The Lord Will Be with Israel

9 Listen, Israel. You will soon cross the Jordan River. You will go in to force out nations that are bigger and stronger than you. They have large cities with walls up to the sky. ² The people there are Anakites. They are strong and tall. You know about them. You have heard it said: “No one can stop the Anakites.” ³ But today remember that the Lord your God goes in before you. He will destroy them like a fire that burns things up. He will defeat them ahead of you. And you will force them out. You will destroy them quickly. It will happen just as the Lord has said.

⁴ The Lord your God will force those nations out ahead of you. After that, don’t say to yourself, “The Lord brought me here. I own this land because I am so good.” No! It is because these nations are evil. That is why the Lord will force them out ahead of you. ⁵ You are going in to own the land. But it is not because you are good and honest. It is because these nations are evil. That is why the Lord your God will force them out ahead of you. The Lord will keep his promise to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ⁶ The Lord your God is giving you this good land to own. But know this: It is not because you are good. You are a stubborn people.

Remember the Lord’s Anger

⁷ Remember this. Do not forget it. You made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You would not obey the Lord from the day you left Egypt until you arrived here. ⁸ At Mount Sinai you made the Lord angry. He was angry enough to destroy you. ⁹ I went up on the mountain to receive the stone tablets. The tablets were the agreement the Lord had made with you. I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water. ¹⁰ The Lord gave me two stone tablets. God had written on them with his own finger. On them were all the commands of the Lord. He gave them to you on the mountain out of the fire. This was on the day you were gathered there.

¹¹ Then the 40 days and 40 nights were over. And the Lord gave me the two stone tablets. Those tablets had the agreement on them. ¹² Then the Lord told me, “Get up. Go down quickly from here. The people you brought out from Egypt are ruining themselves. They have quickly turned away from what I commanded. They have made an idol for themselves.”

¹³ The Lord said to me, “I have watched these people. They are very stubborn! ¹⁴ Get away. I will destroy them. I will make the whole world forget who they are. Then I will make another nation from you. It will be bigger and stronger than they are.”

¹⁵ So I turned and came down the mountain. The mountain was burning with fire. And the two stone tablets with the agreement were in my hands. ¹⁶ When I looked, I saw you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made an idol in the shape of a calf. You had quickly turned away from what the Lord had told you to do. ¹⁷ So I took the two stone tablets and threw them down. I broke them into pieces right in front of you.

¹⁸ Then I again bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord. I did this for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water. You had sinned by doing what the Lord said was evil. You made him angry. ¹⁹ I was afraid of the Lord’s anger and rage. He was angry enough with you to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me again. ²⁰ And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. But then I prayed for Aaron, too. ²¹ I took that sinful calf idol you had made. And I burned it in the fire. I crushed it into a powder like dust. And I threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.

²² You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, Massah and Kibroth Hattaavah.

²³ Then the Lord sent you away from Kadesh Barnea. He said, “Go up and take the land I have given you.” But you would not obey the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him. ²⁴ You have refused to obey the Lord as long as I have known you.

²⁵ The Lord had said he would destroy you. So I threw myself down in front of him for those 40 days and 40 nights. ²⁶ I prayed to the Lord. I said, “Lord God, do not destroy your people. They are your own people. You freed them and brought them out of Egypt by your great power and strength. ²⁷ Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Don’t look at how stubborn these people are. Don’t look at their sin and evil. ²⁸ Otherwise, Egypt will say, ‘The Lord was not able to take his people into the land he promised them. He hated them. So he took them into the desert to kill them.’ ²⁹ But they are your people, Lord. They are your own people. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength.”