Previously, Moses told Israel of their failure to keep the Lord’s command to take possession of Canaan, Deuteronomy 1:21 / Deuteronomy 1:26.
We remember the first time Israel came to Canaan, they sent out 12 spies into the land, but the spies come back with a bad report, speaking about fortified cities and giants in the land, Numbers 13:25-33.
Here, Moses, tells Israel that they now know what to expect but they should also know that if they act in faith and trust God, they will take possession of the land because God has given the land into their hands, Deuteronomy 1:30 / John 15:5.
I guess we could ask, why God gave the land to Israel? Did God give Israel the land because they were so righteous? The answer is certainly not, Ezekiel 36:20-31, they had failed to carry out God’s will a few times and they were certainly guilty of sinning against Him.
Israel didn’t receive the Promised land from God because of their righteousness. God used Israel to drive the Canaanites out because they were wicked people and were heavily involved in idolatry. God gave Canaan to Israel because He had made this promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Genesis 12:1-3 / Galatians 3:16.
Their victory over these wicked Canaanites would stand as a warning to Israel and the surrounding nations, that when a nation gives up on God, God gives up on it, Genesis 15:16. If Israel ever gave up on God, they themselves would be driven from the land as they drove the Canaanites from the land.
Moses is now about to list all the times Israel had sinned against the Lord and notice that Israel are described as a ‘stiff-necked people’, 1 Corinthians 10:12.
Israel, the stiff-necked nation, rebelled against God’s will when they left Egypt, Exodus 32:7-29 / Exodus 34:1-4.
Just in case, Israel becomes arrogant in their upcoming conquests, they must remember how easy it was for their fathers to rebel at Mount Sinai, that is, Horeb, in making the golden calf, Exodus 32-33.
God, their Father, had redeemed them from Egypt and sustained them in the desert, but they were ungrateful and sinned against the Lord.
Moses had heard the noise but hadn’t seen anything while upon Sinai receiving the law written on tablets of stone but as He approaches the camp and sees the chaos and molten calf, he is horrified.
Here, Moses, reminds this current generation that God had clearly told Israel not to make or worship any graven images, but yet, these stiff-necked people did it anyway, Exodus 20:4 / Exodus 20:22-23 / Deuteronomy 4:12-16. They violated God’s law, which was sinful, 1 John 3:4.
Horrified at the sight of Israel’s sin, Moses throws the two tablets of stone on the ground, which results in them being broken to pieces before the people and then he falls on his face in mourning.
When Moses broke the tablets of stone because of the sin of the people, it was a symbol of breaking the covenant between God and Israel.
The ten commandments written on the stone tablets were the conditions for the covenant. The covenant was thus broken when the conditions were broken by the people who sinned by reverting to the false gods of Egypt, Exodus 32:19.
Moses became really frightened of the anger and displeasure of the Lord, seeing that the people had sinned by making the calf and so, Moses, the prophet of God, quickly takes the image, burns it with fire, grinds it into small pieces as fine as dust, and throws the dust into the brook.
Because God was going to destroy His people, Moses’ only hope to save Israel and Aaron, Exodus 32, was to pray to God and ask Him not to do so.
Because Israel sinned at Mount Sinai, God was willing to start a new nation from the seed of Moses, however, this plea to Moses by the people to intercede for Israel was answered by Moses as he pled for their forgiveness.
Moses’ intercession focused on an appeal to God’s love and mercy, and His faithfulness to keep His promise to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3.
If His promise weren’t kept, the Egyptians would mock the supposed ‘false god’ of the Israelites who led them into the wilderness to die. We must remember that God was willing to carry out His threat.
After leaving Sinai, Israel sinned again at Taberah, when they complained against the Lord about the hardship they were going through, Numbers 11:1-3.
They also sinned at Massah when they became thirsty, it was there, they put the Lord to the test, they wondered if God was amongst them or not, Exodus 17:7.
Rather than praying to God about it, they complained and blamed God for their misery. When they were about to stone Moses to death, God intervened and gave them water from a rock, Exodus 17:1-7.
Israel also sinned at Kibroth Hattaavah when they weren’t happy just eating manna, they wanted some meat to eat, Numbers 11:4. God satisfied their ungratefulness by causing a great multitude of quail to fly into the camp, Numbers 11:18-20.
Israel begin gathering the meat, cooking, and eating it, but while the meat was chewed in their mouths, God killed many with a great plague and the people were buried at Kibroth Hattaavah, which means ‘graves of cravings’, Numbers 11:33-34.
Israel also sinned at Kadesh-Barnea, when they refused to take possession of the land of Canaan as the Lord had commanded, Numbers 13:25-14:1-45.
It was after this sin, that the Lord had determined to wipe Israel from the face of the earth because of their wicked and rebellious behaviour.
We can almost feel how disappointed God was when He says, ‘you have been rebellious against the LORD ever since I have known you.’ John 16:9 / Hebrews 3:1-4:10.
Oberst, in his commentary, points out the following descriptions concerning Israel.
1. Stiff-necked, Deuteronomy 9:6 / Deuteronomy 9:13
2. Rebellious, Deuteronomy 9:7 / Deuteronomy 9:23-24
3. Corrupted themselves, Deuteronomy 9:12
4. Provoked Jehovah to wrath, Deuteronomy 9:7-8 / Deuteronomy 9:22
5. Believed not God, Deuteronomy 9:23
6. ‘Sinned’ and ‘were evil,’ Deuteronomy 9:18
7. Quickly turned aside, Deuteronomy 9:12
It’s then that Moses falls down before the Lord God and prays for forty days and forty nights on behalf of the people.
He calls upon the Lord to remember the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He may make Israel a great nation, give them a land to dwell in and bless all nations through the seed of Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3. God heard Moses’ prayer and accepted it, Numbers 14:20-24.
Once again, we’re reminded in this chapter, that God’s blessings are conditional upon being obedient to Him and His word. We’re reminded that God will keep His promises and more importantly we begin to understand the patience, 2 Peter 3:9, and love of God with sinful people, 1 John 4:7-11.