Deu 9:7-16 | KingComments | STEP | The history of the golden calf should remind them that they were not chosen because of their righteousness. They must remember how the LORD was for them during the journey ( ). He didn't make it difficult for them, but He was busy with them to finally do them good. In Deuteronomy 8 the failure of the people is not remembered. At the same time, as is said here, they must remember that they provoked the LORD to wrath ( ). They have shown, in different forms time after time, what is in them, even after forty years of wilderness experiences.

‏ Deuteronomy 9:7-16

Israel Provoked the LORD to Wrath

The history of the golden calf should remind them that they were not chosen because of their righteousness. They must remember how the LORD was for them during the journey (Deu 8:2). He didn't make it difficult for them, but He was busy with them to finally do them good. In Deuteronomy 8 the failure of the people is not remembered. At the same time, as is said here, they must remember that they provoked the LORD to wrath (Deu 9:9). They have shown, in different forms time after time, what is in them, even after forty years of wilderness experiences.

Receiving the Law by Moses

Moses reminds the people how he was on the mountain with the LORD and received from His hand the law of the covenant.

The LORD Wanted to Destroy Israel

While Moses is on the mountain with the LORD, the LORD sees how the people have made a golden calf (Exo 32:1-5). He talks about how they were “quick” to deviate. That is man.

He says to Moses that they are a stubborn people and asks Moses permission, as it were, to destroy them. His proposal then is to make Moses a great people. Here we see how the people deserved the judgment. This should make them all the more grateful that they are now about to enter the land that God has given them as a gift. They deserve to be destroyed rather than blessed with a gift.

The Two Tablets Smashed

When Moses saw the sin of the people, he smashed the two tablets of the law in pieces before their eyes. The people witnessed it for themselves. The smashing of the tablets into pieces expresses the fact that the people have smashed their relationship with the LORD. Moses seals that by smashing the tablets to pieces.