申命記9:1-6

9:1 「以色列啊，你當聽！你今日要過約旦河，進去趕出比你強大的國民，得著廣大堅固、高得頂天的城邑。
9:2 那民是亞衲族的人，又大又高，是你所知道的；也曾聽見有人指著他們說：『誰能在亞衲族人面前站立得住呢？』
9:3 你今日當知道，耶和華─你的上帝在你前面過去，如同烈火，要滅絕他們，將他們制伏在你面前。這樣，你就要照耶和華所說的趕出他們，使他們速速滅亡。
9:4 「耶和華─你的上帝將這些國民從你面前攆出以後，你心裡不可說：『耶和華將我領進來得這地是因我的義。』其實，耶和華將他們從你面前趕出去是因他們的惡。
9:5 你進去得他們的地，並不是因你的義，也不是因你心裡正直，乃是因這些國民的惡，耶和華─你的上帝將他們從你面前趕出去，又因耶和華要堅定他向你列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓所應許的話。
9:6 「你當知道，耶和華─你上帝將這美地賜你為業，並不是因你的義；你本是硬著頸項的百姓。

 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. ¹⁶ He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷ You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

¹⁹ If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. ²⁰ Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

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    摩西帶領以色列人出埃及和在曠野四十年，深深認識以色列人的真正情形，所以勇敢的對他們說：「你當知道，耶和華─你上帝將這美地賜你為業，並不是因你的義；你本是硬著頸項的百姓。」

    摩西也在此明說：「耶和華─你的上帝將這些國民從你面前攆出以後，你心裡不可說：『耶和華將我領進來得這地是因我的義。』其實，耶和華將他們從你面前趕出去是因他們的惡。你進去得他們的地，並不是因你的義，也不是因你心裡正直，乃是因這些國民的惡，耶和華─你的上帝將他們從你面前趕出去，又因耶和華要堅定他向你列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓所應許的話。」

    可見上帝對待以色列人這麼好，讓他們可以得迦南地為業，是出於祂的恩典的應許，不是以色列人人本身夠上帝所要求的標準！正如我們今日可以蒙恩得救，不是因我們優秀夠資格，反倒是因為耶穌基督的緣故，上帝接納我們為兒女！

    因此，我們要為此感謝上帝，因為照人的想法人生的盡頭是死亡，但是我們再基督裡有復活與永生的確據，生命的盡頭不是死亡，死亡之後還有復活、還有永生，這是上帝在基督耶穌裡的應許，正如上帝因著「他向你列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓所應許的話」，使以色列人以迦南地為業！