Deuteronomy 9

Warning against Self-Righteousness

1 "Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go and drive out nations greater and stronger than you [with] large cities fortified to the heavens.

2 The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them and you have heard it said about them, 'Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?'^[a]

3 But understand that today the Lord your God will cross over ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly, as the Lord has told you.

4 When the Lord your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, 'The Lord brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.' Instead, the Lord will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.

5 You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

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

Israel's Rebellion and Moses' Intercession

7 "Remember^[b] and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God in the wilderness. You have been rebelling against the Lord from the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place.

8 You provoked the Lord at Horeb, and He was angry enough with you to destroy you.

9 When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant the Lord made with you, I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water.

10 On the day of the assembly the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by God's finger. The exact words were on them, which the Lord spoke to you from the fire on the mountain.

11 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant, at the end of the 40 days and 40 nights.

12 "The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go down immediately from here. For your people you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned from the way that I commanded them; they have made a cast image for themselves.'

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

14 Leave Me alone, and I will destroy them and blot out their name under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.'

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

16 I saw how you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the Lord had commanded for you.

17 So I took hold of the tablets and threw them from my hands, shattering them before your eyes.

18 Then I fell down like the first time in the presence of the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights; I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you committed, doing what was evil in the Lord's sight and provoking Him to anger.

19 I was afraid of the fierce anger the Lord had directed against you, because He was about to destroy you. But again, the Lord listened to me on that occasion.

20 The Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. But I prayed for Aaron at that time also.

21 I took the sinful calf you had made, burned it up, and crushed it, thoroughly grinding it to powder as [fine as] dust. Then I threw it into the stream that came down from the mountain.

22 "You continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah.^[c]

23 When the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, 'Go up and possess the land I have given you'; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not believe or obey Him.^[d]

24 You have been rebelling against the Lord ever since I have^[e] known you.^[f]

25 "I fell down in the presence of the Lord 40 days and 40 nights because the Lord had threatened to destroy you.

26 I prayed to the Lord: Lord God , do not annihilate Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed through Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.

27 Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people's stubbornness, and their wickedness and sin.

28 Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, 'Because the Lord wasn't able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.'

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

Deuteronomy 9 Commentary

Chapter 9

The Israelites not to think their success came by their own worthiness. (1-6) Moses reminds the Israelites of their rebellions. (7-29)

Verses 1-6 Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions them not to have the least thought of their own righteousness, as if that procured this favour at God's hand. In Christ we have both righteousness and strength; in Him we must glory, not in ourselves, nor in any sufficiency of our own. It is for the wickedness of these nations that God drives them out. All whom God rejects, are rejected for their own wickedness; but none whom he accepts are accepted for their own righteousness. Thus boasting is for ever done away: see Eph. 2:9, Eph. 2:11, Eph. 2:12 .

Verses 7-29 That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that we never merited any thing but wrath and the curse at God's hand. For so strong is our propensity to pride, that it will creep in under one pretence or another. We are ready to fancy that our righteousness has got for us the special favour of the Lord, though in reality our wickedness is more plain than our weakness. But when the secret history of every man's life shall be brought forth at the day of judgment, all the world will be proved guilty before God. At present, One pleads for us before the mercy-seat, who not only fasted, but died upon the cross for our sins; through whom we may approach, though self-condemned sinners, and beseech for undeserved mercy and for eternal life, as the gift of God in Him. Let us refer all the victory, all the glory, and all the praise, to Him who alone bringeth salvation.

Footnotes

• [a]. Jos 15:14
• [b]. Ex 32-34
• [c]. Nm 11:1-35; Ex 17:1-7
• [d]. Nm 13-14
• [e]. Sam, LXX read since He has
• [f]. Ps 95; 106

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 9

In this chapter the Israelites are assured of the ejection of the Canaanites, though so great and mighty, to make room for them, De 9:1-3, and they are cautioned not to attribute this to their own righteousness, but to the wickedness of the nations which deserved to be so treated, and to the faithfulness of God in performing his promise made to their fathers, De 9:4-6, and that it might appear that it could not be owing to their righteousness, it is affirmed and proved that they had been a rebellious and provoking people from their coming out of Egypt to that time, as was evident from their idolatry at Horeb; a particular account of which is given, and of the displeasure of the Lord at it, De 9:7-21, and of their murmurings, with which they provoked the Lord at other places, De 9:22-24, and the chapter is closed with an account of the prayer of Moses for them at Horeb, to avert the wrath of God from them for their making and worshipping the golden calf, De 9:25-29.