Deuteronomy 9
Big idea: Moses closes the last available exit. If Israel cannot claim its victories, it might still claim its virtue — so he says it three times in three verses: not for your righteousness, not for the uprightness of your heart; know therefore that Yahweh your God doesn't give you this good land for your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. Then he proves it from their own history, beginning with the worst of it. He was on the mountain forty days without bread or water when God told him what they had made. He came down, saw the calf, and smashed the tablets in front of them. And he lay before Yahweh another forty days and forty nights because God had said he would destroy them — praying not from their merit but from God's reputation and an old promise to three dead men.
Chapter 9 ends with Moses' prayer for a people God had said he would destroy. Chapter 10 records the answer: new tablets, and a new question — what does Yahweh require of you?
9:1–6 — Not for your righteousness
Hear, Israel! You are to pass over the Jordan today to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to the sky, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, of whom you have heard — who can stand before the sons of Anak? Know therefore today that Yahweh your God is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire; he will destroy them and bring them down before you. But don't say in your heart, after Yahweh has thrust them out, for my righteousness Yahweh has brought me in to possess this land — because Yahweh drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations. Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land, but for the wickedness of these nations, and that he may establish the word which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Know therefore that Yahweh your God doesn't give you this good land to possess for your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.
1 Hear, Israel! You are to pass over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to the sky, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard say, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?” 3 Know therefore today that Yahweh your God is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire. He will destroy them and he will bring them down before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as Yahweh has spoken to you. 4 Don’t say in your heart, after Yahweh your God has thrust them out from before you, “For my righteousness Yahweh has brought me in to possess this land;” because Yahweh drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations. 5 Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations Yahweh your God does drive them out from before you, and that he may establish the word which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 6 Know therefore that Yahweh your God doesn’t give you this good land to possess for your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.
9:7–21 — Remember how you provoked him
Remember, and don't forget, how you provoked Yahweh to wrath in the wilderness — from the day you left Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious. Also in Horeb you provoked him, and he was angry enough to destroy you. When I went up to receive the stone tablets of the covenant, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. Yahweh delivered to me the two tablets written with God's finger, with all the words he spoke on the mountain out of the fire. And at the end of forty days he said: arise, get down quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they have made a molten image. I have seen these people, and they are a stiff-necked people. Leave me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater. So I came down while the mountain burned with fire, the two tablets in my two hands. I looked, and you had made yourselves a molded calf. I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my hands and broke them before your eyes. I fell down before Yahweh, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin. For I was afraid of the anger with which Yahweh was angry against you to destroy you. But Yahweh listened to me that time also. He was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; I prayed for Aaron also. And I took your sin, the calf you had made, burned it, crushed it very small until it was as fine as dust, and threw its dust into the brook.
7 Remember, and don’t forget, how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. 8 Also in Horeb you provoked Yahweh to wrath, and Yahweh was angry with you to destroy you. 9 When I had gone up onto the mountain to receive the stone tablets, even the tablets of the covenant which Yahweh made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 Yahweh delivered to me the two stone tablets written with God’s finger. On them were all the words which Yahweh spoke with you on the mountain out of the middle of the fire in the day of the assembly. 11 It came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that Yahweh gave me the two stone tablets, even the tablets of the covenant. 12 Yahweh said to me, “Arise, get down quickly from here; for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned away from the way which I commanded them. They have made a molten image for themselves!” 13 Furthermore Yahweh spoke to me, saying, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. 14 Leave me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under the sky; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.” 15 So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. The two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 I looked, and behold, you had sinned against Yahweh your God. You had made yourselves a molded calf. You had quickly turned away from the way which Yahweh had commanded you. 17 I took hold of the two tablets, and threw them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes. 18 I fell down before Yahweh, as at the first, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you sinned, in doing that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which Yahweh was angry against you to destroy you. But Yahweh listened to me that time also. 20 Yahweh was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. 21 I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. I threw its dust into the brook that descended out of the mountain.
9:22–29 — Don't look at the stubbornness of this people
At Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath. And when Yahweh sent you from Kadesh Barnea saying, go up and possess the land I have given you, you rebelled and didn't believe him or listen to his voice. You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you. So I fell down before Yahweh those forty days and forty nights, because Yahweh had said he would destroy you. And I prayed: Lord Yahweh, don't destroy your people and your inheritance, that you have redeemed through your greatness, that you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Don't look at the stubbornness of this people, nor at their wickedness, nor at their sin — lest the land you brought us out from say, because Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land which he promised, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness. Yet they are your people and your inheritance, which you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.
22 At Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath. 23 When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, “Go up and possess the land which I have given you,” you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God, and you didn’t believe him or listen to his voice. 24 You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you. 25 So I fell down before Yahweh the forty days and forty nights that I fell down, because Yahweh had said he would destroy you. 26 I prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Lord Yahweh, don’t destroy your people and your inheritance that you have redeemed through your greatness, that you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Don’t look at the stubbornness of this people, nor at their wickedness, nor at their sin, 28 lest the land you brought us out from say, ‘Because Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land which he promised to them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’ 29 Yet they are your people and your inheritance, which you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.”
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).