Deuteronomy 9:1-12 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 9:1-12. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 9:1-3 (NIV)
1 Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.
2 The people are strong and tall–Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”
3 But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you.
On verses 1-3: Moses acknowledged that as part of conquering the promised land the Israelites would need to face a strong and tall people called the Anakites. Yet Moses reminds the Israelites that the Lord will go ahead of them like a devouring fire and help the Israelites to overcome them quickly.
Here we see that recurring theme in Deuteronomy again: with God there may be seemingly gigantic challenges in front of you, but God goes ahead of you so you don’t need to be afraid. With God, you can conquer the giants in front of you.
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 (NIV)
4 After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you.
5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
6 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.
On verses 4-6: In Deuteronomy 9, Moses emphasize to the Israelites that it is not because of their righteousness that God gave them the land of Canaan and drove out the nations that previously occupied it. Rather, God gave them the land of Canaan for 3 reasons:
1. To discipline other nations (v4-5). The nations that had been occupying the land of Canaan had rejected God and lived in great wickedness, so “on account of the wickedness of these nations” (v4) God decided to take away their land and give it to the Israelites. It’s a reminder that if we keep ignoring or rebelling against God, God may one day take away the blessings He had previously given to us. God is holy and just.
2. To show His grace (v5-6). A second reason God was giving the Israelites the land of Canaan was to show that God is a God of grace, who gives us far more than we could ever deserve.
3. To fulfill His promise (v5). A third reason God was giving the Israelites the land of Canaan was “to accomplish what He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” God had made a promise to the Israelites’ forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and God intended to keep that promise. God is faithful to His promises, even when we are not faithful to ours.
In a similar way, the reason you can be called a child of God and have a place in His family is “not because of your righteousness”, not because we were good enough or earned it with our performance. It’s because God is a God of grace who spares us from the punishment we deserve and gives us blessings that we don’t deserve. It’s also because God is faithful to keep the promises He made along ago to the likes of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David, that through them there would rise up a king and a kingdom that would last forever. Because of God’s grace toward us and His faithfulness toward His promises, we get to be a part of that everlasting kingdom.
Deuteronomy 9:7-12 (NIV)
7 Remember this and never forget how you provoked the LORD your God to anger in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the LORD.
8 At Horeb you aroused the LORD’s wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you.
9 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.
10 The LORD gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the LORD proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.
11 At the end of the forty days and forty nights, the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.
12 Then the LORD told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made a cast idol for themselves.”
On verses 7-12: Here in these verses Moses recounts an example of how the Israelites rebelled against the Lord (v7-8). We will unpack this incident more when we look at verses 13-29 together tomorrow.
Lord, I praise You for being the God of all grace, faithful to Your promises, the One who goes before us and empowers us to face the challenges that are in front of us. May we never assume that the reason why You bless is because we are so good, but because You are good beyond compare. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
