Deuteronomy 9:4-29 (focus verse 29) (NIV)
They are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.
On this border of conquest, Moses rehearsed the harsh realities. This was not the time to soft-pedal the truth of what they all had lived through on that hard journey through the wilderness. Reality is our friend. The human heart defaults toward rebellion, murmuring, discouragement, unbelief, and disregard for God’s faithfulness. But these were the people God chose to represent Him to the world, through whom the Messiah would be born, through whom salvation would come to humanity. They were called, they were His, and His power alone had sustained them. Moses reviewed their failures in order to leave no uncertainty whatsoever in their minds that they had no valid reason for attributing their coming successes to their own merit. It seems that prosperity may present the greater danger for people (rather than poverty) because that is when we tend to embrace the pride of life. Never forget Who brought you out of your “wilderness journey” and into your “promised land.”