# Deuteronomy 09 š: Remembering the Golden Calf
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#š Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#š Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#š§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#āļø Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#š Key Principles / š Life Application]]
> [[#š¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#āļø Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#š Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#š Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#š Internal Notes]]
## š Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Theological Justification of the Conquest
[[#Verse 01.]]Ā Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications.
[[#Verse 02.]]Ā They include the Anakites,Ā a numerousĀ and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, āWho is able to resist the Anakites?āĀ
[[#Verse 03.]]Ā Understand today that theĀ LordĀ your God who goes before you is a devouring fire; he will defeat and subdue them before you. You will dispossess and destroy them quickly just as heĀ has told you.Ā
[[#Verse 04.]]Ā Do not think to yourself after theĀ LordĀ your God has driven them out before you, āBecause of my own righteousness theĀ Lord has brought me here to possess this land.ā It is because of the wickedness of these nations that theĀ LordĀ is driving them out ahead of you.Ā
[[#Verse 05.]]Ā It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness,Ā that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations, theĀ LordĀ your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise heĀ made on oath to your ancestors,Ā to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.Ā
[[#Verse 06.]] Understand, therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession, for you are a stubborn people!
### The History of Israelās Stubbornness
[[#Verse 07.]]Ā Rememberādonāt ever forgetāhow you provoked theĀ LordĀ your God in the wilderness; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him.Ā
[[#Verse 08.]]Ā At Horeb you provoked him and he was angry enough with you to destroy you.Ā
[[#Verse 09.]]Ā When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that theĀ LordĀ made with you, I remained thereĀ forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing.Ā
[[#Verse 10.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very fingerĀ of God, and on them was everythingĀ he said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly.Ā
[[#Verse 11.]]Ā Now at the end of the forty days and nights theĀ Lord presented me with the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.Ā
[[#Verse 12.]]Ā And he said to me, āGet up, go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image.āĀ
[[#Verse 13.]]Ā Moreover, he said to me, āI have taken note of these people; they are a stubbornĀ lot!Ā
[[#Verse 14.]]Ā Stand asideĀ and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory,Ā and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are.ā
[[#Verse 15.]]Ā So I turned and went down the mountain while itĀ was blazing with fire; the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.Ā
[[#Verse 16.]]Ā When I looked, you had indeed sinned against theĀ LordĀ your God and had cast for yourselves a metal calf;Ā you had quickly turned aside from the way heĀ had commanded you!Ā
[[#Verse 17.]]Ā I grabbed the two tablets, threw them down,Ā and shattered them before your very eyes.Ā
[[#Verse 18.]]Ā Then I again fell down before theĀ LordĀ for forty days and nights; I ate and drank nothing because of all the sin you had committed, doing such evil before theĀ LordĀ as to enrage him.Ā
[[#Verse 19.]]Ā For I was terrified at theĀ Lordās intense angerĀ that threatened to destroy you. But he listened to me this time as well.Ā
[[#Verse 20.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ was also angry enough at Aaron to kill him, but at that time I prayed for himĀ too.Ā
[[#Verse 21.]]Ā As for your sinful thingĀ that you had made, the calf, I took it, melted it down,Ā ground it up until it was as fine as dust, and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.Ā
[[#Verse 22.]]Ā Moreover, you continued to provoke theĀ LordĀ at Taberah,Ā Massah,Ā and Kibroth Hattaavah.Ā
[[#Verse 23.]]Ā And when heĀ sent you from Kadesh Barnea and told you, āGo up and possess the land I have given you,ā you rebelled against theĀ LordĀ your GodĀ and would neither believe nor obey him.Ā
[[#Verse 24.]]Ā You have been rebelling against himĀ from the very first day I knew you!
### Mosesā Plea on Behalf of Godās Reputation
[[#Verse 25.]]Ā I lay flat on the ground before theĀ LordĀ for forty days and nights,Ā for hehad said he would destroy you.
[[#Verse 26.]]Ā I prayed to him:Ā O, SovereignĀ Lord,Ā do not destroy your people, your valued propertyĀ that you have powerfully redeemed,Ā whom you brought out of Egypt by your strength.Ā
[[#Verse 27.]]Ā Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; ignore the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of these people.Ā
[[#Verse 28.]]Ā Otherwise the people of the land from which you brought us will say, āTheĀ LordĀ was unable to bring them to the land he promised them, and because of his hatred for them he has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.āĀ
[[#Verse 29.]]Ā They are your people, your valued property,Ā whom you brought out with great strength and power.
## š Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
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###### Verse 05.
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###### Verse 10.
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###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
## š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The saying "Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?" (9:2) appears to have been a proverb.
2. God is described as a consuming fire who goes before Israel (9:3).
3. Paul echoes the phrase "do not say in your heart" (9:4) in Romans 10:6.
4. "Stiff-necked" (9:6, 13) pictures an ox refusing to bend its neck to the yoke.
5. Moses fasted forty days and nights without bread or water (9:9, 18).
6. Only Deuteronomy tells us that Moses also prayed specifically for Aaron after the golden calf (9:20).
7. Moses ground the calf into dust and threw it into the stream that came down from the mountain (9:21).
8. Taberah means "burning" and Kibroth Hattaavah means "graves of craving" (9:22; Numbers 11:3, 34).
9. Moses appeals to God's reputation among the nations, not Israel's merit (9:28).
10. The golden calf episode is told in full in Exodus 32.
## š§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## āļø Christ in This Chapter
Christ is our righteousness and our Intercessor. Israel received the land not because of their own righteousness (9:5-6), and we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) through Jesus, who always lives to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25).
## š Key Principles / š Life Application
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š¬ Discussion Questions
1. Moses warns Israel not to think they received the land because of their own goodness (9:4-6). Why is spiritual pride so dangerous?
2. Moses lay before the Lord forty days praying for the people (9:18, 25). What does his example teach about intercession?
3. Moses appeals to God's reputation and promises when he prays (9:26-29). How can God's promises shape the way we pray?
## āļø Key Verses to Remember
- š verses 5-6: Israel receives the land not because of their righteousness, but because of God's promise.
- š verse 7: Remember how you provoked the Lord in the wilderness.
- š verse 26: Moses prays for God's people, whom He redeemed by His greatness.
## š Related Passages/Cross Reference
- š [[Exodus 32#Verse 01.|Exodus 32:1-14]] - The golden calf and Moses' intercession.
- š [[Titus 03#Verse 05.|Titus 3:5]] - He saved us, not by our righteous works.
- š [[Ephesians 02#Verse 08.|Ephesians 2:8-9]] - Saved by grace through faith.
- š [[Hebrews 07#Verse 25.|Hebrews 7:25]] - Jesus always lives to intercede for us.
- š [[Romans 10#Verse 06.|Romans 10:6-8]] - Do not say in your heart.
## š Devotional Reflection
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š Internal Notes