Deuteronomy is another one of my favorite books. There is just so much in its 34 chapters that speaks to the world in which we live. A couple of the highlights:
Not Because of Us (Deuteronomy 9:6)
Much of Deuteronomy consists of Moses listing the great things that God had either already done or would do for the people of Israel. The escape from Egypt, the years in the wilderness, the conquering of the Promised Land...and on and on and on. When hearing Moses list all of the great things God had done and was going to do for them, the temptation must have been fairly strong for them to think, "God must love us because we are so good." It must have been easy to start thinking that somehow they deserved all of God's goodness.
This is where Deuteronomy 9:6 comes into play: "You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not--you are a stubborn people."
Just in case the Israelites were tempted to think more of themselves than they should, God - through Moses - puts them in their place. All that had happened or will happen was because of God's grace, not because of any inherent goodness within the people of Israel. Moses even goes so far to point out that they are not inherently good, but inherently stubborn.
How often do we fall into the trap of thinking that we "deserve" God's blessing? Think about it for a minute. When was the last time God didn't answer one of your prayers the way you wanted? How did you react? Did you think - even for a moment - "But God, I've done all these good things, I deserved that blessing?" Be honest. I know that I have acted and thought that way, and still do on occasion.
Those kinds of thoughts are a trap. The fact remains that, no matter how "good" we are, we will never deserve the grace and kindness of God. We will never reach the point where we have earned God's mighty work on our behalf. The truth of the matter is that, as Moses says, "We are not good--we are a stubborn people."
Avoid at ALL Costs
One of the hardest things for many people to get past in Deuteronomy is the lack of mercy towards the inhabitants of the land(s) the Israelites were going to conquer. Indeed, the fact that God repeatedly tells the Israelites to annihilate entire peoples - men, women, children, livestock - is so unpalatable to some that they just ignore those verses and/or pretend that God "didn't really mean" it.
In context, though, those commands had a purpose. Reading through Deuteronomy, one can easily see a concern that the Israelites would be tempted and convinced to worship the gods of the peoples they were conquering (and history will show that this concern was well-founded). Multiple times in his speeches, Moses warns the people not to worship the gods of the natives. So great was the concern that the people were to take a no-holds-barred approach to the battles. If the peoples were totally wiped out, there would be no one left to tempt the Israelites to go astray into idolatry.
I do not mean to diminish the awful nature of those commands or to dismiss lightly the challenges they present to the (post)modern reader. However, if there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that idolatry is so dangerous that we should avoid it at all costs. Even today, we would be well advised to take a no-holds-barred approach to idolatry in our lives. For example, if one knows that television or internet has become an "idol" in one's life, one would be better off getting rid of the television and/or canceling the internet connection, rather than merely attempting to limit one's exposure.
Idolatry is a pervasive and insidious temptation. It must be avoided at all costs, and we must be aggressive in our efforts to stamp it out and prevent it in our lives with God.