HOW WOULD THE PEOPLE BE JUSTIFIED? In the last chapter, the prophet Moses concentrated on the confirmation that the blessings which the people enjoy, are not the fruit of their own righteousness, but are a free gift from God, who desires to enter with them into a covenant. He brings them into a wilderness, to let them realize the wilderness of the inner nature, and gives them Moses as a leader, to proclaim that He cares for them. He is faithful to His promises, despite their unfaithfulness. In the present chapter he made it clear that God sets His covenant with His people to pour His abundant blessings, not for the sake of man’s own righteousness (1-6), but for the sake of God’s faithfulness in His promises, by which He presented the Law to His people, while they worshipped the golden calf (7-21). The prophet Moses did not stand negatively before such great crime, but interceded on behalf of the people of God, reminding them of the divine promises (22-29). It is to be noticed that parading the events of Horeb in Chapters 9:7–10:11, with all the details concerning their time and place, demonstrates the extent of the deep impact of those events on Moses’ mind, something that constitute a definite and indisputable proof of Moses’ authorship of this book. 1. God is the Leader of the battle 1–3. 2. The conquest is not because of their own righteousness 4. 3. The defeat of the nations is because of their wickedness 4–5. 4. God’s faithfulness in His promises to their fathers 5–6. 5. A rebellious people since the beginning 7. 6. A people worshipping the calf while the Law was being delivered 8– 15. 7. The prophet Moses’ anger, and breaking the two tablets of the covenant 16–19. 8. The high priest took part in their transgression 20. 9. Acceptance of crushing the golden calf instead of crushing them 21. 10. A continuous series of murmur and rebellion 22–24. 11. The prophet Moses intercedes on their behalf 25–29. 1. GOD IS THE LEADER OF THE BATTLE: “Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven; a people great and tall, the descendants of Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it is said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’ Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you” (Deut. 9:1-3). Some believe that saying, “Hear, O Israel,” means that it is a new sermon presented by Moses, probably on the Sabbath following the previous sermon1. Thirty-eight years before that, they were close to the Promised Land, yet the time was not full for entering into it, because of the nature of rebellion that prevailed upon their hearts. Now, on the tenth month of the fortieth year of the journey, the command was issued: “You are to cross over the Jordan today.” And on the first day 1 Matthew Henry Commentary. 7 of the new year, they crossed over to the Promised Land, and during that same month, the prophet Moses died. The words uttered by the prophet Moses in this sermon, might be similar to those uttered by the spies who were sent into Canaan (Numbers 13:28, 33). But there is a great difference between the spirit with which Moses uttered his words, to proclaim God’s faithfulness in the realization of His promises to His people; to go over before them as a consuming fire, to destroy all opponents; and that of the spies that destroys faith and deprives souls of hope in enjoying the divine promises. He confirms that Israel confronts nations and peoples of greater number, might, and experience in war, and not like the primitive, simple, and undisciplined peoples that were dwelling in America and Australia. However, God Himself is the Leader, and His divine presence is the secret of conquest. It is fitting for the people to strive and to fight, depending on the divine promise, “as the Lord has said to you” (3). The Conquest that the people enjoy is a divine gift, and not because of human capability. According to human logic, this people would not be able to conquer and possess, yet the conquest is a gift presented by the God of the impossible, the wonder-Giver. He brings us into Baptism (the Jordan), to reign together with Him (Revelation 5:10); destroying every power of the enemy (the descendants of Anak). The source of power is “God, who goes over before you, is a consuming fire” (3). If the darts of the enemy are fiery (Ephesians 6:16), the Lord will be a wall of fire all around you (Zechariah 2:5), to destroy all those darts before reaching you. 2. THE CONQUEST IS NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS: The prophet Moses warns them against pride and haughtiness; the conquest is not because of their righteousness, but because of God’s faithfulness. “Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land” (Deut 9:4). If we refer the conquest to God, He would glorify and crown us, whereas if we refer it to our self-righteousness, He would withdraw His free grace, deprive us of the conquest, and we would come to be in shame and disgrace. On account of human nature, they are “a stiff-necked people” (6), but on account of the divine promise, and the covenant between God and man, to fulfill the word, which He swore to their fathers (5), they will reign and possess. Let us hold fast to the divine promise, which will transform the stiffness of our hearts into the righteousness of Christ. 3. THE DEFEAT OF THE NATIONS IS BECAUSE OF THEIR WICKEDNESS: If, because of the riches of God’s mercies, He grants His believers strength and conquest; the destruction and perdition of the wicked is a natural fruit of their evil and corruption. God is not unjust. “It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you” (Deut. 9:4, 5). God is glorified in His believers by His free gifts; and is glorified in the wicked, who persist on their evil and rebellion, by their destruction. Those rejected by the Lord are worthy of rejection, whereas those whom He receives, are not received because of their self-righteousness, but because of His exalted free mercies. God, in His love for man, confirms that what befall the wicked nations, is not 8 out of God’s practicing His authority, but because of their wickedness. In this, he presents a lesson to His people, that, although He granted them the land free, for the sake of the riches of His grace, and not because of any righteousness in them, yet, if they go on doing evil, they would get the same portion of the nations before them. Their evil would drive them out as well. We should not marvel, that God – in the fullness of time – has cut off the natural branches, namely, the Jews, because of their denial of faith in the Savior Messiah; and has connected the wild branches, to bring on the fruit of the Spirit, yet with the spirit of humility and not of haughtiness over the cut-off branches. 4. GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN HIS PROMISES TO THEIR FATHERS “That He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Therefore 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” (Deut. 9:5, 6). He swore to their fathers who loved Him; and gave inheritance to their children, not on account of their self-righteousness, but of God’s faithfulness. Choosing Eleazar, the son of Aaron, as a high priest, hints to the forgiveness of Aaron’s sin, and a proof of the continuation of the high priesthood. 5. A REBELLIOUS PEOPLE SINCE THE BEGINNING “Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord” (Deut 9:7). After confirming that it was not because of their self-righteousness, but because of God’s faithfulness to His promises, that He is giving them the inheritance, He made it clear to them that they did not practice righteousness, but were full of murmur and rebellion from the day they departed from the land of Egypt; and remained as such all along their journey in the wilderness. They practiced their nature of rebellion from the beginning until the end of their journey. Here, the prophet Moses records his bitter experience with his people, whom he called “stiff-necked” (6), always bearing the spirit of opposition against the Lord. 6. A PEOPLE WHO WORSHIPPED THE CALF WHILE THE LAWWAS BEING DELIVERED: We have already dealt with this topic of setting the golden calf, in our study of the book of Exodus, chapter 32. And we quoted the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian, saying: [The prophet Moses was taken away from them for a while, in order to reveal the golden calf, to worship in public; what they have been worshipping secretly in their hearts1.] What grieved the heart of Moses, was that, while God was talking to Moses, presenting to him His Law, in which He strictly warns against idolatry, when Moses was fasting forty days and forty nights, not eating bread and not drinking water, and the mountain of Horeb was smoking with fire. During those most sacred moments, the people were going astray from the truth; and in stubbornness and stiffness of neck, were making for themselves a golden, calf to worship it. At the same location where they were given the Law, and during the same 1 Hom. 2, On Our Lord 1:17. 9 moments they got it, while their eyes were beholding the mountain burning with fire, they broke it. “And in Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry enough with you to have destroyed you” (Deut. 9:8). Moses expressed how their sin was so horrible, that God intended to destroy them, at the same moments He intended to present to them His love and mercy. “When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, I neither ate bread nor drank water. Then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words, which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And it came to pass, at the end of the forty days and forty nights, that the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly; they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image. Furthermore the Lord spoke to me, saying, I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people. Let Me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make you a nation mightier and greater than they. So I turned down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands” (Deut. 9:9-15). Moses was living through the most glorified moments of his life, having been on the top of the mountain enjoying the vision of the shadow of the glory of God, and receiving the Law, that God wrote on two tablets, with His divine finger, while the whole mountain trembled and was filled with smoke and mist. While getting down, he expected to see the entire congregation; men, women, children, and elders, preoccupied with nothing but receiving the Law, he expected to see their eyes fixed upon the summit of the mountain, forgetting their food, drink, and sleep, amid that great glory. But his soul got completely shattered; when he realized that, instead of the divine fire, they sought from the high priest to build a fire in which they cast their golden jewelry, to make for them a molded calf, to become their god. The gold, which God allowed them to take from the Egyptians, to make up for the years of their humiliation and bondage, they offered to idol worship, to provoke God their Savior. They abused the gift of God. It was fitting for those golden earrings He allowed them to take, to be used by their women and girls, and not by their sons. Aaron said to them: “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me” (Exodus 32:2). That corruption led them to idolatry; and the blessings became for them a curse, according to the words of the prophet: “I will curse your blessings; Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take them to heart” (Malachi 2:2). The solid stony mountain burned with fire to proclaim the divine presence, whereas the hearts of God’s people turned into stone, to build a human fire to mould an idol according to their corrupt hearts. “The assembly” (10): It came as “Ecclesia,” meaning “a church, or a congregation,” which was quoted by St. Stephens in his final speech (Acts 7:38). The word means assembling together in a certain place. 10 7. THE PROPHET MOSES’ ANGER, AND BREAKING THE TWO TABLETS OF THE COVENANT “And I looked, and there, you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way, which the Lord had commanded you. Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. And I fell before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights, I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was angry with you, to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me at that time also” (Deut. 9:16-19). As though he was saying to them: What righteousness you are going to boast when you enter the Promised Land, and what worthiness? You have caused me to lose my consciousness, when I saw what I did not expect. We read that the Law was written by the finger of God; and was given through Moses, His faithful servant. Many believe that the finger of God is His Holy Spirit1. St. Augustine The prophet Moses broke the two stone tablets before the eyes of the people to proclaim to them that they had broken the Law, and came to be under the curse of rebellion. Now, the Lord Christ has come to present, not two tablets of stone, but His fiery Holy Spirit, to engrave the new covenant over the heart, in the inner depths. And as the Evangelist says: “The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). While God was giving Moses the two tablets of the covenant; and while Moses was fasting for the sake of the people’s sins (18), and the mountain was burning with fire (15), namely, while God, His prophet, and the nature, were all working on account of the people, the people were sinfully forcing Aaron to make for them a golden calf. Moses was passing through the happiest moments of his life, while being in the presence of the Lord, receiving on behalf of the whole people, and even on behalf of humanity, the Law of God. In that most awesome atmosphere, he stood fasting, not eating any bread, and not drinking any water, for forty days and forty nights; in complete seclusion from the entire world, on the mountain burning with fire, before the Creator of heaven and earth, while He was writing the Law with His divine finger, on two tablets of stone. Moses, looking forward to go down to present to the people, the two tablets, as a covenant between God and man, to find out that that covenant was broken, unexpectedly quickly, threw the two tablet out of his hands, and broke them; to proclaim to the people that they had broken the covenant through provoking God to anger. Moses showed his great terror, not because of his encounter with the Lord in the middle of the fire, but for he realized the extent of God’s wrath, and His intention to destroy the people completely. Then he fasted again, forty days and forty nights, and supplicated to God on behalf of his people, and God again, listened to him. Therefore, where is that righteousness they are boasting?! 1 St. Augustine: On Ps. 8. 11 8. THE HIGH PRIEST TAKES PART IN THEIR TRANSGRESSION The high priest shared their sin by molding the golden calf for the people to worship. It was fitting for him, he who used to put on his forehead a golden plate, on which was written: ‘Holy to the Lord,’ to resist the transgression of the people, but, instead of sanctifying them, to lift up God’s wrath from them, he himself, fell under the divine wrath. “And the Lord was very angry with Aaron, and would have destroyed him” (Deut. 9:20). When the prophet Moses spoke of God’s anger with the people, he did not say, “The Lord was very angry,” but said it when speaking of God’s anger with the high priest. God has no partiality. The more one knows, the more severe would be his punishment when he does wrong. Because the shepherd’s transgression is more serious than that of his flock; God tends to punish him more severely. Great is the honor of the clergy; Yet, if they err, their perdition is greater. God does not save the priest because of his honor, but if he acts as is fitting to his honor1. St. Jerome I fear that when I receive my flock in a good condition; and then, out of my incompetence, I cause them to go astray; I would provoke the Lord to anger. He who, because He so loved that flock, He delivered Himself for the sake of their salvation and redemption2. The laic, if he errs, he would be easily corrected; whereas the cleric, if he errs, he would be difficult to Correct3. St. John Chrysostom The high priest, instead of interceding on behalf of the people, he came to be in need of someone to intercede on his behalf. “So I prayed for Aaron also at the same time” (Deut. 9:20). Who can utter such words but Moses, as, even Aaron did not keep the commandment concerning refraining from idolatry! 9. THE LORD MERCIFULLY ACCEPTS CRUSHING THE GOLDEN CALF INSTEAD OF CRUSHING THE SINFUL PEOPLE The people were worthy of being crushed because of their terrible sin, location - and time - wise. But the Lord mercifully accepted burning the golden calf with fire, crushing and grinding it to dust, and throwing the dust into the brook, instead of doing the same to the sinful people. Because the people came to be like the image of the idol, which they worshipped; the Lord accepted crushing the image, and forgiving them. “Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust, and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain” (Deut. 9:21). 10. A CONTINUOUS SERIES OF MURMUR AND REBELLION 1 The Author: The Pastoral Love, Alexandria 1965, p. 147 (in Arabic). 2 The Author: The Pastoral Love, Alexandria 1965, p. 160 (in Arabic). 3 The Author: The Pastoral Love, Alexandria 1965, p. 164 (in Arabic). 12 The people started murmuring even before they departed from the land of Egypt; and continued to do that in the wilderness, to reach the maximum in Horeb, at the time Moses was receiving the Law. Although Moses fasted and interceded on their behalf, yet their nature did not change, their life turned into a consistent series of murmur and rebellion; as for example: “Also at Taberah and Massah and Kibroth Hattaaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath. Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Bernea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice. (Deut. 9:22-24) You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you” (Deut. 9:22-24; and see also Number 13; and 32:8). 11. MOSES INTERCEDES FOR THEM “Thus I prostrated myself before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the Lord had said He would destroy you. Therefore I prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘O Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness; whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin. Lest the land from which You brought us should say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness. Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm’” (Deut. 9:25-29). The situation was very serious. Moses prostrated himself before the Lord to pray day and night for his people. Some believe that he fasted for the second time, when the Lord rewrote the Law on two tablets of stone, while others believe that it was that same forty days period. Moses prayed to the Lord, reminding Him of His promises to their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and asking Him not to look at their stubbornness, their transgressions, and their sins; but to remember that they are His people for whom He did miracles to save. Adam Clark states that God often grants many blessings to persons who are relatively unworthy; either for the sake of their pious ancestors; or for that of some others who are related to them. That is why uniting with the church of God is a great blessing. Moses did not justify himself; but in love he fasted and prayed; seeking from God to have mercy, for the sake of His covenant with their blessed ancestors. 13 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY (Chapter 9) WHO WILL INTERCEDE FOR ME: I AM A REBEL? How can I be justified before You, O, exalted One? With my consistent murmur? I have this character in common with Your ancient people! They murmured while departing from the land of Egypt! Instead of glorifying You, O Grantor of the conquest. They persisted on murmuring even in the best situations! The mountain was still burning with fire for their sake! And Moses was carrying the two tablets of stone with the Law written by Your finger! Heaven and nature; and even the stones, testify to Your love! Despite that, they broke Your covenant, before receiving the two tablets of stone. Aaron, the great high priest came to be in need of someone to intercede for him. Who will save me from my sins but You, o maker of wonders! They replaced You by a golden calf; You who moved all nature on their account! Instead of holiness, they practiced abominations to provoke You to anger. Who will renew my mind, heart, and will, but You?! My soul is bitter within me. With my corruption, I often refer Your blessings to my self-righteousness. You are alone the secret of every true blessing’ You are the Grantor of holiness and the Giver of blessings.
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