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.
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Israel Will Conquer, Not by Merit

1
Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, ​
2
A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! ​
3
Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee. ​
4
Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. ​
5
Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ​
6
Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. ​

Remember Israel’s History of Rebellion

7
Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD. ​

The Sin of the Golden Calf at Horeb

8
Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you. ​
9
When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: ​
10
And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
11
And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
12
And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image. ​
13
Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
14
Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. ​
15
So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
16
And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
17
And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes. ​
18
And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. ​
19
For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
20
And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. ​
21
And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.

Continued Rebellion in the Wilderness

22
And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. ​
23
Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice. ​
24
Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.

Moses' Intercession for the Nation

25
Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you. ​
26
I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
27
Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin: ​
28
Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. ​
29
Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out 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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