Deuteronomy 5. The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. ² The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 

• The phrase used in verse 2 is “The Lord our God cut (כָּרַת karat) with us a covenant (בְּרִית berit) at Horeb”
• Horeb = Sinai

³ Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 

• This shouldn’t read as “God didn’t make a covenant with our fathers” but instead “God didn’t just make a covenant with our fathers, but with us as well”

⁴ The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 

• Only Moses spoke to God “face to face” (figurative phrase used in Exodus 33) but there was an intense intimacy between God and Israel during Exodus 19 and 20.

⁵ while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain.

• Moses stands between God and Israel as a mediator
• See Exodus 20 for the original Ten Commandments chapter

He said:

⁶ “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

⁷ “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

⁸ “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁹ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰ but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

• Do not make images that you will worship: I don’t personally think this means you can’t make artistic images of Jesus, etc unless you intend to use it as worship.
  • God does command images of cherubim in Exodus 25:18
• Consequences of sins can carry down generations (perhaps like cycles of abuse, addiction, etc)

¹¹ “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

• I have an visual below on this one. Many believe this is either saying don’t say “Oh my G-d” or not taking an oath falsely using God’s name. I think it’s bigger than that.

¹² “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. ¹⁵ You shall remember that you were a slave  in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

• I have a visual on the Sabbath commandment. Even with Jesus as our Sabbath fulfillment, I don’t think we should completely disregard it! However, as we are called to rest for 1 day, remember we are called to work for 6.
• In Exodus 20, the Sabbath is grounded in God’s creation (talking about His 7th day of rest). Here it is grounded in the Exodus, when they had no rest and were forced to work.

¹⁶ “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

• Ephesians 6:2: “‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise)”
  • The promise: “that your days may be long in the land…”

¹⁷ “‘You shall not murder.

¹⁸ “‘And you shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ “‘And you shall not steal.

²⁰ “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

²¹ “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

• Interestingly, Scripture tells us there are “Ten Words” but never labels them Commandment #1, #2, etc.
  • In Catholic and Lutheran traditions, the commandment about not coveting is split into two (coveting your neighbor’s wife vs. neighbor’s goods), while the command about idols is grouped together with “no other gods.”
  • In most Protestant traditions, the command about idols is its own commandment, and the coveting part stays as one.
  • I’m kind of leaning towards the first? I always thought those were one commandment.
• What was God intending for the 10 commandments to be? ( 2 or 1 idol command vs 2 or 1 covet command).
• There is a slight change from Exodus 20, as “wife” is now mentioned firs before his belongings.

²² “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. ²³ And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. ²⁴ And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. ²⁵ Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. ²⁶ For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? ²⁷ Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

• vs 25b: “If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die” God is so Holy – we are not. The people ask for Moses as a mediator.
• There are moments in the Bible where God’s presence doesn’t bring comfort but instead it brings fear! We see this here with the Israelites being so terrified by God’s voice and the thunder that they begged Moses to speak to them instead, saying they’d die if God spoke directly.
  • Isaiah, when he saw God in a vision, cried out, “Woe is me!”
  • Job, after finally hearing from God, repented in dust and ashes.
  • Even Jesus’ disciples fell facedown in fear at the Transfiguration when they heard God’s voice. 

²⁸ “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. ²⁹ Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants  forever! ³⁰ Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” ³¹ But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ ³² You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³³ You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

• God desires Israel to have an obedient heart and that they will keep His commandments. These should be passed down from generation to generation.

Reminder of the 10 commandments:

#	Protestant-ish numbering	Catholic-ish numbering
1	You shall have no other gods before Me	You shall have no other gods before Me + no idols
2	You shall not make/worship carved images	You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain
3	You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain	Remember/keep holy the Sabbath
4	Remember the Sabbath	Honor your father and mother
5	Honor your father and mother	You shall not murder
6	You shall not murder	You shall not commit adultery
7	You shall not commit adultery	You shall not steal
8	You shall not steal	You shall not bear false witness
9	You shall not bear false witness	You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife
10	You shall not covet anything belonging to your neighbor	You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods