Righteousness is being right

 Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don’t know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it “really” means.. Let’s see where this takes us!

I’m reading Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version.

Deuteronomy 9

The LORD tells the Israelites that they’ll “dispossess nations larger and mightier than you,” not because the Israelites are righteous or “deserve” the land, but because those nations are wicked:

5 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to occupy their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is dispossessing them before you.

This reminds me of Genesis 15:6: “And he [Abraham] believed the Lord; and the LORD] reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

In much of the chapter, the LORD reminds the Israelites that, time and again, they weren’t righteous. Meaning, that they didn’t believe the LORD.

We often associate “righteous” with virtuous or morally disciplined. But at the root of it is faith. To believe in the LORD is correct, that is, “right,” and righteousness and the uprightness of your heart” follows from right belief.

This chapter recounted that the Israelites had been rebellious instead of righteous, so much so that Moses had to persuade the LORD to refrain from wiping them out.

Nevertheless, I’m getting the idea that the Israelites, for all their wrongs, weren’t as wicked as the Canaanite nations the LORD wanted them to displace.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)