What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 9:27? Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob “Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses anchors his plea in God’s covenant faithfulness. • Covenant foundation: God had sworn by Himself to bless these patriarchs and their offspring (Genesis 12:2–3; 15:5–7; 26:24; 28:13–15). • Legal appeal: By invoking the fathers, Moses is not reminding God because He forgets; he is deliberately standing on the legal groundwork God Himself established (Exodus 32:13). • Character of God: The request rests on God’s immutable nature—He does not lie or change His mind (Numbers 23:19; Malachi 3:6). • Continual pattern: Generations later, God still acts “for the sake of His servant Abraham” (2 Kings 13:23), proving that the covenant is the unshakable basis of mercy. Overlook the stubbornness of this people “Overlook the stubbornness of this people.” Moses next exposes the nation’s chronic hard-heartedness. • Stiff-necked history: Israel had already been called “stiff-necked” after the golden calf (Exodus 32:9); the same charge is repeated in Deuteronomy 9:6. • Honest confession: Moses does not minimize their guilt; he names it, demonstrating true intercession (Daniel 9:8–9). • Appeal to grace: He asks God to pass over their obstinacy, mirroring later appeals such as Psalm 78:38 and Acts 7:51, and pointing ahead to the patience God shows all who believe (Romans 2:4). • Relationship priority: The request is not for leniency without cost; it is for God’s covenant compassion to triumph over deserved judgment (Hosea 11:8–9). and the wickedness of their sin “and the wickedness of their sin.” The intercession culminates with a plea for forgiveness of concrete transgressions. • Specific wrongdoing: The immediate setting is the golden calf, described in Deuteronomy 9:16–17 and Exodus 32:1–8. • Full pardon sought: Moses petitions God to “overlook,” anticipating truths later expressed: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins” (Psalm 103:10) and “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). • Foreshadowing the ultimate Mediator: Moses’ role prefigures Christ, who “always lives to intercede” for His people (Hebrews 7:25) and whose sacrifice secures the cleansing Moses requested (1 John 1:7–9). • Ongoing relevance: When believers confess sin, they too rely on God’s covenant promise fulfilled in Jesus, not on personal merit (Ephesians 1:7). summary Deuteronomy 9:27 shows Moses appealing to God’s unbreakable covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, pleading that God’s faithfulness override Israel’s hard-hearted rebellion and wicked acts. The verse underscores three timeless truths: God remembers His promises, He bears patiently with stubborn people, and He forgives real sin through an appointed mediator. |