Moses reminds Israel of their rebellion against God on the journey from Egypt to the land they are about to possess in Canaan. God makes sure that Israel is aware that they are not defeating and entering the land of Canaan due to anything that they have done. They are entering the land based on a promise that was made to Abraham. The people, the land and all things in it were destroyed because of the wickedness of the people who inhibited the land.
9:3-5 “But understand that today the Lord your God will cross over ahead of you as a consuming fire, he will devastate and subdue them before you. When the Lord you 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. Instead, the Lord will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness. You are not going to take possession of their land because of you righteousness or your integrity.”
9:6-8 “Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God in the wilderness. You have been rebelling against the Lord from the day you left the land of Egypt until you reached this place. You provoked the Lord at Horeb, and he was angry enough with you to destroy you..”
Moses then described how when he went up the mountain to meet with God to hear about and receive the 10 commandments, Israel built a calf to worship, which infuriated God. Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days without any food or water. God wanted to destroy Israel for what they had done, but Moses interceded, praying on behalf of Israel.
9:25-29 “I fell down in the presence of the Lord forty days and forty nights because the Lord had threatened to destroy you. I prayed to the Lord: ‘Lord God, do not annihilate your people, your inheritance, whom you redeemed through your greatness and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Disregard this people’s stubborness, and their wickedness and sin. Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, ‘Because the Lord wasn’t able to bring them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.’ But they are your people, your inheritance, whom you brought out by your great power and outstretched arm.'”
I know that I have done several things in my life that made God angry with me – and yet, I can still feel him with me, guiding me – and I am so grateful for that! I talk about Karma sometimes, about how I feel I have been wronged by someone and something bad ends up happening to them. That’s Karma, I think. I now realize that it’s not God doing anything on my behalf. I don’t deserve it. I am very grateful that God has allowed me to experience my own land filled with milk and honey; however, I know that it is not because of anything I have done. It is because of his Grace, and I’m very grateful for that!
When things seem out of control in my life, or I am challenged by others, instead of accumulating anger and frustration inside my mind and body and hanging onto those feelings for an extended period of time, I have begun to pray for the situation I’m challenged by and for others who I feel wronged by. At first, this was hard to comprehend. Why would I pray for someone who I feel has done me wrong? Over time, this has brought about peace in my mind and heart and has allowed me to see the experiences, people or situations in a much different light, leading to reactions based out of love and not anger.
Today, let me not only enjoy all the beauty that’s around me and all the good that comes my way, but also be aware that all the wonderful things that I experience is not based on anything I have done, but is God’s grace being shown before me. Keep prayer front of mind when I encounter challenging situations and people. Let me keep my focus on God and not the world that exists around me.