Moses spoke to Israel, saying, "Listen, you are about to cross the Jordan and face nations stronger than you, people whose cities rise high with walls that seem to touch the sky. Among them are the Anakites, people known for their strength and great height. You've heard the saying, 'Who can stand against the Anakites?' But know this: the Lord your God goes before you like a consuming fire. He will destroy and bring them down before you, and you shall drive them out just as He promised.
But when this happens, do not say in your heart, 'The Lord gave us this land because we are righteous.' No—it is because of the wickedness of those nations that He drives them out before you. It is not your righteousness or integrity that brings you this land, but to fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand this: the Lord is not giving you this land because you are righteous, for you are a stubborn people.
Remember how you made the Lord angry in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until this moment, you have rebelled against Him. At Mount Horeb, you provoked the Lord's anger so fiercely that He was ready to destroy you. I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets—the covenant written by the finger of God—and I stayed there forty days and nights, without bread or water. When the forty days ended, the Lord gave me the two tablets.
Then He said, 'Go down quickly, for your people have become corrupt. They have turned away from My commands and made an idol for themselves.' The Lord said, 'I have seen this people, and they are indeed stiff-necked. Leave Me alone so I may destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. I will make you into a greater nation than they.'
I turned and came down the mountain, which burned with fire, carrying the tablets of the covenant in my hands. When I saw what you had done—how you made a golden calf and turned from the Lord's way—I threw the tablets down and broke them before your eyes. Then I fell before the Lord again for forty days and nights, eating no bread and drinking no water, because of all the sin you had done.
I was afraid of the Lord's anger, for He was ready to destroy you. But once again, the Lord listened to me. He was even angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but I prayed for Aaron as well. I took the calf you made, burned it with fire, ground it into dust, and threw the dust into the stream flowing down the mountain.
You made the Lord angry at Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah. And at Kadesh Barnea, when the Lord commanded you to take possession of the land, you refused to trust Him and rebelled again. You have been rebellious against the Lord since the day I first knew you.
So I lay before the Lord those forty days and nights, pleading, because He had said He would destroy you. I prayed, 'O Sovereign Lord, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You redeemed from Egypt by Your mighty hand. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not look upon the stubbornness or the sin of this people, lest Egypt say, "The Lord brought them out to kill them in the wilderness because He could not bring them into the land He promised." But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.'"