We will be concluding our study of Chapter 9 today. Throughout most of this chapter we found Moses recounting the golden calf incident and the Lord's anger over it and Moses' intercessory work of prayer on behalf of Israel. The remainder of the chapter deals with other times when the congregation stirred up the wrath of God, times when Moses prayed for His mercy upon them.
The point of these remembrances is so no one will say, once they have attained the promised land, "The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." (Deuteronomy 9:4) The Israelites obtained the promised land because the Lord chose to give it to them, not because they had earned it by righteous acts. In the same way, none of us can claim we have earned salvation, for none of us can perfectly keep the commandments and laws of God. As the prophet Isaiah said, even at our very best when we are working hard to do good deeds, "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
In comparison to the Lord's indescribably holy deeds, how do our puny human deeds measure up? Lest we start patting ourselves on the back, thinking we're doing an awesome job that causes the Lord to owe us something, Isaiah essentially says, "You've blinded yourselves to the truth. You look into the mirror and think your feeble human works that you've done in your own strength have caused the Lord to owe you something. You think you can earn salvation even though you can't live a perfectly holy life. If you could see yourself with spiritual eyes you'd realize you're dressed in torn, filthy, smelly clothes. Then you'd be humbled by realizing that anything the Lord blesses you with is because of His own goodness and righteousness."
Jesus said something similar about trying to obtain salvation by works instead of by faith. He pointed out that a servant who does everything his master commands is only doing what he ought to be doing. The servant is not earning himself anything extra when he performs the duties he's commanded to perform. The master isn't obligated to heap blessings and treasures upon a servant who is only doing what he's supposed to be doing. "Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" (Luke 17:9-10)
In other words, even if we could perfectly keep all the Lord's laws and commandments, we'd only be doing our duty. The Lord wouldn't be obligated to load us down with extras. A servant who only does what he's commanded to do and never goes above and beyond that will have his work assessed as satisfactory but there's no reason for his master to heap riches and praise upon him. So how do we go above and beyond? By faith, for, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) Salvation is by faith and it has always been by faith. Abraham was credited with righteousness because of his faith. (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3) We too obtain righteousness by faith, "Not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:9) Good works will naturally follow salvation, but good works are not how we obtain salvation. Salvation is by faith and faith is the only way we can please God.
Moses tells the Israelites not to boast of good works because their deeds (like yours and mine) have not always been godly. Their deeds were sometimes ungodly deeds that angered the Lord. "You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah." (Deuteronomy 9:22) These were places where grumbling and complaints against the Lord occurred, places where the people accused the Lord of not having their best interests at heart, places where they fell into doubt about the goodness of God.
"And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, He said, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.' But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust Him or obey Him. You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you." (Deuteronomy 9:23-24) Trust and obedience come from faith and, as we've already seen, without faith it is impossible to please God. Even if the people had done all they were asked to do, if they were simply going through the motions instead of obeying the Lord because they believed in Him and trusted Him and loved Him, they still could not boast they had earned earthly rewards or salvation from Him. But they did not do all that He asked them to do, and neither have you and I, so we need faith to obtain salvation.
Faith bridges the gap. Faith makes up for our inability to live perfect lives because faith says, "I'm trusting the Lord to do for me what I cannot do for myself. Faith drives me to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy. Faith pleases the Lord and faith is what causes Him to credit me with righteousness, just as He credited Abraham with righteousness because of his faith. Without faith my works are useless, like filthy rags. But with faith my imperfect works become acceptable in the eyes of a holy God. I cannot perfectly keep the Lord's laws even though I want to, but if I have faith He extends grace to me. He covers me with His righteousness so that I am no longer dressed in the disgusting robes of sin but am dressed in the clean robes of a child of God."
Moses recounts how he interceded for the people when they refused to go up and take the land the first time God commanded them to do so. "I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights because the Lord had said He would destroy you. I prayed to the Lord and said, 'Sovereign Lord, do not destroy Your people, Your own inheritance that You redeemed by Your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin. Otherwise, the country from which You brought us will say, 'Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land He had promised them, and because He hated them, He brought them out and put them to death in the wilderness.' But they are Your people, Your inheritance that you brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm." (Deuteronomy 9:25-29) Not only were lives at stake, but the great and honorable reputation of the Lord was at stake. If the Lord did not preserve Israel and take her into the promised land then the heathen nations would laugh at Israel and at her God and claim the Lord lacked the power to do what He promised. Moses wanted Israel preserved and He wanted the name of the Lord to be lifted up and glorified, so in his intercessory prayer he spoke of how both these things would be accomplished by the Lord's mercy upon the nation. Moses had the faith his fellow citizens lacked at that time and he prayed on their behalf. He admitted they had sinned against the Lord; he didn't try to gloss over their sin or try to justify it. He simply asked, in faith, for the Lord to forgive them.
Faith is what brings us to the Lord for forgiveness. Faith is what credits us with a righteousness we could never obtain on our own. And faith is what causes the Lord to hear our prayers, so don't ever give up praying for that lost loved one who is living in sin far away from God. The Lord forgave the sin of an entire nation because of Moses' prayers. Can He not also bring our lost loved ones to salvation because of our prayers? No matter how long you and I have been praying for someone to come to the Lord, we must not become discouraged. If anything, we need to double down on our prayers. Sometimes it seems like the person we're praying for is falling into more grievous sins all the time, but that can be an indication that in the back of their minds they are feeling conviction over their sin. It can be an indication that they feel enormous guilt over their sin but that they're trying as hard as they can to keep from surrendering their hearts and souls to a holy God. A person who mocks God and tries to run from Him will often say later on, after they've been saved, that they ran so hard from God because they didn't want to acknowledge their sin and were resisting making anyone the Lord of their lives other than themselves.
Keep praying. Just as Moses pointed out that if the Lord preserved the Israelites He was both saving their lives and glorifying His name, if the Lord brings our loved one to salvation He is both saving their souls and glorifying His name. The Lord wants people to be saved. The Lord wants His name to be honored so more souls will be drawn to Him. The Lord wants us to come to Him in faith and pray for those who don't know Him as Lord and Savior. We can rest assured that we are doing something that is right in the Lord's eyes when we pray for those who need to come to Him for salvation.
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