Deuteronomy 9:1 - Meaning and Application

The call to attention, “Hear, O Israel” (Deuteronomy 9:1), shows that this was a new message, given some time after the earlier one, likely on the next Sabbath day.

Moses first reminds the people how strong the nations were that they were about to face. The peoples they would drive out were stronger than Israel, not an untrained crowd that could be easily defeated. If Israel besieged their cities, they would find strong defenses. If they met them in battle, they would face people who were large and powerful, the kind others said no one could stand against (Deuteronomy 9:2).

This sounds much like what the evil spies had said before (Numbers 13:28, Numbers 13:33), but the purpose was very different. The spies used that report to turn the people away from God and crush their trust in him. Moses uses the same kind of warning to lead them toward God and strengthen their hope in him. Since no power less than God’s own power could keep them safe and give them success, they needed to trust him fully.

He then assures them of victory through God’s presence, even though the enemy is strong (Deuteronomy 9:3). They must understand where success will come from and where to look for help. It is the Lord their God who goes before them, not only as their leader and commander, but as a consuming fire that brings judgment on their enemies. He will destroy them, and then Israel will drive them out. But Israel cannot drive them out unless God first brings them down, and God will not bring them down unless Israel honestly does its part.

So they must do their duty while depending on God’s grace, and they will receive that grace as they keep on doing their duty.

Moses also warns them not to imagine that their own righteousness had earned them this favor from God. They must not say, “It is because I am righteous that the Lord brought me in to possess this land” (Deuteronomy 9:4). They must not think it was because of their good character, their right conduct, or any good quality in themselves (Deuteronomy 9:5). He repeats this because people are quick to think well of their own merit, and it is very important to correct that thought (Deuteronomy 9:6). They must understand, believe, and keep in mind that the Lord is giving them the land, not rewarding their righteousness. If entrance depended on that, they would have been shut out forever, because they were a stiff-necked people, stubborn and unwilling to yield.

The same is true of our gaining the heavenly Canaan, the promised rest of God’s people. We must not credit our own strength or our own merit. It is God’s power that brings us in, and God’s grace that gives us the gift. In Christ we have both righteousness, meaning right standing before God, and strength. So in him alone we must boast, not in ourselves or in any ability we claim to have.

Moses then explains the real reason God would take the good land from the Canaanites and give it to Israel. The reason is tied to God’s own honor, not Israel’s deserving. First, God would be honored in destroying idolaters, people who worship false gods and oppose him. He justly treats them as his enemies and punishes their wickedness. That is why he drives them out, and Scripture says this again and again (Deuteronomy 9:4, Deuteronomy 9:5). All whom God rejects are rejected because of their own wickedness. None of those whom he accepts are accepted because they deserve it.

Second, God would be honored by keeping his promise to those who belong to his covenant. He had sworn to the patriarchs, the first fathers of Israel, men who loved him and left everything to follow him, that he would give this land to their descendants. So he would keep that promise of mercy to thousands of those who love him and keep his commandments. He would not let his word fail. Israel was loved because of their fathers, not because of their own worth (Romans 11:28). In this way, boasting is ruled out forever (Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 1:11).