Deuteronomy 5:1-22 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 5:1-22. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 5:1-3 (NIV)
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.
2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.
On verses 1-3: Moses reminds this current generation of Israelites that God’s commandments were not just for their ancestors or for an older generation that is long gone. Rather, they are relevant for them as well (v3). Likewise, God’s Word is not a relic of the past, or something that belongs in a museum. Rather, God’s Word is relevant for us, for “all of us who are alive here today”.
Deuteronomy 5:4-22 (NIV)
4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.
5 (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
6 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 “You shall have no other gods before me.
8 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
10 but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.
15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You shall not murder.
18 “You shall not commit adultery.
19 “You shall not steal.
20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
22 These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
On verses 4-22: The same 10 commandments which Moses recorded in Exodus 20 he restates here for this new generation of Israelites. Rather than glossing over them, take a good look at the 10 commandments God laid down, which continue to apply to us today.
1. You shall have no other gods before me (v6-7)
2. You shall not make an idol out of anything and worship it (v8-10)
3. You shall not misuse the Lord’s name (v11)
4. Observe the Sabbath day by resting every 7 days (v12-15)
5. Honour your father and mother (v16)
6. Do not murder (v17)
7. Do not commit adultery (v18)
8. Do not steal (v19)
9. Do not spread lies and false rumours about others (v20)
10. Do not covet what belongs to your neighbour (v21)
Which of these commandments do you struggle the most to keep?
Keep in mind the reasons God gave us these commandments. First, God gave us the 10 Commandments not to limit our freedom or to kill our joy, but to protect us from getting hurt and from hurting others. God’s commandments are not prison bars, but guardrails on a highway to keep us from falling into the ditch.
The second reason God gave us the 10 Commandments was to show us that God’s standards are perfect, and since we are not perfect and have all broken God’s laws in many ways, we need a Saviour.
Praise God. Jesus Christ is that Saviour we need. Jesus fulfilled all of God’s commandments perfectly on our behalf, and then He died on our behalf to pay for our failure to obey God’s commands perfectly. Jesus lived for us and He died for us. That is why John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
God, I worship You as the only One who is morally perfect. I and everyone reading this sharing have not lived up to Your commands. But thank You that, whereas the wages of sin is death, You sent Jesus Christ to live on our behalf and to die on our behalf. Thank You, Jesus, for being the Saviour we need. Thank You Holy Spirit for living in us to empower us to live like Jesus. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
