The 10 given again.

Deuteronomy 5

Has anyone ever had their parent repeat things to them on purpose? Like, please take out the trash and then before they end their conversation with you they add, “Don’t forget to take out the trash.” Parents are great at reminding us on things we need to finish. I have been out of my parents house now for over 3 years and my mom and dad still remind me of things that I need to do. It is actually quite funny. 

Moses is now giving the 1o commandments to the second generation. They are the new group that will be allowed to enter into the promise land soon. Before they get to enter it, Moses wants to fill them in with some important information. The next few chapters will be crucial for the new group to be able to hear. They will need to listen and cling to the law and be obedient.

The law

Moses goes on to list the 10 commandments. Why do you think he needed to list them again? Where they not capable of looking at the stones and remembering it before? As Moses lists the commands of God, I can’t help but wonder if he was reflecting on when he brought them down. After 40 days on Mt. Horeb he was welcomed to all of Israel worshiping a gold calf. We will read later that he shares this with the new generation of Israelites. It must be have been somewhat difficult to know that the beginning generation does not exist except Joshua and Caleb. Moses himself is about 120 years old.

Have you ever had a grandparent that says, “Back in the day?” My wife’s grandpa has some wonderful stories about WWII. I could listen to them for hours as he reflects of what the war was like. What his job was and some of the scary stories that he has. For some reason he does not just tell them to us, but allows it to be a teaching opportunity with some purpose to each story. Moses has a purpose here and that is to show what God’s covenant is with his people. He shares these laws not to bind them but to show them how glorious God is.

Today we know that Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. We would not be able to hold the law. Many of us have broken several of the commandments. Just think about the honoring your mother and father, I am sure we are all guilty of breaking that one. Jesus lived and died and rose again for us so we can know that he came to live the law and was righteous. He did all that so our sins can be forgiven. All we can do is be in awe of him, say thank you and live for him.