Warning against Self-Righteousness

“Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and drive out nations greater and stronger than you,(A) with large cities fortified to the heavens.(B) The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim.(C) You know about them and you have heard it said about them, ‘Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?’ (D) But understand that today the Lord your God will cross over ahead of you(E) as a consuming fire;(F) he will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly,(G) as the Lord has told you. When the Lord your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’(H) Instead, the Lord will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness.(I) You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfill the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land(J) to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.(K)

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When the Lord Fulfills His Promise

“Listen, Israel! Today you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and dispossess greater and mightier nations than you, who live in[a] large cities that are fortified to the sky. The Anakim[b] are strong and tall, and you know them. You’ve heard it said, ‘Who can stand up against the Anakim?’[c] But know today that the Lord your God is going ahead of you as a consuming fire. He will destroy and subdue them before you. He will dispossess and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord told you. After the Lord has expelled them before you, you are not to say to yourselves, ‘The Lord caused me to enter and possess this land because of my righteousness.’ On the contrary, it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you to confirm what the Lord promised by an oath to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Know that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving to you this good land to inherit, since you are a stubborn people.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 9:1 The Heb. lacks who live in
  2. Deuteronomy 9:2 Or giants; cf. Num 13:22, 33
  3. Deuteronomy 9:2 Or giants; cf. Num 13:22, 33