Year 7, Day 160: Deuteronomy 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Reading through Deuteronomy presents us with a reminder of the unrighteousness of the Hebrew people.  We hear again about the Golden Calf.  We hear again about the rebellion when the people did not believe that they could take the land.  We see the Hebrew people for what they are.  They are a people who are quick to fall away and slow to believe.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have my days like that, too.  There are days when I am absolutely quick to lose faith.  There are days when I am blind to what God is doing in the world around me.  The massage that this chapter has for me is that even in those days, God does not abandon me.  He may not particularly be happy with me, but He does not abandon me.  That’s great news.

The other aspect of this chapter that I think is important to remember is why the Hebrew people are being given the Promised Land.  Moses is very blunt here.  They were not chosen by God because they were a righteous people or even a special people.  They were chosen because God needed someone to replace the Canaanites.  The Hebrew people are taking the Promised Land because the Canaanites were so evil!

So often we hear phrases like “The Chosen People” and get it in our head that the Hebrew people were a special and a unique people.  They are special because God makes them special.  But they are not inherently special in who they are.  They were normal, rebellious people just like the rest of humanity.  God took these normal, rebellious people and made them special.

The good news is that God can do the same with us.  We are all normal, rebellious people, too.  God can make us special.  God can come, He can dwell with us as He dwelled with the Hebrew people, and make us special through His presence.  That’s what he offers to us.

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