TEN COMMANDMENTS (DEUTERONOMY 4:41-5:33)  "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from 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." -Deuteronomy 5:22
In chapter four, Moses had called the people of Israel to take seriously who God had set them apart to be on His behalf in the midst of a fallen world. In chapter five Israel is given the commandments that are to set apart Israel as living proof of the wisdom of God. The Ten Commandments are given as the bedrock for human society in both our relationship to God and one another. But to read these commandments and simply agree to their essential necessity for humanity does them and God a great injustice. The fact is, if honestly faced, these commandments will condemn every man, woman, and child ever born. And if you are like the Pharisees in Jesus' day who believed they obeyed them all, please consider the Sermon of the Mount. In that Sermon Jesus exposed the folly of self-righteousness in a way only He could. He went to the secrets of the heart. The seed of murder, he said, is anger, to call a man a fool puts you in danger of hellfire. Adultery is not only an act but it is conceived in the heart and may live unexpressed, yet desired. Marriage is for life, which caused the great Apostle Peter to conclude that it's better then to never marry (Matt. 19:9-10). This is why Paul the Apostle declared, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin"(Rom. 3:19-20). The Ten Commandments ultimately does its best among a fallen humanity when it does two things: First, it keeps us aware of what sin is; second it slays us. It brings us to our knees, seeking God for both forgiveness and divine assistance to keep the law from the heart. The work of the law is to prepare us for Christ. He is the only One who has the power to remove the curse upon us that's the result of our violation of the law once and for all. But not only will Christ do that, He will also give us a new nature. We are given the unmatchable privilege to be born of God. This new nature gives us the capacity to grow and mature into a place where obedience to the law of God from the heart is possible. As we grow in the knowledge and grace of Christ whose life indwells us, we will go from "glory to glory," progressively becoming more and more like Jesus (1 Cor. 3:18). NKJV BIBLE TEXT Deuteronomy 4:41-5:33  Cities of Refuge East of the Jordan
41 Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 42 that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: 43 Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites. Introduction to God's Law 44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, 46 on this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel defeated after they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 48 from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), 49 and all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah. | v. 41 three cities – The tribes which chose to remain and settle on the far side of the Jordan needed to establish cities of refuge just as the rest of Israel had. These were to be cities set aside to provide a safe haven for any man who unintentionally caused the death of another man in Israel. These cities are named in verse 43, and the purpose for these cities will be further elaborated on in Deuteronomy 19. | v. 44 now this is the Law – God had just issued a strong warning against turning away from the Law of God and the prophetic glimpse into what would happen when Israel would one day forsake the Law. Moses now begins the second delivery of the Law to encourage them to remain faithful to God and keep His covenant. | DEUTERONOMY 5 The Ten Commandments Reviewed 1 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. 4 The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 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 the mountain. He said: 6 'I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 7 'You shall have no other gods before Me. | Chapter 5 The Ten Commandments Reviewed v. 1 hear O Israel the statues and judgments – Moses is about to deliver to Israel the Law for the second time, again the background of the name of this book (Deuteronomy, "the second giving of the Law"). v. 5 I stood between the Lord and you... for you were afraid – Exodus 20:18-21 tells of how the children of Israel no longer desired to experience the presence of God because of all of the terrors which it brought. Therefore, they refused to come near Mount Sinai. Instead, they insisted that Moses go near the mountain for them and tell them what God had to say to them. When he does this, Moses becomes a type of Jesus, the "one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). This passage is also directly referred to in Hebrews 12:18-24 in order to encourage us and remind us that we do not have to approach the presence of God in such a terrifying way. We have access to God through the New Covenant, which Jesus died to purchase for us. This we can do without a human intermediary, unlike Israel under the Old Covenant. One of the main exhortations in the book of Hebrews is that we should, therefore, take advantage of our standing before God in Christ Jesus and "boldly approach the throne of grace." | v. 7 You shall have no other gods before me – The first of the Ten Commandments is the directive to remember that the Lord God is the only true and living God. They were to worship Him and Him alone. All of the other nations around Israel were polytheistic (worshiping multiple gods). God reminds them that they were to be different from them and worship only one God. The word "before" does not indicate that He was to be the first in a line of several gods in their hearts, but rather that they were to cherish no other gods at all in His presence. Their disobedience of this commandment would be the basis for their downfall. Israel would never really abandon the worship of Jehovah God altogether, but they would rather attempt to add the worship of other gods to their lives. This would lead them into complete apostasy, as one cannot worship Jehovah and false gods at the same time. It is noteworthy that the Lord begins this commandment with a reminder that He delivered them from Egypt, and is therefore, only asking them to respond to His love and faithfulness with their own love and faithfulness toward Him. | 8 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 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. 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 the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 16 ' Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. | v. 8 You shall not make for yourself a carved image – The second of the Ten Commandments was a prohibition against idolatry. This is not a prohibition against religious art but against making an image in order to worship it as a substitute for walking with the invisible God by faith. It is important to point out that this Commandment prohibited them from even making images that they felt might aid them in the worship of the one true God. The account of Israel worshiping before the golden calf reveals that Israel had formed an image that they proclaimed to be, not a false god, but Jehovah God Who led them out of Egypt (Ex. 32:4,5). However, the Lord demonstrated His intense displeasure with them for attempting to capture an image that would represent Him and aid them in their worship of Him. This is also a Commandment that has been literally erased from certain versions of the Scriptures by many branches of the Church today, due to their propensity to look to images as an aid in their worship. v. 9 upon the children – This should not be taken to indicate that the children and grandchildren of a rebellious father would be punished for their iniquities if they repent of their sins and return to God, as Ezekiel 18 makes clear. This is rather a warning that the sins of a father can often set the direction for an entire family to choose the path of rebellion. And that if those successive generations do not repent out of their father's wickedness, all of them will suffer the penalty of disobedience in their own lives. v. 11 Take the name of the Lord your God in vain – "In vain" means "in a destructive, wasteful, insincere or evil way." This is a Commandment against using the name of God frivolously or applying it in ways that are blasphemous. To the Israelites, a name was extremely important because it represented a person's nature, character and destiny (Gen. 32:27-28, Ex. 3:13-14). Due to the importance of a name, God reminds His people repeatedly that He highly honors His own name because it stands for the respect that He is owed by His people. Many of the ancient Jews went on to take this Commandment so seriously that they would refuse to ever speak or write out the name of God. | v. 12 Observe the Sabbath Day – The seventh day of the week, known to us as Saturday, was set aside in Genesis 2:2,3 as holy, or sacred. It became known as the Sabbath, which means "rest," because the Genesis account recalls how God completed His creative work on the sixth day of the week and rested on the seventh, therefore making it holy. This became the pattern for the Jewish work week, as verse 13 tells them to complete all of their labor in the first six days and rest on the seventh as they know God had done. On the seventh day of the week, they were to do no labor but spend the day worshiping God and enjoying the blessings of creation and family. Exodus 20:8,11 tell us that this Sabbath observance was a special covenant between God and Israel. In the New Testament, Sabbath observance is the only one of the Ten Commandments that is not commended for Christians to observe in any way. The reason is that the Sabbath was fulfilled for us in the person of Jesus, Who now is our rest (Heb. 4:1-11). Romans 14:5-6 informs us that under the New Covenant, every day is alike to God, and that what is important is not the day that a person worships but rather that they are a worshipper and that they do what they do to honor Him. v. 16 Honor your father and your mother – This Commandment begins what many have come to understand as the "second table of the Law," or the portion of the Ten Commandments which deals with our relationship with people (he first four dealing with our relationship with God). It is noteworthy that the first Commandment dealing with our relationships with one another is the one that speaks to our heart attitude toward our parents. God has ordained that the first and most basic level of His authority structure, after obedience to Him, is the family unit. Here it reveals that those who learn to walk in obedience toward their father and mother will experience long and blessed days in the Promised Land. It has been well established that those who learn to honor and obey authority in their home will experience a distinct advantage in the rest of life. | 17 'You shall not murder. 18 'You shall not commit adultery. 19 'You shall not steal. 20 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 'You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.' | v. 17 You shall not murder – The prohibition is against "murder" specifically, which is the unlawful killing of another human being. There are times when God commands that a person be put to death at the hands of another (the holy wars which were fought by Israel in their conquest of the Promised Land; capital punishment in Gen. 9:5-6). The reason for the command authorizing capital punishment is not the lack of value of human life but rather the sacredness of it, each person being created in God's image. v. 18 You shall not commit adultery – God again reminds His people that the family unit is sacred, and that the basis of the family unit is marriage. God joins a husband and wife as "one flesh," making marriage a more important and more intimate bond than even the bond with one's children. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 6:13-18 reveals that the act of physical intimacy is an important part of the marriage bond, as it helps a husband and wife to cleave to one another and make the "one flesh" a reality. Adultery takes place when one of the marriage partners breaks that one-flesh bond and attempts to join themselves in that way to another. Such a choice is always devastating to the marriage relationship, and few marriages can survive the hurt and betrayal of adultery. That is why adultery is the one sin that allows a marriage partner the option of divorcing the other (Matt. 5:31-32, Mark 10:2-12). v. 19 You shall not steal – God reinforces His people's right to own property, but only if one works for it or inherits it. Here He prohibits the unlawful taking of that which belongs to another, which could come about through violence, deceit or negligence. | v. 20 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor – Specifically the Commandment is against speaking something untrue in order to condemn one's neighbor in a court of law. In Matthew 26:59-61, the two men who misquoted Jesus' words concerning the destruction of His body were called "false witnesses." However, in the broadest sense, it conveys God's heart toward speaking falsehood of any kind. God's heart for His people is that we always speak the truth (Eph. 4:15,25). v. 21 You shall not covet – To covet means to delight in what does not belong to you but to someone else, and to desire it for one's self in a way that drives one to sin. This final Commandment really deals with the deepest issues of the heart, for all of the other commandments one may keep on the outside, thus giving the impression of godliness. Paul, however, tells us in Romans 7:7-8 that this was the Commandment that finally convinced him that he was a law-breaker and needed a savior. The People Afraid of God's Presence v. 29 O that they would fear me – God expresses His desire to bless Israel, and acknowledges that the basis for His blessing would be their obedience to His Commandments. He further expresses the understanding that the basis for obedience will sometimes have to be the fear of God, as is expressed in Proverbs 3:7, 8:13, 16:6 and 19:23. However, there is a better way to be led by God than with the bit and bridle, as David expresses in Psalm 32:9. Jesus said to His disciples, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). The following verses explain that He will send us His Holy Spirit to help us in keeping them, as we still cannot do it on our own. | | |  | |
