This small group Deuteronomy 9 Bible study guide contains commentary, discussion questions, cross-references, and application to encourage life change. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Deuteronomy 9 Bible Study Commentary And Questions – Be Humble!
Outline
I. Not because of your righteousness (1-12)
II. Moses intercedes for the people (13-29)
I. Not because of your righteousness (1-12)
Discussion Questions
• What is the key theme of this chapter?
• What words or phrases do you see repeated in this passage?
• Why did God choose the nation of Israel to go in and drive these people out?
• Why did God emphasize to them that it was not because of their righteousness?
• Summarize what the Lord wanted to teach them here in one sentence.
• What were the people of the land like (2)?
• How is God like a consuming fire (3)?
• How does this passage apply to believers today?
• Did God choose you? When? Why?
• Why is it also important for us to remember that God did not choose us because of our righteousness?
• Why was it important for them to remember their own sins (7-12)?
• Should we remember or forget our past sins?
Cross-References
Romans 7:18 – For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Ephesians 2:1-3 – And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Hebrews 12:28-29 – Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Dispossessing a people greater than you – The purpose of this section of Moses’ discourse is to remind the people to be humble. They were not stronger or more numerous than the people they were about to go up against. Victory was from the Lord.
Israel was not a war machine like Rome or Persia. They didn’t have chariots like Egypt or a military genius like Alexander the Great. What they had, a relationship with God, was infinitely better.
Psalms 20:7 – Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Application – We should remember that victory comes from the Lord. He is described in verse 3 as a “consuming fire.” Do not give yourself credit for your success. Deflect it to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:57 – But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our hope is in Him. Our thanks should go to Him.
2. The sons of the Anakim – The Bible records several groups of giants including the Emim, Rephaim, Nephilim (Genesis 6:4) and Anakim.
Deuteronomy 2:10-11 – The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim. Like the Anakim they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
Genesis 14:5-6 – In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness.
Some specific giants mentioned in the Bible include Goliath (1 Samuel 17) and Og, King of Bashan.
Deuteronomy 3:11 – For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.
One of the reasons the people of Israel were afraid to go into the land was that some of the residents were of great stature. The sons of Anak apparently were infamous at that point in history as there was a common idiom that the people had heard about them, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?” These were evidently great warriors.
No matter how great they were, God was greater still.
For more on giants in the Bible, you can see this article from Answers in Genesis: https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/giants-in-the-bible/
3. The nations were driven out because of their wickedness – God drove out the Canaanites not because of Israel’s righteousness but because of the Canaanites’ sin. Their culture was rotten. Their religion was one of if not the worst in history. Child sacrifice, bestiality, and cult prostitution were all practiced.
Leviticus 18:26-28 – But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
The prior residents of the land were so evil that the land “vomited” them out. The Lord would go on to warn the Jews not to copy them or they too would face the same consequences.
At times in history, God has stepped in to eradicate certain peoples or cultures which were so evil that they would spread like contagion. These events illustrate His justice and hatred of sin. At the same time, it is His grace which keeps these evils from infecting the rest of the world.
4. Be humble – This entire chapter could be summarized with, “Be humble.” God warns them repeatedly not to become prideful. They should not think they were chosen because of their righteousness.
The reminder that it was not their righteousness that brought them favor with God is given three times (verses 4, 5, and 6).
Pride is one of the deadly sins. It is human nature to become puffed up and give ourselves credit when things go well. Israel received many blessings from God. He supernaturally delivered them from Egypt. They witnessed miracles. God gave them His law. Their prophet leader had direct contact with the Lord.
These privileges were a great blessing. But they also came with a downside. Their status as God’s chosen people was a temptation to pride and self-righteousness.
Moses went on to remind them that God made promises to their ancestors long before they were born. How could these promises be due to their righteousness if they were not born yet? Moses would also mention specific examples of past sins to keep them from getting a big head.
Israel was not chosen because of their righteousness and neither are we. Believers were chosen by God before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), long before they could do anything good or bad.
Other verses make it clear that our salvation is not due to our works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Titus 3:5 – He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Reflect – How might religious pride manifest itself in our lives today?
Application – Be humble. It can be easy to become self-righteous. Judgmental attitudes often sneak into the church. Remember that your salvation is due to God’s grace. You are not better than others. We must be careful not to be like this Pharisee.
Luke 18:11-12 – The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
To be humble, we need to continually remind ourselves of God’s grace. We should not just meditate on it in the general sense but also consider how He has shown us grace in specific situations in our lives.
5. Remember how you provoked the Lord your God –
Deuteronomy 9:7 – Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.
Here Moses begins to walk them through their history, focusing on past sins. His goal is to encourage them to be humble. As they review their history, it should be abundantly clear that they were not chosen by God because of their own righteousness.
Reflect – Is it healthy to review past sins? Should we review past sins?
In most areas of life, there is a balance. Constantly reliving past mistakes can keep a person from moving on. Satan often uses this method of temptation. If he can get us reliving the past, then we are no good in the present. Those past sins can be shackles that prevent us from serving God in the here and now.
Paul warns against this.
Philippians 3:13-14 – Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
It is not only past sins that can prevent us from living fully for God now, but also past successes. Remembering our past victories can cause us to become complacent and lazy. A person may say, “I shared the gospel ten times last week, so I don’t need to today.”
At the same time, we should learn from the past. Most people have the tendency to forget past shortcomings and remember successes. Thus our past selves are often better in our memories than in reality.
Moses specifically brought up the past because this was a turning point for the nation of Israel.
Winston Churchill – “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
A review of their past should help them to have more gratitude toward God for His mercy, more humility, and a desire to avoid similar disobedience in the future.
Application – Do you focus on your past too little, too much, or just the right amount? What is just the right amount?
II. Moses intercedes for the people (13-29)
Discussion Questions
• What is the key theme in verses 13-29?
• Did God really intend to destroy the people (14)?
• Why did He make this threat?
• Why do you think the people made the golden calf?
• What did this reveal about human nature?
• How did Moses react?
• What did Moses frequently do on behalf of the people?
• What can we learn from him about leadership?
• What can we learn from him about interceding?
• Was Moses’ reaction to the golden calf (21) too extreme? Why or why not?
• What can we learn about how we should react to sin today?
• Why does Moses so thoroughly recount the nation’s past sins?
• What argument does Moses make in his prayer in verses 27-29?
• What motivated his prayers? Why is this important?
Cross-References
Numbers 14:11-19 – These verses are an account of Moses int