Day 283 - Deuteronomy 5

From: Chapter-A-Day: Volume 1 By: Norman W. Berry

Deuteronomy 5 • 2 min. read • grade level: 6

Starting with this chapter, and going on to the end of chapter 11, we hear God speaking to Israel in a closer, more intimate way. In the first four chapters, Israel is seen as in the wilderness. These seven chapters are of Israel at the very entrance to the land of promise.

V.1-5 Moses reminds them that God had spoken to them from the top of the mountain at Horeb (or Sinai) when He had given the ten commandments. Do not confuse this with another talk from the land of Moab — we’ll read of it later.

V.6-21 Many people think that this section is just a repeat of the ten commandments in Exodus 20:2-17²I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ¹²Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. ¹³Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. (Exodus 20:2‑17). God has a purpose. In Deuteronomy He gives the reasons why they should obey them. Compare this section with Exodus 20²I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ¹²Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. ¹³Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. (Exodus 20:2‑17). You will see that the Sabbath is stressed here. The keeping of the Sabbath was something that no one could know unless God told him. Whereas people, just naturally, have at least a partial knowledge of the other commandments — stealing for example. The Sabbath brought people close to God. It reminds us of the work of the Lord Jesus, and the rest which God now has in Christ. Christ is God’s Sabbath, or rest. For Israel, the Sabbath will be fulfilled in the millennium. Because of unbelief they lost this land of rest. We believers belong to Christ, and to the new creation. We are new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17). Wonderful. So when Christianity began, the first day of the week, the Lord’s day, became the important day and not the Sabbath (Saturday). The Lord Jesus was dead all day Saturday. But there is more. Saturday is the seventh day. The next day, the 8th, is the Lord’s day, Sunday, the first day of the new order (Acts 20:7⁷And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7)). It is never going to end. There is no 9th day.

V.22 These words were of the greatest importance for those people at that time.

V.23-28 They feared greatly when they heard and saw the thunderings and lightnings (Heb. 12:18-21¹⁸For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, ¹⁹And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: ²⁰(For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: ²¹And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) (Hebrews 12:18‑21)).

V.29 Beautiful verse. God exposing His heart of love to people.

V.29-33 We can feel how God longed that the people would let Him pour out all His goodness and blessing on them. Did they let Him? No. Do we let Him pour out the peace and joy on us?

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