Bible Commentaries
Deuteronomy 9

Verses 1-29

Warning against stubbornness (9:1-10:11)

Moses warned the Israelites not to boast about their coming victories. The conquest of Canaan was by God’s power, not theirs. It was because of the wickedness of the Canaanites, not because of any goodness in the Israelites (9:1-5).

Israel, in fact, was a stubborn people, who deserved none of God’s good gifts. Moses reminded them of their rebellion at Sinai, how they promised to obey God’s law, but broke it before it was even written down (6-21; see notes on Exodus 32:1-35). There were other occasions when they rebelled against God’s commands (22-24; see Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 11:1-3,Numbers 11:31-34; Numbers 14:1-12), but the rebellion at Sinai was a defiance of the freshly made covenant. Only Moses’ prayers saved the nation from being wiped out (25-29; see Exodus 32:7-14).

God in his grace renewed the covenant (10:1-5; see Exodus 34:1-35). He showed his forgiveness of Aaron by allowing his son to be high priest after him (6-7; see Numbers 20:22-29), rewarded the Levites for opposing idolatry at the time of the golden calf (8-9; see Exodus 32:25-29), and forgave the people, allowing them to journey on to the land he had promised them (10-11; see Exodus 34:1-11).