Deuteronomy 9
9
Israel Has Been Given Canaan because of God’s Mercy
1Listen, Israel, you’re about to cross the Jordan River. You’ll be forcing out nations that are larger and stronger than you, with big cities that have sky-high walls. 2Their people are tall and strong. They’re descendants of Anak. You know all about them. You’ve also heard it said, “Who can oppose the descendants of Anak?” 3Realize today that the Lord your God is the one who is going ahead of you like a raging fire. He will wipe them out and will use you to crush their power. You will take possession of their land and will quickly destroy them as the Lord promised you.
4When the Lord your God expels these people in front of you, don’t say to yourselves, “Because we’ve been living right, the Lord brought us here to take possession of this land.” No, it’s because these nations are so wicked that the Lord is forcing them out of your way. 5It’s not because you’ve been living right or because you’re so honest that you’re entering to take possession of their land. It’s because these people are so wicked that the Lord your God is forcing them out of your way. It’s also because the Lord wants to confirm the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6So understand this: It’s not because you’ve been living right that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess. You are impossible to deal with!
7Never forget how you made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You’ve rebelled against the Lord from the day you left Egypt until you came here. 8Even at Mount Horeb you made the Lord so angry that he wanted to destroy you. 9When I went up on the mountain to get the stone tablets, the tablets of the promise that the Lord made to you, I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. 10Then the Lord gave me the two stone tablets inscribed by God himself. On them were written all the words that the Lord spoke to you from the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly.
11At the end of the 40 days and 40 nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets with his promise on them. 12He told me, “Leave right away. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined ⌞everything⌟. They’ve quickly turned from the way I commanded them to live. They’ve made an idol for themselves.”
13The Lord also said to me, “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with. 14Leave me alone! I’ll destroy them and wipe their name off the earth. Then I’ll make you into a nation larger and stronger than they are.”
15So I turned and went down the mountain while it was still burning with fire. I was carrying the two tablets with the promise on them. 16Then I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made a statue of a calf for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way the Lord commanded you to live. 17I took the two tablets, threw them down, and smashed them in front of you.
18Once again I threw myself down in front of the Lord. I went without food and water for 40 days and 40 nights because of the sin you committed. You did what the Lord considered evil and made him furious. 19I was terrified of the Lord’s anger and fury. He was so angry he wanted to destroy you. But once more the Lord listened to me.
20The Lord also became very angry with Aaron and wanted to destroy him. But at that time I prayed for Aaron, too.
21I took that sinful calf you made and burned it. I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as powder. Then I threw the powder into the river that flowed down the mountain.
22You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah.
23When the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, he said, “Go and take possession of the land I’m giving you.” But you rebelled against the Lord your God’s word. You didn’t believe him or obey him. 24You’ve rebelled against the Lord as long as I’ve known you.
25I threw myself down in front of the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights because the Lord said he would destroy you. 26I prayed to the Lord and said, “Almighty Lord, don’t destroy your people. They belong to you. You saved them by your great power and used your mighty hand to bring them out of Egypt. 27Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of these people. 28Otherwise, the country we left will say, “The Lord wasn’t able to bring them to the land he promised them. He hated them. That’s why he brought them out—to let them die in the desert.” 29They are your people. They belong to you. You used your great strength and powerful arm to bring them out ⌞of Egypt⌟.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 9
9
Why the Lord Will Help Israel
Moses said:
1Israel, listen to me! You will soon cross the Jordan River and go into the land to force out the nations that live there. They are more powerful than you are, and the walls around their cities reach to the sky. 2Some of these nations are descendants of the Anakim.#9.2 Anakim: See the note at 2.10,11. You know how tall and strong they are, and you've heard that no one can defeat them in battle. 3But the Lord your God has promised to go ahead of you, like a raging fire burning everything in its path. So when you attack your enemies, it will be easy for you to destroy them and take their land.
4-6After the Lord helps you wipe out these nations and conquer their land, don't think he did it because you are such good people. You aren't good—you are stubborn! No, the Lord is going to help you, because the nations that live there are evil, and because he wants to keep the promise he made to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When Israel Made an Idol
(Exodus 32)
Moses said to Israel:
7Don't ever forget how you kept rebelling and making the Lord angry the whole time you were in the desert. You rebelled from the day you left Egypt until the day you arrived here.
8At Mount Sinai#9.8 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5. you made the Lord so angry that he was going to destroy you. 9-11#Ex 24.17,18. It happened during those 40 days and nights that I was on the mountain, without anything to eat or drink. He had told me to come up there so he could give me the agreement he made with us. And this agreement was actually the same Ten Commandments#9.9-11 Ten Commandments: Hebrew “commandments.” he had announced to you when he spoke from the fire on the mountain. The Lord had written them on two flat stones with his own hand. But after giving me the two stones, 12he said:
Moses, hurry down the mountain to those people you led out of Egypt. They have already disobeyed me and committed the terrible sin of making an idol.
13I've been watching the Israelites, and I've seen how stubborn and rebellious they are. 14So don't try to stop me! I am going to wipe them out, and no one on earth will remember they ever lived. Then I will let your descendants become an even bigger and more powerful nation than Israel.
Moses said:
15Fire was raging on the mountaintop as I went back down, carrying the two stones with the commandments on them. 16I saw how quickly you had sinned and disobeyed the Lord your God. There you were, worshiping the metal idol you had made in the shape of a calf. 17So I threw down the two stones and smashed them before your very eyes.
18-20I bowed down at the place of worship and prayed to the Lord, without eating or drinking for 40 days and nights. You had committed a terrible sin by making that idol, and the Lord hated what you had done. He was angry enough to destroy all of you and Aaron as well. So I prayed for you and Aaron as I had done before, and this time the Lord answered my prayers.#9.18-20 as I had done before … prayers: This may refer to Moses' praying for Israel before he came down from the mountain (see Exodus 32.11-14).
21It was a sin for you to make that idol, so I threw it into the fire to melt it down. Then I took the lump of gold, ground it into powder, and threw the powder into the stream flowing down the mountain.
22 #
Nu 11.3;
Ex 17.7;
Nu 11.34. You also made the Lord angry when you were staying at Taberah,#9.22 Taberah: See Numbers 11.1-3. at Massah,#9.22 Massah: See the note at 6.16. and at Kibroth-Hattaavah.#9.22 Kibroth-Hattaavah: See Numbers 11.31-34. 23#Nu 13.17; Dt 1.20,21; Nu 13.31; Dt 1.26; He 3.16. Then at Kadesh-Barnea the Lord said, “I am giving you the land, so go ahead and take it!” But since you didn't trust the Lord, you rebelled and disobeyed his command.#9.23 Kadesh-Barnea … you rebelled and disobeyed his command: See Numbers 13; 14. 24In fact, you've rebelled against the Lord for as long as he has#9.24 he has: The Samaritan Hebrew Text and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “I have.” known you.
25After you had made the idol in the shape of a calf, the Lord said he was going to destroy you. So I lay face down in front of the Lord for 40 days and nights 26and prayed:
Our Lord, please don't wipe out your people. You used your great power to rescue them from Egypt and to make them your very own. 27Israel's ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob obeyed you faithfully. Think about them, and not about Israel's stubbornness, evil, and sin. 28If you destroy your people, the Egyptians will say, “The Lord promised to give Israel land, but he wasn't powerful enough to keep his promise. In fact, he hated them so much that he took them into the desert and killed them.” 29But you, our Lord, chose the people of Israel to be your own, and with your mighty power you rescued them from Egypt.
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