Deuteronomy 9:1-6

Moses explained the reasons God was giving Canaan to the Israelites. In addition to God’s promises to the patriarchs (Deuteronomy 9:5), God was using Israel as a broom to sweep away the spiritually and morally polluted Canaanites. Israel was His instrument of judgment. The people of God should not conclude that their righteousness was what merited God’s blessing. Essentially they were a stubborn people (Deuteronomy 9:6), unresponsive to God’s will, as the Canaanites had been. The expression "stiff-necked" pictures unwillingness to submit to the yolk of God’s sovereignty (cf. Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3; Exodus 33:5; Exodus 34:9; Isaiah 48:4). God’s choice to bless them was not due to their righteousness. Their righteousness was not essentially superior to that of the Canaanites. God’s choice rested on His purposes in electing Israel (Deuteronomy 9:5; cf. Ephesians 1:4).