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Texts -- Deuteronomy 9:1-28 (NET)

Context
Theological Justification of the Conquest
9:1 Listen , Israel : Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications . 9:2 They include the Anakites , a numerous and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites ?” 9:3 Understand today that the Lord your God who goes before you is a devouring fire ; he will defeat and subdue them before you. You will dispossess and destroy them quickly just as he has told you. 9:4 Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land .” It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you. 9:5 It is not because of your righteousness , or even your inner uprightness , that you have come here to possess their land . Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he made on oath to your ancestors , to Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob . 9:6 Understand , therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession , for you are a stubborn people !
The History of Israel’s Stubbornness
9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert ; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him. 9:8 At Horeb you provoked him and he was angry enough with you to destroy you. 9:9 When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets , the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained there forty days and nights , eating and drinking nothing . 9:10 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets , written by the very finger of God , and on them was everything he said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly . 9:11 Now at the end of the forty days and nights the Lord presented me with the two stone tablets , the tablets of the covenant . 9:12 And he said to me, “Get up , go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned ! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image .” 9:13 Moreover, he said to me, “I have taken note of these people ; they are a stubborn lot! 9:14 Stand aside and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory , and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are.” 9:15 So I turned and went down the mountain while it was blazing with fire ; the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands . 9:16 When I looked , you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God and had cast for yourselves a metal calf ; you had quickly turned aside from the way he had commanded you! 9:17 I grabbed the two tablets , threw them down , and shattered them before your very eyes . 9:18 Then I again fell down before the Lord for forty days and nights ; I ate and drank nothing because of all the sin you had committed , doing such evil before the Lord as to enrage him. 9:19 For I was terrified at the Lord’s intense anger that threatened to destroy you. But he listened to me this time as well . 9:20 The Lord was also angry enough at Aaron to kill him, but at that time I prayed for him too. 9:21 As for your sinful thing that you had made , the calf , I took it, melted it down , ground it up until it was as fine as dust , and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain . 9:22 Moreover, you continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah , Massah , and Kibroth-Hattaavah . 9:23 And when he sent you from Kadesh-Barnea and told you, “Go up and possess the land I have given you,” you rebelled against the Lord your God and would neither believe nor obey him. 9:24 You have been rebelling against him from the very first day I knew you!
Moses’ Plea on Behalf of the Lord’s Reputation
9:25 I lay flat on the ground before the Lord for forty days and nights , for he had said he would destroy you. 9:26 I prayed to him : O, Lord God , do not destroy your people , your valued property that you have powerfully redeemed , whom you brought out of Egypt by your strength . 9:27 Remember your servants Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob ; ignore the stubbornness , wickedness , and sin of these people . 9:28 Otherwise the people of the land from which you brought us will say , “The Lord was unable to bring them to the land he promised them, and because of his hatred for them he has brought them out to kill them in the desert .”

Pericope

NET
  • Deu 9:1-6 -- Theological Justification of the Conquest
  • Deu 9:7-24 -- The History of Israel's Stubbornness
  • Deu 9:25-29 -- Moses' Plea on Behalf of the Lord's Reputation

Bible Dictionary

  • Moses

    [ebd] drawn (or Egypt. mesu, "son;" hence Rameses, royal son). On the invitation of Pharaoh (Gen. 45:17-25), Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years before the birth of Moses. ...
    [nave] MOSES A Levite and son of Amram, Ex. 2:1-4; 6:20; Acts 7:20; Heb. 11:23. Hidden in an ark, Ex. 2:3. Discovered and adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, Ex. 2:5-10. Learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, Acts 7:22. His loyalt...

  • Obligation

    [nave] OBLIGATION A motive of obedience, Deut. 4:32-40; 6-11; 26:16; 32:6; 1 Sam. 12:24; 1 Chr. 16:12; Rom. 2:4; 2 Cor. 5:15. Acknowledgment of, Psa. 116:12-14, 17. See: Duty.

  • Humility

    [nave] HUMILITY. Deut. 9:7 vs. 4-29.; Deut. 15:15; Job 5:11; Job 22:29; Job 25:5, 6; Psa. 9:12; Psa. 10:17; Psa. 22:6, 26; Psa. 25:9; Psa. 37:11; Psa. 69:32; Psa. 86:1; Psa. 131:1, 2; Psa. 138:6; Psa. 147:6; Psa. 149:4; Prov. 3:34...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Intercession

    [isbe] INTERCESSION - in-ter-sesh'-un (pagha`, "to make intercession"; originally "to strike upon," or "against"; then in a good sense, "to assail anyone with petitions," "to urge," and when on behalf of another, "to intercede" (Ru...
    [nave] INTERCESSION. Of One Person with Another 1 Sam. 2:25 Instances of: Reuben for Joseph, Gen. 37:21, 22. Judah for Joseph, Gen. 37:26, 27. Pharaoh's chief baker for Joseph, Gen. 41:9-13, with Gen. 40:14. Jonathan for David...

  • Reproof

    [nave] REPROOF. Lev. 19:17; Psa. 141:5; Prov. 9:7, 8; Prov. 10:17; Prov. 12:1; Prov. 13:18; Prov. 15:5, 10, 12, 31, 32; Prov. 17:10; Prov. 19:25; Prov. 21:11; Prov. 25:12; Prov. 26:5; Prov. 27:5, 6; Prov. 28:23; Eccl. 7:5; Amos 5:...

  • Prayer

    [ebd] is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal. It is a "beseeching t...
    [nave] PRAYER. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Answer to, Promised; Answered, Instances of Answered; Confession in; Importunity in, Instances of Importunity in; Intercessor...

  • Tablets of Law

    [nave] TABLETS OF LAW Ex. 24:12; 31:18; 32:15, 15, 16, 16, 19; 34:1, 1, 4, 4, 28, 29; Deut. 4:13; 5:22; 9:9, 10, 11, 15, 17; 10:1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5; 1 Kin. 8:9; 2 Chr. 5:10; Prov. 3:3; 7:3; Isa. 30:8; Jer. 17:1; Hab. 2:2; 2 Cor. 3:...

  • Anger

    [nave] ANGER. Gen. 4:6; Gen. 49:7; 2 Chr. 28:9; Job 5:2; Job 19:29; Psa. 37:8; Psa. 55:3; Psa. 76:10; Prov. 6:34; Prov. 12:16; Prov. 14:17, 29; Prov. 15:1, 18; Prov. 16:14, 29, 32; Prov. 17:14; Prov. 19:11, 12, 19; Prov. 21:24; Pr...

  • Taberah

    [ebd] burning, a place in the wilderness of Paran, where the "fire of the Lord" consumed the murmuring Israelites (Num. 11:3; Deut. 9:22). It was also called Kibroth-hattaavah (q.v.).
    [isbe] TABERAH - tab'-e-ra, ta-be'-ra (tabh`erah, "burning"): A wilderness camp of the Israelites, the site of which is unidentified. Here, it is recorded, the people complained against Yahweh, who destroyed many of them by fire. T...
    [smith] the name of a place in the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 11:3; 9:22) It has not been identified.
    [nave] TABERAH, a place in the wilderness where the Israelites were punished for their complaints, Num. 11:3; Deut. 9:22.

  • Aaron

    [ebd] the eldest son of Amram and Jochebed, a daughter of Levi (Ex. 6:20). Some explain the name as meaning mountaineer, others mountain of strength, illuminator. He was born in Egypt three years before his brother Moses, and a nu...
    [smith] (a teacher, or lofty), the son of Amram and Jochebed, and the older brother of Moses and Miriam. (Numbers 26:59; 33:39) (B.C. 1573.) He was a Levite, and is first mentioned in (Exodus 4:14) He was appointed by Jehovah to be t...
    [nave] AARON Lineage of, Ex. 6:16-20; Josh. 21:4, 10; 1 Chr. 6:2, 3; 23:13. Marriage of, Ex. 6:23. Children of, Ex. 6:23, 25; 1 Chr. 6:3; 24:1, 2. Descendants of, Ex. 6:23, 25; 1 Chr. 6:3-15, 50-53; 24. Meets Moses in the wilde...

  • Table

    [nave] TABLE 1. An article of furniture, Judg. 1:7; 1 Sam. 20:29, 34; 2 Kin. 4:10; John 2:15. Made of silver, 1 Chr. 28:16. Figurative Of the altar, Mal. 1:7, 12; of the Lord's supper, 1 Cor. 10:21; of idolatrous feasts, 1 Cor. ...

  • Self-righteousness

    [nave] SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. Num. 16:3; Deut. 9:4-6; 1 Sam. 2:9; Job 6:13; Job 11:4-6; Job 12:2; Job 13:3, 13, 15, 19; Job 16:17, 18; Job 18:2-4; Job 21:27-29; Job 22:2, 3; Job 32:1, 2; Job 33:8, 9; Job 35:2, 7, 8; Psa. 10:5, 6; Pro...

  • Self-will

    [nave] SELF-WILL, stubboress. Forbidden, 2 Chr. 30:8; Psa. 75:5. Proceeds from unbelief, 2 Kin. 17:14; pride, Neh. 9:16, 29; an evil heart, Jer. 7:24. God knows, Isa. 48:4. Exhibited in refusing to hearken to God, Prov. 1:24; ref...

  • Stones

    [nave] STONES Commandments engraved upon, Ex. 24:12; 31:18; 34:1-4; Deut. 4:13; 5:22; 9:9-11; 10:1-3. The law of Moses written upon, Josh. 8:32. Houses built of, Isa. 9:10; Amos 5:11. Temple built of, 1 Kin. 5:17, 18; 7:9-12; Ma...

  • Anakim

    [ebd] the descendants of Anak (Josh. 11:21; Num. 13:33; Deut. 9:2). They dwelt in the south of Palestine, in the neighbourhood of Hebron (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 15:13). In the days of Abraham (Gen. 14:5, 6) they inhabited the region aft...
    [smith] (long-necked), a race of giants, descendants of Arba, (Joshua 15:13; 21:11) dwelling in the southern part of Canaan, and particularly at Hebron, which from their progenitor received the name of "city of Arba." Anak was the na...
    [nave] ANAKIM A race of giants, Num. 13:28-33; Deut. 1:28; 2:10; 9:2. Defeated: By Joshua, Josh. 11:21, 22; Caleb, Josh. 14:12, 15; 15:13, 14; Judg. 1:20. See: Hebron.

  • Kibroth-hattaavah

    [ebd] the graves of the longing or of lust, one of the stations of the Israelites in the wilderness. It was probably in the Wady Murrah, and has been identified with the Erweis el-Ebeirig, where the remains of an ancient encampmen...
    [isbe] KIBROTH-HATTAAVAH - kib-roth-ha-ta'-a-va, kib-roth (qibhroth ha-ta'awah "the graves of greed"): A desert camp of the Israelites, one day's journey from the wilderness of Sinai. There the people lusted for flesh to eat, and, ...
    [nave] KIBROTH-HATTAAVAH, a station where the Israelites were miraculously fed with quails, Num. 11:31-35; 33:16, 17; Deut. 9:22.

  • Grace of God

    [nave] GRACE OF GOD. Gen. 15:6; Gen. 20:6; Deut. 7:6-9; Deut. 9:4-6; Job 10:12; Job 22:2, 3; Psa. 94:17-19; Psa. 138:3; Psa. 143:11; Dan. 9:18; Dan. 10:18, 19; John 6:44, 45; John 17:11, 12, 15; Acts 4:29, 30; Acts 26:22; Rom. 3:2...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • Zeal

    [nave] ZEAL, Religious Josh. 24:15, 16; 2 Sam. 24:24, 25; 1 Kin. 9:4; 1 Kin. 15:14; 1 Chr. 29:17; 2 Chr. 15:15; 2 Chr. 19:3; Ezra 7:23; Job 16:19; Psa. 42:1, 2; Psa. 60:4; Psa. 96:2, 3, 10; Psa. 119:139; Prov. 11:30; Eccl. 9:10; ...
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Arts

Questions

  • It is not merely an arbitrary period or a "round number," but is chosen to convey die sense of fullness. Some of its prominent Scriptural uses are: Moses was forty days on the mount (Ex. 24:18, etc.); Elijah, strengthened by ...
  • The following material from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia should be helpful here: III. Significant numbers Numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance. One is used to convey th...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Abram asked God to strengthen his faith. In response Yahweh promised to give the patriarch innumerable descendants. This led Abram to request some further assurance that God would indeed do what He promised. God graciously ob...
  • Let me share with you a couple of quotations that point out the importance of this book."Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its significance on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has no...
  • I. Introduction: the covenant setting 1:1-5II. Moses' first major address: a review of God's faithfulness 1:6-4:40A. God's past dealings with Israel 1:6-3:291. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-462. The march from Kades...
  • This brief section places the events that follow in their geographical and chronological setting. It introduces the occasion for the covenant, the parties involved, and other information necessary to identify the document and...
  • Moses encouraged Joshua, his successor, to take courage on the basis of all that God had done for Israel thus far, especially in defeating Sihon and Og (vv. 21-22). A better translation of verse 22 is ". . . for Yahweh [the c...
  • "The passage at hand is without comparison as a discourse on the doctrine of God."56Moses' three rhetorical questions (vv. 32-34) clearly point out the uniqueness of Yahweh."In addition to His self-disclosure in event, in his...
  • These verses are similar to 1:4-5. They summarize and introduce with historical references what follows. In a larger sense these verses summarize all of chapters 1-3. This is narration about Moses, not a discourse by Moses."T...
  • ". . . Deuteronomy contains the most comprehensive body of laws in the Pentateuch. It is clearly intended to be consulted for guidance on many aspects of daily life, in sharp contrast with the laws of Leviticus, which are ver...
  • Another writer suggested that chapters 6-26 expand the Decalogue with the intent of addressing the spirit of the law.92He believed the structure of the book supports his contention that the writer chose exemplary cases. Moses...
  • Here the actual exposition of the Decalogue begins with an explanation and implications of the first commandment. In short, Moses presented Yahweh as the one true God who requires complete devotion."With this chapter we come ...
  • This chapter is a logical development of what Moses said in chapters 5 and 6. God had called on His people to acknowledge that He is the only true God and to be completely loyal to Him. In Canaan they would encounter temptati...
  • "From a literary standpoint Deut 9:1-10:11 is a travel narrative much like Deut 1:6-3:29, with which, in fact, it shares much in common. For example, both are introduced (1:1-5; 9:1-6) and concluded (3:29; 10:11) by a setting...
  • Having recited what God had done for the Israelites, Moses now called on them to respond and make a commitment to Him."The structure of the passage reveals an enveloping pattern in which injunctions to obey God (vv. 12-13; 20...
  • Moses' homiletical exposition of the law of Israel that follows explains reasons for the covenant laws that arose from the Ten Commandments. This address concludes with directions for celebrating and confirming the covenant (...
  • The context of this section is significant as usual. Verses 1-8 deal with people who ministered to Yahweh in various ways for the people, and verses 15-22 concern the delivery of God's revelations to His people. Verses 9-14 c...
  • This section concludes the "purely legal material."284The ordinances with which Moses concluded his second address (chs. 5-26) not only specified the Israelites' actions in further respects but also focused their thinking on ...
  • "The presentation of the commandments and the statutes and ordinances that will guide Israel's life in the land is over now. Verse 16 serves as a concluding bracket around chapters 5-26, matching Moses' introduction to the wh...
  • "Moses assigned the priests and elders the duty of regularly republishing the law of the covenant. The effect of this was to associate the priests and elders with Joshua in the responsibility of rule and in the esteem of Isra...
  • "This chapter [five] records four experiences which God brought to Joshua and the people, each one centered about a token, or symbol . . . The Token of Circumcision: Restoration to covenant favor (5:2-9) . . . The Token of Bl...
  • At Jericho, Israel learned God's strength. At Ai, she learned her own weakness. She could only conquer her enemies as she remained faithful to God's covenant."We are never in greater danger than right after we have won a grea...
  • When the people had dealt with the sin of Achan as God had commanded, Israel was ready to engage the enemy again.8:1-2 In view of Israel's defeat God's encouraging words were necessary to strengthen Joshua's resolve (cf. 1:9)...
  • 1:1 The Book of Judges begins with a conjunction translated "now"or "and."God intended Judges to continue the narrative of Israel's history where the Book of Joshua ended (cf. Josh. 1:1). This verse provides a heading for the...
  • Asa came to power close to the end of Jeroboam's reign over Israel in 910 B.C. Asa reigned from 911-870 B.C., 41 years, an unusually long reign that probably began when he was quite young (cf. 15:2). It was his grandmother (N...
  • Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair o...
  • This brief section is a call to God's people to embrace God's promises. It concludes this section of the prophecy (42:10-44:22) by affirming that God would not abandon the Israelites because of their sins but would deliver th...
  • The prophet emphasized the gracious character of Yahweh as the source of restoration for His people. Returning to the metaphor of the Lord's people as the his wife (51:17-20), Isaiah presented the joyful prospect of reconcili...
  • The national defeat pictured in this lament was a serious one. It may have been the first Babylonian invasion of Judah in 597 B.C., which resulted in severe destruction and exile for some Judeans.14:17 Jeremiah was to tell th...
  • 31:7 In the future the Israelites would sing joyfully among the chief nations where they dwelt. They would call on Yahweh to save the remaining remnant of His people. Calling on Him to do this would praise Him because He prom...
  • 12:12 The Lord reminded the Israelites again of their humble origins. Jacob was a refugee who migrated to the land of Aram. There he had to work to pay for a wife, and he did so by tending sheep, a very humble occupation (cf....
  • 6:1-2 Micah called his audience to hear what Yahweh had told him to say. Yahweh had a case (lawsuit, Heb. rib) to bring against His people. The Lord was summoning Israel to defend herself in a courtroom setting. He addressed ...
  • 2:1 Habakkuk compared himself to a sentinel on a city wall watching the horizon for the approach of a horseman. He purposed to watch and wait expectantly for the Lord to reply to this second question, as He had the first, so ...
  • Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
  • Luke stressed how the Spirit who had come upon Jesus at His baptism guided and empowered Him in His temptation and how Jesus, God's approved Son, pleased His Father by His obedience. Jesus overcame the devil who opposed God's...
  • Stephen concluded his defense by indicting his accusers. They had brought charges against him, but now he brought more serious charges against them.In his first speech to the Sanhedrin, Peter had been quite brief and forthrig...
  • The writer proceeded to explain the superiority of the New Covenant by comparing it with the Old Covenant using the figure of two mountains: Sinai and Zion.12:18-21 These verses describe the giving of the Old Covenant at Mt. ...
  • 5:6 God's almighty hand had permitted affliction to touch Peter's readers. The apostle urged them to submit to God's working in their lives as to the skillful hand of a surgeon. He assured them that God would raise them up ev...
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