Deuteronomy 9

< Back to Deuteronomy Index

TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Why Did God Bring Israel into the Land?

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The Lord brought Israel into the Land because of the wickedness of the Canaanites.

  2. The Lord brought Israel into the Land because of the intercession of Moses.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Watch out for religious pride.

QUESTIONS

  1. What is hyperbole? Where do we see one in Deuteronomy 9?

  2. What is anthropomorphism?

  3. How does Genesis 15:16 relate to this passage?

  4. How long did Moses spend on Mount Sinai?

  5. Review the three-fold basis for Moses’ prayer of intercession in verses 26-29.

ANSWERS

  1. Hyperbole is an acceptable figure of speech where you purposely exaggerate in order to get your point across. We see hyperbole in verse 1 which says that the cities of Canaan were great cities fortified up to heaven.

  2. Anthropomorphism is another figure of speech by which a human-like feature or characteristic is attributed to God. “Written with the finger of God” is anthropomorphism (verse 10).

  3. In Genesis 15 God said to Abraham that his descendants would be in Egypt for 400 years because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete. Now was the time for the ax to fall as Israel conquered the Land.

  4. Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai when he received the Law from the Lord. He then came down from the mountain and smashed the tablets of the Law during the sorrowful golden calf event. After this he returned to the mountain for another 40 days and nights to intercede before the Lord.

  5. 1. He reminded the Lord that He would be destroying His own inheritance – the very people that He redeemed out of Egypt by His great power.
    2. He prayed on the basis of God’s promises to the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
    3. He reminded the Lord that the Egyptians would conclude that God didn’t have enough power to finish the job of bringing the people into the Promised Land or that He had only brought them out of Egypt because He hated them and wanted to destroy them. God listened to the prayers of Moses.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. The Lord did not bring Israel into the Land as a reward for their good behavior. In fact, they were a stubborn and rebellious people. Can you think of a time the Lord was gracious to you when you had done nothing to deserve it?

  2. Only by the mercy of God, in response to the intercession of Moses, were Aaron and the nation spared there at Mount Sinai as well as at other times of rebellion throughout the 40 years of wilderness wanderings. Read James 5:16. Whether or not we see the affect of our prayers in this lifetime, we can be assured they do make a difference.

CHALLENGE

  1. Christians can exhibit religious pride and think that God owes them a blessing or that any blessing they receive they deserve and is God’s stamp of approval on their life and lifestyle. Watch out for religious pride.

KEY VERSES

  • “Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin.” Deuteronomy 9:27

Deuteronomy, Old Testament, TalksRon ReidDEUTERONOMY 9