Deuteronomy 9

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==Deuteronomy 9:1:

Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. ​

​The verse sets the stage for a rebuke of the Israelites' past failures, particularly the golden calf incident, and highlights that their inheritance of the land is a fulfillment of God's promises to their ancestors. 
    The verse marks the beginning of the Israelite conquest of the land of Canaan, a land inhabited by strong and fortified nations.  Moses tells the Israelites that the Lord will cross over before them as a consuming fire, actively destroying and subduing the enemy nations on their behalf. The primary message is that the Israelites are not inheriting the land because of their own merit or righteousness, but rather because of the wickedness of the Canaanite peoples. God's action is a fulfillment of His oath to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The verse serves as a preface to a recounting of the Israelites' sin and disobedience, reminding them that they are "stiff-necked people".  The passage underscores that God's actions toward the Israelites are an act of grace, demonstrating His unwavering commitment to His promises despite human failing. By stressing that victory is not their own doing, the verse warns against spiritual arrogance and encourages humility and gratitude for God's power.

==Deuteronomy 9:2:

The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” ​

​Deuteronomy 9:2 is part of Moses' address to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. The verse reminds them of the challenge posed by the Anakim, who were known to be a race of giants. The presence of the Anakim had previously instilled fear in their ancestors, preventing them from entering the land. Moses uses the example of the Anakim to contrast their might with the power of God, emphasizing that God would fight for the Israelites. This highlights that their victory would be due to God's power and grace, rather than their own merit. The reference serves to underscore the importance of faith in God when facing difficult situations. 

==Deuteronomy 9:3:

​But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

==Deuteronomy 9:4:

After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. ​

​Deuteronomy 9:4 warns Israel not to claim possession of the land due to their own righteousness. Instead, God is driving out the Canaanite nations because of their wickedness to fulfill the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and to bring His justice to them. The verse emphasizes humility, reminding the Israelites that their success is not from their own merit but from God's grace and purpose.  The primary reason for driving out the nations was their extreme wickedness and sin, which had reached a point where God's justice required their removal. The land was promised to the patriarchs, and its possession by Israel was a fulfillment of that covenant. The warning against self-righteousness is crucial, as Israel had a history of rebellion and was to remain humble and grateful for God's grace, rather than taking credit for something they did not earn.  God is sovereign in His actions, orchestrating events and bringing about His will, which includes both punishing the wicked and blessing His people.  The passage teaches against pride and self-glorification, stressing that any success or blessing comes from God's sovereign will and grace, not from human merit. It serves as a reminder for believers to maintain humility and to recognize God's justice and purpose in all circumstances.  

==Deuteronomy 9:5:

It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

==Deuteronomy 9:6:

Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Stiff-necked is often the same as rebellious or not willing. It isn't a healthy thing to do in the long run spiritually or physically
That he may the more easily persuade his countrymen that nothing is better, or more desirable for them than to devote themselves to God’s service, Moses reminds them that they have nothing to boast of out of Him; as if he had said, that they were happy in this one respect, that God had taken them under His charge; but that if this glory were to be taken away, they would be miserable and ruined. For God is called “the praise” of His people, as being their honor and their ornament. Consequently, if they desire to enjoy true and solid blessedness, they must take care to keep themselves under His guardianship; for, if they should be deprived of this, nothing would remain to them but ignominy and shame. To the same effect, he adds, that He is their God; because nothing can be more perverse and absurd than not to receive the Creator of the world Himself, when He freely offers Himself as our God. In proof of this, he subjoins, that He has exerted His power in many miracles for His people’s safety; and, in order that they might be rendered the more inexcusable, he cites their own eyes as witnesses of so many mighty acts which had been wrought in their favor. Thence he goes a step higher, reminding them that their race had been wondrously increased in a short time; whence it was plain, that they had been thus incredibly multiplied by preternatural and divine influence. For assuredly the signal blessing of God was clearly manifested, in the procreation of seven hundred thousand men in less than two hundred and fifty years. Those who then lived had not seen them with their own eyes; but Moses retraces God’s grace to the fountainhead, that they may more fully acknowledge, that whatever good they had experienced depended on that adoption, which had made them God’s people.

==Deuteronomy 9:7:

​Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord.

==Deuteronomy 9:8:

​At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you.

==Deuteronomy 9:9:

 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water. ​

==Deuteronomy 9:10:

​The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

==Deuteronomy 9:11:

At the end of the forty days and forty nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. ​

==Deuteronomy 9:12:

​ Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.”

==Deuteronomy 9:13:

And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! ​

==Deuteronomy 9:14:

​Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”

==Deuteronomy 9:15:

So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. ​

==Deuteronomy 9:16:

​When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.

==Deuteronomy 9:17:

So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.​

==Deuteronomy 9:18:

​Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger.

==Deuteronomy 9:19:

​ I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.

==Deuteronomy 9:20:

​And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.

==Deuteronomy 9:21:

​Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.

==Deuteronomy 9:22:

ou also made the Lord angry at Taberah, at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah.

==Deuteronomy 9:23:

And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, “Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him. ​

==Deuteronomy 9:24:

You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.

==Deuteronomy 9:25:

I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights because the Lord had said he would destroy you

==Deuteronomy 9:26:

​I prayed to the Lord and said, “Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

==Deuteronomy 9:27:

Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin.

==Deuteronomy 9:28:

​Otherwise, the country from which you brought us will say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.’

==Deuteronomy 9:29:

​But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.”

​This verse is part of Moses's prayer to God, interceding for the stubborn people of Israel after their sin with the golden calf. It emphasizes that God's commitment to Israel is not based on their own merit but on His sovereign power and faithfulness demonstrated in bringing them out of Egypt, making them His chosen people and heritage. 
    The verse comes in the context of Moses praying for the Israelites, who had rebelled against God by making a golden calf.  Moses prayed for God to remember His covenant and not destroy the people. He specifically asked God to overlook the people's stubbornness and sin.  Moses also pleaded with God to prevent other nations from claiming that God was unable to keep His promise and brought Israel into the wilderness to destroy them. The verse highlights God's powerful actions in history, using His "great power" and "outstretched arm" to bring Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Israel was God's "people" and "heritage," His special possession, not because they deserved it, but because of His divine choice and commitment.  It serves as a reminder that God's relationship with Israel was based on His unfailing love and power, not on their own righteousness, which was often lacking.