of ADONAI your God - you neither trusted him nor heeded what he said.

You have been rebelling against ADONAI from the day I first knew you!

Moses' Intercession for the Nation

"So I fell down before ADONAI for those forty days and nights; and I lay there; because ADONAI had said he would destroy you.

I prayed to ADONAI ; I said, 'Adonai ELOHIM! Don't destroy your people, your inheritance! You redeemed them through your greatness, you brought them out of Egypt with a strong hand!

Remember your servants Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov! Don't focus on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or on their sin.

Otherwise, the land you brought us out of will say, "It is because ADONAI wasn't able to bring them into the land he promised them and because he hated them that he has brought them out to kill them in the desert."

But in fact they are your people, your inheritance, whom you brought out by your great power and your 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.

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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

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