Deuteronomy 9:5

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) Not for thy righteousness . . . dost thou go.—The pronoun is emphatic. There is no reason why thou of all others shouldest be thus honoured.

Benson Commentary

Deuteronomy 9:5. Not for thy righteousness — Neither for thy upright heart nor holy life, the two things which God, above all others, regards. Here, therefore, all merit in them is excluded: and they are given to know that, although the Canaanites were expelled for their national wickedness, they were not settled in their room for their righteousness. And surely they, who did not deserve this earthly Canaan, could not merit the kingdom of glory. To perform the word — To show my faithfulness in accomplishing that promise which I graciously made and confirmed with my oath.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

9:1-6 Moses represents the strength of the enemies they were now to encounter. This was to drive them to God, and engage their hope in him. He assures them of victory, by the presence of God with them. He cautions them not to have the least thought of their own righteousness, as if that procured this favour at God's hand. In Christ we have both righteousness and strength; in Him we must glory, not in ourselves, nor in any sufficiency of our own. It is for the wickedness of these nations that God drives them out. All whom God rejects, are rejected for their own wickedness; but none whom he accepts are accepted for their own righteousness. Thus boasting is for ever done away: see Eph 2:9,11,12.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

So shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly - This is not inconsistent with Deuteronomy 7:22, in which instant annihilation is not to be expected for the reasons assigned. Here Moses urges the people to trust in God's covenanted aid; since He would then make no delay in so destroying the nations attacked by them as to put them into enjoyment of the promises, and in doing so as fast as was for the well-being of Israel itself.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4-6. Speak not thou in thine heart, … saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land—Moses takes special care to guard his countrymen against the vanity of supposing that their own merits had procured them the distinguished privilege. The Canaanites were a hopelessly corrupt race, and deserved extermination; but history relates many remarkable instances in which God punished corrupt and guilty nations by the instrumentality of other people as bad as themselves. It was not for the sake of the Israelites, but for His own sake, for the promise made to their pious ancestors, and in furtherance of high and comprehensive purposes of good to the world, that God was about to give them a grant of Canaan.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Neither for thy upright heart, nor holy life, which are the two things which God above all things regards, 1 Chronicles 29:17 Psalm 15:1,2; and consequently he excludes all merit. And surely they who did not deserve this earthly Canaan, could not merit the kingdom of glory. That he may perform the word which he sware; to show my faithfulness in accomplishing that promise which I graciously made and confirmed with my oath. By which words it is implied, that this land was not given to them for the righteousness of their fathers, though they were righteous and holy persons, and much less for their own righteousness, which they had not, as it follows.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart,.... Neither for their external righteousness before men, or their outward conformity to the law, nor for the inward sincerity of their hearts, and their upright intentions in doing good, in which they were defective:

dost thou go to possess their land; this is repeated, and enlarged on, and explained, that this notion might be entirely removed from them, and not entertained by them; similar to which is that of men, who fancy that their sincere obedience, though imperfect, will be accepted of God instead of a perfect one, on account of which they shall be justified and saved; but by the deeds of the law no flesh living can be justified in the sight of God, nor by any works of righteousness done by the best of men, and in the best manner they are capable of, will any be saved:

but for the wickedness of those nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee; which is repeated, that it might be taken notice of as the true reason of the Lord's dealing with them in such severity; and which because it would be now doing, when the Israelites passed over Jordan, and went in to possess the land, it is expressed in the present tense, "doth drive", the work being not yet finished; sin was the cause of their ejection out of their land, and another thing was the reason of the Israelites possessing it, and not their righteousness next expressed:

and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; it was to fulfil his covenant, and make good his word of promise to their fathers, and not on account of any righteousness of theirs; and the salvation of the Lord's people in a spiritual sense, and their enjoyment of the heavenly Canaan, are owing to the gracious purposes and promises of God, and to his covenant engagements, as well as to the undertakings, obedience, and righteousness of his Son, and not to any righteousness of theirs.

Geneva Study Bible

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. dost thou go in to possess] Characteristic of the Sg. passages.

the wickedness of these nations] wickedness the direct opposite of righteousness; in disputes as to justice the wicked is the man who is in the wrong (Deuteronomy 25:1; Exodus 2:13 (J), Deuteronomy 23:1; Deuteronomy 23:7 (E), see note; Isaiah 5:23); so wickedness in Deuteronomy 25:2. Both adj. and noun are largely used especially in later writings of all in opposition to Jehovah and His people; but the terms also cover a wider ethical range, Ezekiel 18:27; Ezekiel 33:19, etc. Here, therefore, the wickedness of these, nations will primarily mean their refusal to acknowledge the true God, but implicitly the immorality and ethical uncleanness of their rites: to which recent excavations at Gezer and elsewhere bear testimony. See what is said on abomination Deuteronomy 7:25 : here it is clearer that more than ritual unrighteousness is intended.

thy God] Sam. and LXX B omit.

establish the word, etc.] See on Deuteronomy 8:18 : establish the covenant, etc. It is true that the people must fulfil their side of the covenant by obedience to its laws without which they shall not receive these material blessings in the land; but God made the covenant out of His own free will, Deuteronomy 7:7, and will keep it because of His faithfulness, Deuteronomy 7:9, and not because of any merit of the people.

which the Lord sware] Sam. and LXX B etc.: which he sware.

Deuteronomy 9:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When therefore Jehovah thrust out these nations before them (הדף, as in Deuteronomy 6:19), the Israelites were not to say within themselves, "By (for, on account of) my righteousness Jehovah hath brought me (led me hither) to possess this land." The following word, וּברשׁעת, is adversative: "but because of the wickedness of these nations," etc. - To impress this truth deeply upon the people, Moses repeats the thought once more in Deuteronomy 9:5. At the same time he mentions, in addition to righteousness, straightness or uprightness of heart, to indicate briefly that outward works do not constitute true righteousness, but that an upright state of heart is indispensable, and then enters more fully into the positive reasons. The wickedness of the Canaanites was no doubt a sufficient reason for destroying them, but not for giving their land to the people of Israel, since they could lay no claim to it on account of their own righteousness. The reason for giving Canaan to the Israelites was simply the promise of God, the word which the Lord had spoken to the patriarchs on oath (cf. Deuteronomy 7:8), and therefore nothing but the free grace of God, - not any merit on the part of the Israelites who were then living, for they were a people "of a hard neck," i.e., a stubborn, untractable generation. With these words, which the Lord Himself had applied to Israel in Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3, Exodus 33:5, Moses prepares the way for passing to the reasons for his warning against self-righteous pride, namely, the grievous sins of the Israelites against the Lord.