Moses Reminds the People of Their Unrighteousness

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 9:1) “Hear, O Israel: You are to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fenced up to heaven."

Moses appears to have started a new discourse here, with some pause after his speech in the preceding chapters, because he seems to be gathering the Israelites' attention again with his words, "Hear, O Israel."  The children of Israel were about to pass over the Jordan River.  The original word translated as "this day" was "yom", and it didn't always mean "today" as some translations assert.  It was a period of time at hand.  They were about to go into their promised land and possess nations that were bigger and stronger than they were, with great walled and fortified cities.  How else could they do this but by the grace and power of God, as Moses was about to confirm to them.

(2) "A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’"

The people of the nations the Israelites were about to dispossess were descendants of the Anakim, who were said to be giants, and apparently there was a known fear of confronting them.

(3) "Understand therefore this day, that the LORD your God is He who goes over before you; as a consuming fire He shall destroy them, and He shall bring them down before your face, so shall you drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you."

Indeed, Moses did go on to reassure the Israelites that it was their God who went before them to dispossess those giants in their huge fortified nations.  "As a consuming fire", that phrase they had personally come to understand, God would destroy those people and nations before them, so that the Israelites could drive them out and destroy them quickly, as their Lord had told them previously.  In Deuteronomy 7:22-23, Moses had told them the Lord would completely destroy their enemies from before them, but He would do it little by little, not all at once so as to overwhelm them.

(4) "Speak not in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out from before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD drives them out from before you."

Moses cautioned the people against thinking that it was because of their own righteousness that the Lord had brought them into that promised land.  The cup of those heathen nations' iniquity was now full, and it was God's will that they now be destroyed.  Israel was merely the instrument He used to destroy them.  He desired to give His people a great land, but it had nothing to do with their own deservedness.  God can use anyone He wants to fulfill His will; we must always remember He used a donkey, so He could use anyone and it has absolutely nothing to do with how righteous they are.

(5) "Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart, do you go to possess their land, but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may perform the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Again Moses repeated that it was not for the Israelites' righteousness or the uprightness of their hearts that they were being given that land, but because of the nations' wickedness that they were to be driven out.  By then giving the land to the children of Israel, God would be fulfilling His word that He swore to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

(6) "Understand therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess it because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people."

Moses once again exhorted the people to really understand that it had nothing to do with their righteousness that the Lord was giving them that land, because frankly, they weren't righteous at all!  They were a stubborn group of people.

(7) "Remember, and do not forget, how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you departed out of the land of Egypt, until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD."

Moses reminded the people and exhorted them not to forget how often they had continually angered their Lord in the wilderness from the time they left Egypt up until that point, by their stubborn rebellion against Him.

(8) “Also in Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you."

Moses reminded them that in Horeb, they had so egregiously provoked their Lord to wrath when they made the golden calf and worshiped it while Moses was on the mount receiving the Ten Commandments, that He would have destroyed them then.  In Exodus 32:10, God had proposed to Moses to destroy all His people, and make of him, Moses, a great nation instead.  A people, who but by the intercession of Moses, would have been totally destroyed for their unrighteousness, had no reason at all to believe it was because of their righteousness that they were being given that land, but in utter humility should be thankful for their Lord's grace and mercy.

(9) “When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water."

Moses went on to detail exactly what had happened at the time the Lord almost destroyed His people.  Moses had gone up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone which contained God's commandments, the people's part of their covenant with God.  Moses had stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights, not eating or drinking anything.

(10) "And the LORD delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them according to all the words which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. (11) And it came to pass, at the end of forty days and forty nights, the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant."

Moses went on to describe how the Lord had given him two tablets of stone, written by the finger of God, which had the Ten Commandments, the same exact commandments He had spoken to the people out of the fire and smoke that day the people had assembled to hear Him.  He had given the tablets to Moses at the end of his forty days and forty nights.

(12) "And the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image.’"

Moses described how it was the Lord who told him to hurry back down to the people because, unbelievably, although they had just heard from the Lord Himself about six weeks prior, they had made for themselves a molded idol.  It sounded as if the Lord had already disowned that people, so highly displeased with them, that he called them Moses's people, the ones Moses had brought out of Egypt. 

(13) “Furthermore the LORD spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. (14) Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’"

It was at that point the Lord had told Moses, and he at this time, told the people the Lord's words, that He had witnessed that those people were a stubborn lot, and He asked Moses to leave Him alone so that He might destroy them all and blot out their name as His special people, and He would then make a nation out of Moses that would be greater and mightier than they were.  Most of the commentaries I study wrote that when the Lord said to leave Him alone, He was telling Moses not to plead or intercede for the people.  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes even had written, "...Demonstrating that the prayers of the faithful are a bar to restrain God's anger so that he does not consume all."  That goes too far for me.  Nothing can restrain God!  Whatever He wills will happen.  Consider the prayers of David, a man after God's own heart, for his and Bathsheba's firstborn baby.  God said that baby would die, and no amount of prayers from David changed that.  God's ultimate will shall be done, but that's not to say that prayers can't change an outcome that is within God's will.  Consider Jonah's prophecy to Nineveh that they would be destroyed in forty days.  The Ninevites repented and were not destroyed.  Did that make Jonah a false prophet?  Indeed not!  Why else would he be sent to the Ninevites to declare that prophecy, but to have them repent and follow God?  In that case, it was God's will that they repent and follow Him, and they did just that, at least for awhile.

Back to the verses above.  Perhaps God was saying He didn't want to hear anything from Moses, but that wasn't because He thought it might change His mind, and He didn't want that to happen.  I believe He was merely saying, go on down and leave Me, maybe don't talk anymore, but mainly just GO and see about your people.

(15) “So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands."

Moses described how he indeed left the Lord at that point, and came down from the mountain that burned with fire, and he was carrying the two tablets given him by God.

(16) “And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made for yourselves a molded calf; you had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you."

Moses related what he saw when he came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments.  He saw that the people had quickly turned from God's commandments, and had sinned against the Lord by making a molded calf!  It really is incredible when you think about it.  They had heard the actual voice of God telling them the Ten Commandments, which had terrified them; and the mountain was still burning with fire, which should have been a reminder, and there they were making a golden calf!  But then again, I shouldn't be too smug.  Although this is a vivid picture of how quickly people can forget God, I am quite sure I have seen an awesome work of God, and then forgotten it and fallen into sinful faithlessness a mere six weeks later.

(17) "And I took the two tablets and cast them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes."

Moses described how he had thrown the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments, written by the finger of God, and broke them.  That signified that the people had broken their covenant with God.  After they had heard the voice of the Lord, and then asked Moses to go to the Lord himself and then tell them what the Lord had said, so they did not have to try to bear His great and terrible voice, fearing they could not continue to hear the voice of the Lord and live; and after they had promised to listen to the word of the Lord as Moses told them, and they would do it--even then, they so quickly had broken their promise and their covenant with God.  God had said at the time, "Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!"  God knew then they would so quickly fall away.

(18) “And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sins which you sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger."

Moses related that he fell down before the Lord in prayer and supplication for Israel.  He fasted another forty days and forty nights because of the sins of the children of Israel in doing so wicked a thing as making the golden calf and worshiping it as God.  At first reading, it appears that Moses may have added to the original story as this part doesn't seem to appear in the historical account.  However, as we continue to read, we see that Moses is referring to the second forty days and nights he spent with the Lord in intercession for the people.  In verse 18 he refers to it, and then in verses 19-24 he goes back and fills in the details leading up to his second forty days and nights, which he mentions again in verse 25.

(19) “For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was angry against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened to me at that time also."

Moses related to the people that he had been afraid for them.  He had seen the hot wrath of the Lord and heard His intent to destroy them because of what they had done.  However, the Lord did listen to Moses as he entreated for the people, as he had done many times before.  In this, Moses is seen as a symbol of Christ, the Mediator and Advocate between sinners and a holy God who by His nature cannot abide sin.

Again the order of the retelling seems out of kilter.  Was Moses saying that eventually the Lord relented of His plan to destroy the people, and then filled in the details leading up to that point?  When reading the original account of the incident, we find Moses did briefly plead for the people at the end of his first forty days before the Lord told him to leave.  Exodus 32:14 stated that the Lord had changed His mind about completely destroying the people at that point.  However, that wasn't known to Moses at the time.  He did not know the Lord had relented of His original plan until after He met with the Lord again (Exodus 32:31).  Obviously, Moses later did come to know that the Lord had relented before he left the mountain the first time, because he is the one who wrote these books of the Bible; perhaps he was stating in the latter part of verse 19 that the Lord had indeed relented at that point.

(20) “And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him; and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time."

Moses told the people that the Lord was very angry with Aaron at the time, too, and would have destroyed him also.  After all, as high priest, he should have been faithful above all.  Our religious leaders are held to a higher standard because they are responsible for leading their congregations.  However, Aaron had gone along with the people, very easily, in fact, without any hesitation.

(21) “And I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, ground it very small, until it was as small as dust; and I cast its dust into the brook that descended out of the mountain."

Moses described how he had taken their golden calf and burned it in fire and ground it to dust, and cast the dust into the brook that descended from the mountain.  Additionally, something he didn't relate here, Moses made the people drink the water in the brook with the gold dust, demonstrating the worthlessness of their idol they could now drink.

(22) “And at Taberah and Massah and Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath."

Moses reminded the people there were other times they had provoked the Lord with their complaining and murmuring about lack of water.

(23) “Likewise, when the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and you did not believe Him nor hearken to His voice."

Another time they had provoked the Lord, when the Lord had told them to go in and possess the land He had given them, they had instead sent spies and believed their bad report, and would not go in.

(24) “You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you."

Moses summed up his retelling of the people's rebellion and unrighteousness that he started in verse 7, when he told them that ever since they left Egypt until they came to their current place, they had been rebellious against the LORD.  This was to illustrate to them that it was not for any righteousness of their own that the Lord was giving them this land, as he stated in verses 4-6.  They weren't righteous at all!

(25) "Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first, because the LORD had said He would destroy you."

Moses returned to his point he started in verse 18, that because of their terrible sin of idolatry, and his fear that the Lord would indeed destroy them, Moses fell down before the Lord in prayer and supplication for the people, and fasted for forty days and forty nights, as he had done when he first went up the mountain to receive the tablets with the Ten Commandments.

(26) "I prayed therefore to the LORD, and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.'"

Moses recited his prayer to the people that the Lord not destroy His people and His inheritance, whom He had chosen and redeemed through His greatness, not because of any greatness of the people He chose, the people He had brought out of bondage in Egypt with mighty miracles, to be His own people.

(27) "‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin.'"

Moses continued the retelling of his prayer at the time.  He pleaded with the Lord to remember His servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom He had first made His covenant, and not to look on the stubbornness and wickedness of this current people.

(28) "'Lest the land from where You brought us out say, "Because the LORD 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.”'"

Moses had turned to the honor and glory of his Lord in his plea.  He didn't want it erroneously said that because the Lord had been unable to fulfill His promise, and because He hated the people, He had just brought them out into the wilderness to kill them.  Once again, this proves Moses's point that the people had no righteousness of their own.  It was only for the glory of God and the righteousness of their forefathers and the Lord's promise to them, that they weren't destroyed.

(29) "‘Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’"

Moses concluded his prayer to the Lord by saying they were, after all, His people and His inheritance, if only because of His glory and mighty power in bringing them out of Egypt to this land as promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

(Deuteronomy 10:1) “At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Hew two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make an ark of wood.'"

After Moses's second forty days of fasting and prayer, the Lord told him to hew two stone tablets just like the first ones God had given him, and to bring them up to Him on the mountain.  Additionally, He told him to make a wooden chest.

(2) "‘And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.’"

The Lord told Moses He would write on the two tablets the words that were on the first tablets, the Ten Commandments, and he was to put them in the wooden chest.  I can't help but notice that God chose the words "which you broke".  God doesn't appear angry with Moses for breaking the tablets, but I believe the point is that God did not break His covenant; the people broke it.  God agreed to renew it, but this time asked Moses to prepare the stones.  Perhaps this was to illustrate the preparation of the heart by conviction and humility to receive God's law upon it.

(3) "And I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up into the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand."

Moses did as the Lord had commanded him.  He made a chest of acacia wood, and hewed two stone tablets like the first ones the Lord had given him, and took them up into the mountain.  It is not clear if this is the same elaborate Ark of the Covenant that Moses managed the building of rather than actually crafting himself, or if he had indeed made a perhaps simple temporary chest himself.

(4) “And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me."

The Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on the two stone tablets Moses had brought up the mountain with him.  They were the same words, the very same Ten Commandments, the Lord had written on the first two tablets, and the same words the Lord had spoken to the people that day out of the fire and smoke on the mountain.

(5) “And I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, just as the LORD commanded me.”

Moses left the presence of the Lord and came down with the two tablets and put them in the ark it is written he himself had made.  The phrase "there they are" might suggest the tablets were in the same place Moses had placed them then until the current day he was speaking to the people, which would mean it was the same Ark of the Covenant Bezaleel had made (Exodus 37:1).  Perhaps rather than making it himself, Moses ordered it be made, and while he was on the mountain receiving the commandments from God, the people were earnestly preparing for them.  Perhaps Moses did indeed make a wooden chest, that was later embellished by Bezaleel in the manner instructed by God, or maybe it was a temporary chest.  Maybe the phrase "there they are" just meant those tablets Moses had brought down and placed in an ark were now in the place he pointed out to the Israelites at the time he was talking to them.  In Moses's retelling of events, he did not necessarily go into every last detail, and perhaps didn't always relate events in the actual order of their occurrence, but rather linked events that were related to each other to illustrate his points.