Not Because of Us

Deuteronomy 9:4–5 (ESV) “Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. 5 Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Israel is a blessing to our lives in many ways we do not understand. One of the ways is how Israel serves as a real life parable for the nations that God, not us, is the faithful One who keeps His PROMISES. Thankfully, He does not depend upon our actions to do what He said He would do. 

Israel would be taught by Moses that God is acting in response to the wickedness of the nations in Canaan. The grace of God had given them time to repent and seek Him to no avail. Even Rahab is given salvation when she places her trust in the God of Israel. Sadly, she is the only one. God would give their land to Israel NOT because of Israel's righteousness but the nation's wickedness. 

This passage teaches us about our salvation. Our salvation is NEVER dependent upon our righteousness. We do not get to heaven because we deserve it. We do not enter into eternal life with God because we are good. We get to heaven because God is good to us and has given His Son as a sign of His goodness toward us. Some day the world will come to the judgment of God. Only those who accept His gracious offer by faith in HIS promise and not their works will receive mercy.

The rest of Deuteronomy 9 unpacks the sad history of Israel since the time of their slavery.
Deuteronomy 9:7 (ESV) Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.

God reiterates through Moses that all along the way He was faithful to them while they were rebellious and proud toward Him. They were slaves and they doubted. They were freed and they doubted. They were delivered permanently from Egypt and then started complaining. They were promised victory in the land and refused to enter. They roamed through the wilderness and sought after the gods of the other nations and complained about Moses and God repeatedly. YET God was faithful to keep them as a Nation to this day. His promise, not their actions was the means of their salvation. 

It reminds modern day Christians of this important fact: The ONLY THING we contribute to our salvation is our sin. Christ takes that sin upon Himself and imputes a righteousness into us so that we get what He deserved and He got what we deserved. 

One of the passages in the Bible we get wrong continually has to be Matthew 6:33. It says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

We like to misquote that passage in our heads. We like to think it says, "Seek the kingdom of God and BE MORE righteous." It does not. It calls us to seek a righteousness we cannot create within us but must receive from Him. When we seek His righteousness we are confessing our righteousness is never good enough.

Israel teaches us that God, not us, is the one who saves because He, not us, is good and gracious. So we can embrace life expecting good things because of God's grace and not our works. We do not have to get on the treadmill of performance with God. We trust the promise of God.

Amen.