Deuteronomy 9-11

CHAPTER 9:
           Moses again reminds the people of the monumental task that lies before them. He begins this passage with the familiar call to listen: “Hear, O Israel…”. (v.1) He references the children of Anak in verse 2, the giants currently inhabiting the promised land, and whose presence had caused the lack of faith and disobedience on the part of the first generation thirty-eight years earlier. (Numbers 13:22, 28, 33, Joshua 11:21-22) He reminds the people of the power of God that will go before them, acting as a fire that will destroy those heathen nations, as God had promised. (v.3) (Deuteronomy 1:33, 31:3, Joshua 3:11, 5:14, John 10:4)
            Then Moses picks up the thread that he began in chapter 8, verse 17. He warns the people against the danger of pride that could come in the wake of such mighty victories. (v.4) It’s not because of any inherent righteousness in the children of Israel that God is giving them the promised land. Rather, it’s due to God’s judgment against those wicked nations, as well as the promise that He made to Abraham. (v.5) (Genesis 15:16, 50:24, Leviticus 18:3, 24, Deuteronomy 12:31, 18:9)
            Upon first reading of verse 5 (“Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart…”), it appears that Moses is contradicting what he told the Israelites at the end of chapter 6, in verse 25. However, the point that Moses is making here in chapter 9 is the same one that he made in Chapter 7, verses 6-8. There was and is nothing that Israel had done or could do that earned or will earn God’s love and favor. God chose Abraham of His own free will to be the father of a great nation, and now the children of Israel are inheriting that promised land because of God’s divine will and choice, not anything that they have done of their own merit to earn it.
            The righteousness that Moses referred to in chapter 6 is the specific form of righteousness that Israel earns by observing and obeying all of God’s law. That righteousness is what earns them eternal salvation in the eyes of God, and has nothing to do with God’s initial sovereign choice of Abraham and his seed to be a separate and chosen nation above all nations and people of the world.
            Moses then reviews for the people their disobedience at Mount Sinai as an example of his statements in verses 4-5. (v.6-21) If the Israelites are under any illusions that they have earned the blessing of the promised land because of their own merit and status as a chosen people, Moses quickly dispels them of any such notion. He goes into detail about their sin of idolatry and their rebellion against God by worshiping the golden calf. He also highlights his own role as mediator on their behalf, for God was willing to destroy the people then and there and create a new nation from the seed of Moses. Moses isn’t mentioning this out of any sense of pride or trying to elevate himself as some kind of great leader or savior, but rather to emphasize for the people how close they came to suffering God’s great and terrible wrath.
            Moses is reminding the Israelites that while God is a just and loving God, He’s also a righteous, holy, and jealous God who will not hesitate to destroy the wicked and the disobedient. He has every right to demand absolute fealty and worship from His chosen people because of who He is! He is creator of all things, including mankind, and therefore God has every right to punish those who rebel against Him by worship false gods and reveling in their sin. Moses is exhorting the people to remember this after they have conquered and settled the promised land, lest they incur God’s righteous wrath through the sin of apostasy and disobedience.
            Moses closes this chapter with four more examples of the nation’s rebellion and then recounts his mediation on their behalf at Kadesh-barnea. (v.22-29) Once again, he refers to the parents of the generation listening to him now. Their lack of faith at the border of the promised land and the resulting disobedience earned them God’s righteous anger and judgment. It was for the sake of His own name and His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that God did not wipe out the entire nation for the sin of the first generation. (v.26-28)

CHAPTER 10:
          Moses continues his review of the golden calf incident. (v.1-5) The fact that God commanded him to carve out two more tablets of stone indicated that His covenant with Israel still stood. The sin of the people did not change it. The ark referred to in verse 1 was probably a simple box made to hold the tablets for safekeeping until Bezaleel later crafted the actual Ark of the Covenant. (Exodus 25:16, 21, 37:1)
 
            Verses 6-11: These are a parenthetical note, fast forwarding through the thirty-eight years of wandering in the desert to the death of Aaron and the ordination of his son, Eleazar. (v.6) Moses also mentions the separation of the tribe of Levi for specific service to the LORD. They are to assist the priests in a supportive role in all things pertaining to the tabernacle. The priests are to bear the Ark of the Covenant, to act as mediators between the people and the LORD their God, and to perform blessings in His name. (v.8) (Numbers 3:6, 4:5, 15, 6:23, 10:21, Deuteronomy 18:5) Because of this, the tribe of Levi has no inheritance of land with the other tribes. “…the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.” (v.9) (Numbers 18:20, 24, Deuteronomy 18:1-2, Ezekiel 44:28)
 
            Verses 12-22: This section is a summary of all that Moses has taught thus far in this second address to the people. He emphasizes once more the simple command from God: to love and fear Him and to observe and obey all of His commandments, statutes, judgments, and precepts found in His law. (v.12-13) (Deuteronomy 6:5, 24, Micah 6:8, Matthew 22:37, 1 Timothy 1:5) God is the creator of all things, from the highest of heavens to the earth itself and all that is in it. (v.14) (Genesis 1:1, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 68:33, 115:16) Because of this He is sovereign over all, and He chose Abraham to be the father of a great and chosen nation, a people set apart above all other nations and peoples of the earth. (v.15)
            Because God has chosen them to be His people, set apart for His special purpose, the Israelites are to “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart…” (v.16). Circumcision was an outward sign of the covenant between the people and the LORD their God, but Moses is emphasizing here that the condition of their hearts is more important. The people are to conform inwardly to God’s law by purifying their hearts and minds of all wickedness and cleaving to God alone. That also means they need to give up their pride and stubbornness and humble themselves always before God. (“…be no more stiffnecked.”) (Deuteronomy 9:6, 13) The reason for this is given in verse 17: “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and LORD of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible…”. (Deuteronomy 4:35, 39, 7:21, Isaiah 44:8, 46:9, Daniel 2:47, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Revelation 19:16) God is the only true God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is LORD, the Creator of all things, and He has absolute sovereignty over His creation. Moses has been stressing this point to the people to emphasize two things: 1) the power of God to protect them, provide for them, and bless them for their fealty, obedience, and worship of Him alone; and 2) His great and terrible wrath that will come upon them if they don’t obey and chase after other gods.
            This same principle is just as true for us today as it was for the Israelites back then. God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. We, as His creation, have neither any excuse nor any right to reject Him in any way, shape, or form. He is just, loving, merciful, and kind. But He is also holy, righteous, jealous, and vengeful against those who reject Him and His deity. Multiple times throughout Exodus, Leviticus, and now Deuteronomy, God makes it clear to Moses that He will not share His glory with any other, and those who persist in their pride and disobedience by worshiping false gods will suffer God’s wrath and judgment accordingly.
            Moses then concludes his point by stating that God, because of who He is, shows no partiality to anyone, nor does He accept bribes. (v.17) (Acts 10:34) He is a defender and protector of the widow and the orphan (v.18), a specific attribute that is mentioned often throughout scripture, especially in the OT. (Exodus 22:22, Psalm 68:5, 146:9, Proverbs 15:25) Because of this, God expects His chosen people to show that same consideration to the widows and orphans among them as well as those of the gentiles. (v.19) (Deuteronomy 14:29, 24:19-21, 26:12-13, Isaiah 1:17, Jeremiah 22:3, Zechariah 7:10, Malachi 3:5) Just as the Israelites were once themselves strangers in a foreign land, so should they always show love and kindness to the outsiders they meet.
            Because of all that God had done for the children of Israel, “…these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen…” (v.21), they are to “…fear the LORD thy God…” (v.20), serve Him only, cleave to Him, “…and swear by His name.” (Matthew 4:10) “He is thy praise, and He is thy God…”. (v.21) Only God in His awesome and infinite power could have taken a small family of only 70 people into Egypt and then multiplied them into a vast and mighty nation which now numbers “…as the stars of heaven for multitude.” (v.22)

CHAPTER 11:
           Verses 1-7: The children of that first generation that came out of Egypt had witnessed the mighty acts of God, from the ten plagues to the parting of the Red Sea to the destruction of Pharaoh and all his army. (v.3-4) They had also witnessed firsthand the various miracles performed by God in the way in which He provided for the Israelites during their journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai. (v.5) They had seen with their own eyes the judgment of the LORD upon those who had rebelled against Him, such as Korah and all his band. (v.6) And although Moses doesn’t mention it specifically here, we know also that this second generation had witnessed the judgments against those who had worshiped the golden calf as well as those who gave into the fear and doubt of the ten spies.
            Moses returns to his original point for this second address to the people. He’s speaking to the sons and daughters of that first generation, not their children who were not yet born when Israel came out of Egypt (v.2), nor the very few that remain of that first generation. (Caleb, Joshua, and Aaron’s son, Eleazar, for example.) It is this second generation that is on the threshold of the promised land, and Moses exhorts them once more to “…love the LORD thy God, and keep His charge, and His statutes, and His judgments, and His commandments, alway.” (v.1)
            Note that Moses emphasizes again in verse 2 that the judgment of the LORD for disobedience is His chastisement of those whom He loves, a point that was made earlier in chapter 8, verse 2. God’s anger against Israel is not arbitrary or capricious. He is not capable of such human failings. Rather, God’s wrath and judgment, like all His other attributes, are always purposeful and borne out of who He is, for He cannot be anything other than perfect.
 
            Verses 8-17: The word ‘therefore’ in verse 8 underscores the reason for Israel to continue obeying and observing all aspects of God’s law: not only because of all He has done for them up to this point, but also because of all that He will do after they conquer and settle the promised land. In contrast to Egypt, where the water of the Nile River had to channeled and diverted by man-made networks in order to properly irrigate their crops, the promised land would require no such effort. (v.10) It is always under “…the eyes of the LORD thy God…” (v.12), and He is the one who irrigates all the land with “…the rain of heaven.” (v.11) (Leviticus 26:4, Deuteronomy 28:12) This is crucial, for if the Israelites fail to obey God and keep all of His commandments, then He has the power to stop the rain which, in turn, will cause the crops to fail. (v.14, 17) The resulting lack of harvest will lead to starvation and early death. Moses states in verse 9 that obedience and worship of God will bring long life to the people, a point that he makes frequently throughout Deuteronomy. (Deuteronomy 4:40, 5:16, 33, 6:2, Proverbs 10:27) God’s power over the elements, such as rain, is one way that that promise will either be fulfilled or not.
 
            Verses 18-21: These verses, specifically 18-20, are almost word for word verses 7-9 of chapter 6. Much of Deuteronomy is repetition, and the point Moses is emphasizing again here is that the second generation needs to teach the law of God to their children. As he mentioned in verse 2, the third generation had not yet been born when Israel came out of Egypt, so they haven’t witnessed firsthand the mighty acts of God. Therefore, it’s up to the parents to instill in them a love of God and His law in order that the children will obey God and teach their children the same, and so on. Only in this way will the lives of this current generation and all their descendants be long and prosperous in the promised land. (v.21) (Psalm 72:5, 89:29, Proverbs 3:2, 4:10, 9:11)
 
            Verses 22-25: Once again, Moses repeats the promise that he has already spoken of in earlier chapters. Only by consistent, diligent obedience to God and loving and worshiping Him alone will the Israelites successfully conquer the promised land. And again Moses uses the word “cleave” in verse 22. It’s not enough for the Israelites to merely obey outwardly. Their hearts must also be right with God, holding fast to Him alone the same way that a drowning man will hold fast to the life preserver. In return, “…the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you…” (v.23), people who are much greater in number and mightier in strength than Israel. These God-given victories will instill a sense of fear and dread in all their enemies, allowing Israel to possess all of the land that God promised to Abraham. (v.24-25)
 
            Verses 26-32: The children of Israel have two choices: they can obey the LORD their God and receive blessings as a result, or they can disobey and receive a curse instead. (v.26-28) (Deuteronomy 28:15, 30:1, 15, 19) Such stipulations were common elements of the treaties of the ANE at this time, and this has been Moses’ central theme all along. The specific command in verse 29 refers to a ritual that is spelled out in detail in chapters 27-28. The plains of Moreh (v.30) refers to the place where Abraham first built an altar when he entered the land of Canaan. (Genesis 12:6-7) Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal represent the center of the Canaanite territory, about 30 miles north of where Jerusalem will eventually be built. Thus, Moses is predicting the fulfillment of God’s promise of victory over the enemies of Israel. (v.31) That covenant renewal ritual will serve as a reminder to the people of what will happen if they continue to serve and obey God or choose to disobey and rebel against Him.