Thoughts on Deuteronomy 9

Today’s reading: Deuteronomy 9; Revelation 9

In Deuteronomy 9, Moses again warns the Israelites not to become haughty when they are settled and at peace in the land. In chapter 8 he warned them not to forget God and start to think that they had accomplished it all by their own power, but in chapter 9 he warns them, as they remember it is all from God, not to get haughty and think it was because of their righteousness that God gave it to them. As a case-study of just how much this is not the result of their own personal righteousness, Moses reminds them of the golden calf incident at Mount Sinai, and two things stood out to me as I was thinking about this: (1) The willingness a good spiritual leader should have to sacrifice for his or her people, and (2) the absolutely incredible fickleness of the human heart…

Sacrificial leadership

When Moses ascended the mountain, he went forty days without food or water before God gave him the tablets of the covenant. So as he is descending the mountain, he is already well past the natural ability of the human body to survive without food and water. This isn’t a mistake or an exaggeration on Moses’ part, but recognizes the supernatural power of the God he was dealing with to sustain him for those 40 days. That said, just because Moses was supernaturally sustained and didn’t die of thirst or starvation during that time does not mean he didn’t experience the deprivation. In fact, I think the reason he points it out as explicitly as he does is because he did feel the effects of that deprivation, even if God sustained him through it. 

But then, after Moses receives the tablets and descends the mountain, he finds the people reveling in idolatry, already having turned from Yahweh and His commands to them, and he falls to the ground before the Lord interceding on Israel’s behalf that God might not wipe them all out. And again, after having spent the last 40 days without food or water, Moses lays on the ground between the Lord and the people another 40 days without food or water, interceding for the people, and it is because of this intercession that God does not kill all the Israelites. But how difficult must that have been for Moses to endure?? 

Imagine the aching thirst and gnawing hunger on not having had food or drink for 80 days, as you lay there pleading with the Lord on behalf of a people who have fought you, rebelled against your leadership, and rebelled multiple times against the God you are interceding with, and yet you count it worth it to continue on… What would possibly make that worth it?? If Moses was looking for the favor, admiration, or appreciation of the people he was leading, this would not be worth it. If he was only in it as long as his leadership proved spiritually effective and they were drawn closer to God, he would have just been disappointed. So what made it worth it for Moses to endure all this on behalf of the people? The stewardship given to him from the Lord for them.

God called Moses to this position, and while Moses fought Him at the beginning, not wanting to take on the responsibility, when he agreed with God and went out to lead the people, he was not doing it for the people or for himself, but for the Lord. And when leadership is a calling from and in service to the Lord, then every effort and every sacrifice becomes a whole new kind of worth it.

Like Moses, a good spiritual leader should be willing to sacrifice before the Lord on behalf of his or her people, but not for the kudos or praise that comes with leading well, but rather for the love of the Lord who gave His Son for us and has called us to lead His people in response to all He has done for us. 

Fickle hearts

The second thing that this passage got me thinking about is just how incredibly fickle the human heart is. Jeremiah was right when he said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Think about that scene when Moses came down the mountain, and how awkward that must have been to be one of the rebellious people standing there. Here comes Moses, down from the presence of the Lord, and when he sees what is happening he smashes the tablets the Lord has given him and then prostrates himself, laying on the ground between you and the Lord, pleading with Yahweh for your life. You, and everyone else, are just standing there, waiting to see what is going to happen, as Moses prays to God for your life, and the minutes stretch into hours that start to get awkward. Your legs are getting tired of standing there, but it feels like it would be rude or impious to sit down or to leave, so you just keep standing there, making tenuous eye contact with other people feeling the same way as you. At some point you realize how hungry you are and you want to go eat, but Moses is still laying there begging God not to kill you… What do you do…?

Just imagine how awkward this would have been. Eventually people would have started peeling off to go back to their tents to eat and eventually sleep, but all the while they know Moses is only there because of their rebellion, he is asking God not to kill them, and he is fasting while he is praying for them. Life could never really go back to normal during that 40 days because the entire time Moses is there, publicly laying on the ground interceding for the lives of the rebels. Imagine the contrast this would have cut! The faithful Moses who was not part of this rebellion is the one sacrificing and praying for the rebels while they cautiously go about life, not exactly sure what to do or how long it is going to take before things are settled and Moses gets up.

My point though is that at the end of that 40 days, everybody in Israel has just watched Moses intercede for their lives for 40 days straight with no food and no water. Could there be any question of his intentions in leading this people? Could there be any question about his integrity or commitment to them? Which of the rest of the people of Israel would have been willing to fast for 40 days for their own life, let alone the life of another, and yet here was Moses doing it for the people. This absolutely had to have made an impression!

And yet… how many times do the people rebel after this? And not just their rebellions and disloyalties to God, but their rebellions against Moses. Think of Korah gathering 250 men to oppose Moses’ leadership. Or, maybe even worse, think of Moses’ own siblings, Miriam and Aaron, challenging his leadership of Israel.

Time and again Moses sacrifices on behalf of the people, but no matter how much his intentions should be confirmed by his actions and sacrifices, as soon as the people are uncomfortable or afraid, they immediately assume the worst and turn against Moses. It’s no wonder Moses spends so much time reminding the people of God’s goodness an warning them not to forget and turn away. 

We would do well to heed those same reminders and warnings today as well.