LITV
Deu 9:1 Hear, O Israel, you shall
cross over the Jordan today, to go in to expel nations greater and
mightier than yourself, cities great and walled up to the heavens;
Deu
9:2 a people great and tall, the
sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, Who can
stand before the sons of Anak?
Deu
9:3 And know today that Jehovah
your God is He who passes
over before you as
a consuming fire; He will
destroy them, and He
will bring them down before you; so you shall dispossess them and make them to perish quickly,
as Jehovah has spoken to you.
Deu
9:4 Do not say in your heart, when Jehovah your God
thrusts them out from before you, saying, Jehovah has brought me in to possess
this land for my
righteousness. But say, Jehovah dispossesses them from before you because
of the wickedness of those nations.
Deu
9:5 It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you
go to possess their land. But Jehovah your God is dispossessing them from before you because
of the wickedness of these nations; and in order to establish the Word
which Jehovah has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob.
Deu
9:6 And you shall know that Jehovah
your God is not giving you
this good land, to possess it, for your righteousness; for you are a stiffnecked
people.
Deu
9:7 Remember; do not forget how you made Jehovah your God
angry in the wilderness; even from the day that you came out of the land of Egypt until you came into this place you have been rebellious
against Jehovah.
Deu
9:8 Even in Horeb you made Jehovah angry; and
Jehovah breathed angrily against you, to destroy you.
Deu
9:9 When I went up into the
mountain to receive the tablets of stone, tablets of the covenant which Jehovah cut with you, and I
remained in the mountain forty days and forty nights (I did not eat bread nor
did I drink water),
Deu
9:10 and Jehovah gave to me the two tablets of stone
written with the finger of God, and on them was written according to all the Words which
Jehovah spoke with you in the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, in the
day of the assembly;
Deu
9:11 then it happened, at the end
of forty days and forty nights Jehovah gave the two tablets of stone to me,
tablets of the covenant,
Deu
9:12 and Jehovah said to me, Rise
up, go down quickly from here; for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly;
they have quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have
made themselves a casted image.
Deu
9:13 And Jehovah spoke to me,
saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is
a stiffnecked people.
Deu
9:14 Let Me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their
name from under the heavens; and I will make of you a nation
mightier and greater than they.
Deu
9:15 And I turned and came down
from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets
of the covenant were
in my two hands;
Deu
9:16 and I looked; and, behold! You
had sinned against Jehovah your God; you had made a casted calf for
yourselves; you had
quickly turned out of the way which Jehovah had commanded you.
Deu
9:17 And I took hold of the two
tablets and threw them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes.
Deu
9:18 And I fell down before
Jehovah, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and
drank no water; because of all your sins which you had sinned, in doing that
which was
evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to make Him angry.
Deu
9:19 For I was afraid
because of the anger and the fury with which Jehovah had been angry against
you, to destroy you. And Jehovah
listened to me at this time also.
Deu
9:20 And Jehovah was very angry with Aaron, to destroy him,
and I also prayed for Aaron at that time.
Deu
9:21 And I took your sin, the calf which you made,
and I burned it with
fire, and beat it, grinding it very small until it
was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the torrent that came down out
of the mountain.
Deu
9:22 And at Taberah, and at Massah,
and at The Graves of Lust you
provoked Jehovah to anger.
Deu
9:23 And when Jehovah sent you from
Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given to you,
then you rebelled against the mouth of Jehovah your God, and did not believe
Him, nor listen to His voice.
Deu
9:24 You have been rebellious against Jehovah from the day
that I knew you.
Deu
9:25 And I fell down before
Jehovah the forty days and the forty nights as
I had thrown myself down before, for Jehovah had said to destroy you.
Deu
9:26 And I prayed to Jehovah,
and said, O Lord Jehovah, do not destroy Your people, and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed in Your greatness; whom You have brought out of Egypt
with a mighty hand.
Deu
9:27 Remember Your servants, Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob; do not look to the stubbornness of this people, nor to
their wickedness nor to their sin,
Deu
9:28 lest the land from which You
brought us say, Because Jehovah was not able to bring them into the land
which He promised them; and, because He hated them, He has brought them
out to kill them in the wilderness.
Deu
9:29 And they are
Your people, and Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power, and by Your stretched out arm.
Main
Points(s):Moses warns against becoming arrogant in the face of victories God is
about to perform for them. He cites his concerns by the actions of the people
over the years. It’s interesting to note that that generation that he is
talking about has dies off….so why is he saying “you”?
1.
Why will the people succeed despite the description of
the people they are going up against (1-3)? The great and tall Anakim: “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?” I
will make the assumption that since the people have already defeated kings
Sihon and Og that more giants will not be too much trouble. They have already
witnessed what God is able to do for them in that regard. Moses tells them that
God will make them “perish quickly.” There are many questions concerning the
giant people that inhabited the land. Why didn’t they just destroy everyone
else if they were so powerful (suggests limitations)? Why were they still
around after the flood? (Likely their DNA was in at least one of the eight on
board. If it was in Noah or his wife, then it would have been passed on to
their children)
2.
What are the people warned against (4)? What does God
say are the reasons why He will give Israel the land (4-6)? Don’t get a big head. It’s not your righteousness that
causes God to give you victory. It is their wickedness! This not only kept
their attitude in check, but was a secondary warning against sin. Again, God
references His overall trajectory that points to the Christ. That promise that
he
gave to
Abraham is driving everything. Christians today are to see this same message.
God’s glory….His goodness is to shine through us. We are not glorious by
ourselves.
3.
Why can’t it be righteousness of the people that God
is giving the people the land (6-24)? What is the history of Israel? (7-21)
Rebellion from the get-go. At Horeb, while God is dispensing His law, the
people were making an idol. God was ready to wipe them out. He was ready to
kill Aaron. Moses recounts his frantic efforts he made to convince God to
relent from His justice (see Ex.32). (vs.
22) -Taberah (Numbers 11) when the people complained (for meat) and God’s
anger burned against them (the quail incident). (Vs. 22) Massah (testing) (Ex.17) “is God with us or not”. (Vs.22) The graves of lust (Num. 11) Those
that fell in the “quail” incident. This story is complicated by more than one
issue. In the end God was judging them for allowing their WANT (lust) for meat
override their respect for Jehovah.
4.
Why were the people not consumed while in the
wilderness? How does this foreshadow Jesus’ work for us? I assume the question is specific to the rebellion at
Sinai. At that time, Moses was able to mediate between God and Israel. Jehovah
was ready to wipe them out and start over with Moses. This was a foreshadow of
the Christ who would mediate for us before God. There are many parallels in the
Moses story….deliverer….meek (unassuming)…brings a gospel…unites people with
God…knows the heart of God. Of course the big difference is Jesus is the Son.
Jesus IS God. Jesus IS the sacrifice. Jesus fulfilled the law and subjugated it
to Him.
5.
How long did Moses pray for the people? How does this
parallel the work of Jesus? 40 days.
The number forty is a number denoting cleansing. (Think – “The Flood” or “Wandering
in the Desert”). Jesus fasted 40 days and was then tempted by Satan (defeated
him there and at the cross). It is a period
of time whereby the subject is weakened (physically), and strengthened
(mindfully/spiritually). People who fast report a heightened sense of clarity.
When Jesus was tempted, he relied on the word of God to deliver him. This example
was his main overall message: Shaking off the cares of the world and relying on
God.
6.
Write down the reasons Moses gives why God must not
destroy the people (25-29)? Was it because of the people’s righteousness? It was not for anyone’s righteousness (other than God’s
mercy). Moses was able to convince God that removing the people would cause the
nations (other than Israel) to blaspheme the name of Jehovah. What’s
interesting to me is that (in my opinion) God likely already thought of this.
Isn’t God all-knowing? Moses also recounts the promise (to Abraham) and that
these people are His inheritance that HE redeemed. The account reads like Moses
did change God’s mind. (more Christ-like behavior –see #4)
Additional:
