Deuteronomy 9:1-29

Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love

Love and Obey the *LORD your God

Deuteronomy

Philip Smith

Chapter 9

v1 ‘Listen to this, *Israelites. Now you will go across the River Jordan. You will go into the country and you will possess it. It belongs to nations that are greater and stronger than you. Their cities are large. They have walls round them that reach the sky. v2 The people are tall and strong. They are the *Anakites. They are giant people. People have said that nobody can fight against them. v3 But you can be sure that the *LORD your God will go ahead of you. He is like a fierce fire. He will *destroy the *Anakites as you advance. You will force them out and you will kill them quickly. The *LORD has promised that.

v4 After the *LORD your God has forced them out ahead of you, do not think this. “The *LORD has brought us here to possess this country. That is because we are so good.” No. The *LORD will force out those people because they are wicked. v5 The reason is not that you are so good. The reason is not that you behave in the right way. That is not why the *LORD your God is allowing you to take their country. He is forcing out these nations ahead of you because they are wicked. He wants to do what he promised to your *ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. v6 The *LORD your God is giving to you this good country to possess. But you can be sure about this. He is not giving it to you because you are good. Instead, you do not like to obey God.’

Moses told the *Israelites that their enemies would oppose them. However, God was stronger than their enemies. God would defeat those enemies as easily as a fire burns a piece of land. However, God did not do that because the *Israelites were good. God was forcing out the people in the country because they were wicked people. He was doing it too, because of his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God said that he would give the country to his people, the *Israelites. However, his people were not good. Often they did not obey God. They would not change the way that they behaved.

Paul says this in Romans 5:8. ‘God loves us. This is how he shows it. While we were still wicked people, Christ died instead of us.’ In Ephesians 2:8-9 he says, ‘God saves us by *faith by means of his *grace. And that is not the result of your own efforts, but it is God’s gift. Not one of us can say that he saved himself. The things that we do cannot save us. Only the gift of God can do that. So nobody can tell people how good he is!’

v7 ‘Remember this. Do not forget how you made the *LORD your God angry in the *desert. You refused to obey the *LORD from the day that you left Egypt. You did it until you arrived here. v8 Also, at *Mount Sinai, you made the *LORD so angry that he wanted to kill you all. v9 I went up the mountain to receive the blocks of stone. The *LORD had written on them the *covenant that he had made with you. I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat or drink anything. v10 Then the *LORD gave to me the two blocks of stone. God himself had written all the *LORD’s *commandments on them. He had announced them to you from the fire. That happened on the day when you gathered on the mountain.

v11 I was there for 40 days and 40 nights. After that the *LORD gave to me the two blocks of stone that he had written the *covenant on. v12 Then the *LORD said this to me. “Get up and go down the mountain at once. Your people whom you brought out from Egypt are ruining themselves. Already they have not obeyed what I ordered them to do. They have made an *idol out of metal for themselves.”

v13 Also the *LORD said this to me. “I know that these people do not like to obey me. v14 I will *destroy them so that nobody will remember them. Do not try to stop me. I will make you into a nation. It will be stronger and more powerful than the *Israelites.”

v15 So I turned and I went down the mountain. It was on fire. I carried the two stones of the *covenant in my hands. v16 I saw that you had *sinned against the *LORD your God. You had made an *idol out of metal in the shape of a young *bull. Almost immediately you did not obey the *commandments that the *LORD had ordered you to obey. v17 So I took the two stones and I threw them down. They broke into pieces in front of you.

v18 Then again I lay with my face on the ground. I lay in front of the *LORD for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat or drink anything. You had *sinned against the *LORD and so you had made him angry. That is why I did it. v19 I was afraid of the *LORD’s fierce anger. He was angry enough with you to *destroy you. But again, the *LORD listened to me. v20 He was so angry that he wanted to kill Aaron. But I prayed for Aaron too. v21 I took that *sinful thing, the young *bull that you had made from metal. I burned it in the fire. Then I broke it into pieces and I made it into dust. I threw that dust into the stream that flowed down the mountain.’

Moses reminded the *Israelites about the time when they had made a *bull from gold. Very often in those countries, people wrote agreements on stones. Moses went up a mountain to receive the *covenant on stones. But the *Israelites, with Aaron’s help, had made a metal *bull. In chapter 8 verse 19 God said this. He would *destroy them if they followed a false god. Now God said that he would do this. He would make another nation from the family of Moses. So, Moses went down the mountain. He saw the *bull that they had made out of metal. He threw down and broke the two blocks of stone. That showed the *Israelites that they had not obeyed God’s *commandments. Moses prayed for the people. His prayer is in verses 25-29, below. He also prayed for Aaron, who had made the model of the *bull. Then Moses broke the model of the *bull and he made it into dust. God was ready to *destroy the nation if Moses had not prayed for them. Moses had to pray even for Aaron, who was the chief priest. It was Aaron’s responsibility to speak God’s words to the *Israelites.

In Hebrews 4:14-16, the writer tells this to Christians. They have a chief priest (Jesus) who has not *sinned. He can sympathise with their weaknesses. Christians can approach God with confidence. They will receive *mercy and *grace when they need help. Jesus is a perfect chief priest. He is not like Aaron. Moses prayed for the *Israelites. Jesus prays for his people. He prays that God will forgive their *sin. He tells God that he has died instead of the people.

v22 ‘Also, you made the *LORD angry at Taberah, Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah.

v23 The *LORD said this when he sent you out from Kadesh Barnea. “Go out and possess the country. I have given it to you.” But, you did not obey what the *LORD your God ordered you to do. You did not trust him or obey him. v24 You have refused to obey the *LORD ever since I have known you.’

Moses reminds the *Israelites about other occasions when they did not obey God. They complained about the difficult things at Taberah. The name means ‘it burns’. God sent fire that burnt some *Israelites. (See Numbers 11:1-3.) At Massah, the *Israelites complained that they had no water. Moses hit a rock and water came out. (See Exodus 17:1-7.) At Kibroth Hattaavah, the *Israelites complained about *manna (the food that God gave to them in the *desert). They said that they wanted meat too. (See Numbers 11:31-34.) Finally at Kadesh Barnea they did not trust God. Moses sent 12 men to explore the country. Two men said that the *Israelites could possess the country. But the *Israelites did not believe those men. Instead, they wanted to kill those two men. (See Numbers chapter 14.)

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-12, Paul reminds us about these events. Paul warns his readers not to give honour to *idols. He also tells them not to complain. ‘These things happened in order to warn us. Someone might think that he is standing firmly. But he should be careful that he does not fall.’ God wants us to obey him.

v25 ‘I lay with my face on the ground. I lay front of the *LORD for 40 days and 40 nights. The *LORD had said that he would *destroy you. v26 And I prayed to the *LORD. “*LORD you are the king of the whole world. Do not *destroy your own people. They belong to you. You brought them out from Egypt by your great strength and power. v27 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Do not look at the bad thoughts, the wicked acts and the *sin of these people. v28 If you *destroy them, the *Egyptians will say this. ‘The *LORD was unable to take them into the country that he had promised to them. He hated them, so he took them into the *desert to kill them.’ v29 But *LORD, they are your people. You chose them and they belong to you. You brought them out from Egypt by your great power and strength.” ’

This is Moses’ prayer. The *Israelites had done many wrong things. Moses asked God to forgive them. He reminded God that he had brought them out of Egypt. They were *descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who had obeyed God. If God did not help the *Israelites, the *Egyptians would laugh. They would say that God was unable to *keep his promise.

James 5:16 tells us that ‘the prayer of a good man has a powerful effect.’ The Bible tells us that God will show *mercy. So when we pray, we can remind God about his promises.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.

covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Anakites ~ an ancient nation that was famous for its very tall people.
destroy ~ to damage something so that it does not continue to exist; to kill people or animals.
ancestors ~ people in your family who lived before you.
faith ~ strong belief and trust.
grace ~ God’s mercy and kindness, which are free gifts to us.

mercy ~ kindness instead of punishment.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
bull ~ male farm animal; (the female is called a cow). The Israelites made a metal image of a bull, which they worshipped as an idol.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
commandment ~ a rule or a command that God gave to the Jews; the 10 rules that God gave to Moses. That was on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); a command from someone who has authority.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
sinful ~ refers to an action or to a desire that is against God’s law; a wrong or wicked action; a person who does those things is sinful.
mercy ~ kindness instead of punishment.
manna ~ a food like bread. God provided this food in a special way for the Israelites to eat in the desert.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything with a relationship with Egypt. The Israelites were *slaves in Egypt before God freed them.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
keep ~ to do whatever you should do because of a promise or a law; to respect and to give honour to the law.