Warning against Self-Righteousness
1 “Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go and drive out nations greater and stronger than you,with large cities fortified to the heavens.
2 The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim.You know about them and you have heard it said about them, ‘Who can stand up to the sons of Anak? ’
3 But understand that today theLordyour God will cross over ahead of youas a consuming fire;He will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly,as theLordhas told you.
4 When theLordyour God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘TheLordbrought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’Instead, theLordwill drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.
5 You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, theLordyour God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6 Understand that theLordyour God is not giving you this good landto possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.
Israel’s Rebellion and Moses’ Intercession
7 “Rememberand do not forget how you provoked theLordyour God in the wilderness. You have been rebelling against theLordfrom the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place.
8 You provoked theLordat Horeb, and He was angry enough with you to destroy you.
9 When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenanttheLordmade with you, I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water.
10 On the day of the assembly theLordgave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by God’s finger.The exact words were on them, which theLordspoke to you from the fire on the mountain.
11 TheLordgave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant, at the end of the 40 days and 40 nights.
12 “TheLordsaid to me, ‘Get up and go down immediately from here. For your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned from the way that I commanded them; they have made a cast image for themselves.’
13 TheLordalso said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, they are a stiff-necked people.
14 Leave Me alone, and I will destroy them and blot out their name under heaven.Then I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.’
15 “So I went back down the mountain, while it was blazing with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.
16 I saw how you had sinned against theLordyour God; you had made a calf image for yourselves. You had quickly turned from the way theLordhad commanded for you.
17 So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands, shattering them before your eyes.
18 Then I fell down like the first time in the presence of theLordfor 40 days and 40 nights; I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you committed, doing what was evil in theLord’s sight and provoking Him to anger.
19 I was afraid of the fierce anger theLordhad directed against you,because He was about to destroy you. But again theLordlistened to me on that occasion.
20 TheLordwas angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. But I prayed for Aaron at that time also.
21 I took the sinful calf you had made, burned it up, and crushed it, thoroughly grinding it to powder as fine as dust. Then I threw it into the stream that came down from the mountain.
22 “You continued to provoke theLordat Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah.
23 When theLordsent you from Kadesh-barnea, He said, ‘Go up and possess the land I have given you’; you rebelled against the command of theLordyour God. You did not believe or obey Him.
24 You have been rebelling against theLordever since I haveknown you.
25 “I fell down in the presence of theLord40 days and 40 nights because theLordhad threatened to destroy you.
26 I prayed to theLord:
LordGod, do not annihilate Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemedthrough Your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.
27 Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people’s stubbornness, and their wickedness and sin.
28 Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, ‘Because theLordwasn’t able to bring them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’
29 But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/DEU/9-126b129ae0b235a1da9f479ac30e088a.mp3?version_id=72—