Commentaries \ Old Testament \ Deuteronomy \ Deuteronomy 5-11

Deuteronomy 5-11

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Deuteronomy 5-11; Ps 119.129-136


 

Deuteronomy is a series of Moses’ sermons. The significance of these chapters is that they set forth the framework for covenant ethics: because of what God has done for His people—and who He has made them to be—they would experience His blessings if they obey Him; but if they disobey, they would be chastised. The covenant in view in today’s reading is the Sinaitic covenant, within which it is difficult to overstate the significance of the Promised Land, referenced more than twenty times in this section of Deuteronomy.

 

The arrangement of this part of the sermon included at least five elements:

  1. Introduction and review of the Sinai Covenant (5.1-31).  The text is replete with past-tense verbs; here Moses called the people to remember the covenant God had made specifically with them at Sinai (vv. 1-21). While they responded in devotion, the LORD told Moses: “If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commands, so that they and their children will prosper forever” (v. 29)
  2. Defining the central issue: Israel must love God—in the Land (5.32-6.25; cf. Ps 119.129-136). Finished with the review of the events from the exodus onward, Moses turned his attention to the people before him (5.32-33). The commands which follow are focused on ‘life in the land.’ The thesis of the sermon may be found in 6.3: “Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.” Israel’s obedience to God’s instruction would lead to prosperity in the land—and satisfaction in the fulfillment of the Abrahamiccovenant (cf. Gen 12.1-3; 15.1-20)
  3. Warnings against a casual relationship with God (7.1-10.11). At least three words of caution were noteworthy. First, Israel needed to deal vigorously with any ‘external’ threats to loving God (7.1-26). In the Exodus God set Israel apart from the Egyptians, and when they entered Canaan they were likewise to be set apart from other nations (cf. 6.20-25)—by annihilating all who were in the land. Second, Israel was forced to recall that they had not always been faithful (8-10.11).  The blessings of ‘life in the land’ were intended to humble rather than puff-up, because the blessing of the land was despite Israel, and because of the evil of the people who dwelt there; the former were stiff-necked, and the later were wicked. Finally, Israel was to recall the depth of the mercy of God (10.1-11). Here vv. 1-5, and vv. 8-11 correspond to events at Mr. Horeb, and the description of Aaron’s death in vv. 6-7 seems misplaced. However, it may be that the text is arranged to emphasize the point that God didn’t kill Aaron on Mt Horeb; he died much later—a fact that illustrates God’s mercy upon Aaron, and rebellious Israel
  4. Final exhortations (10.12-11.25). Here Moses exhorted the people to faithfulness in light of what God had done for them in Egypt (11.1-7), and what He promised/threatened to do for/against them in Canaan (11.11-25)
  5. Conclusion: choose between blessing and cursing (11.26-32). These verses provide the schema of the Sinaitic covenant: land-blessings for obedience, land-curses for disobedience
 

The scope of these chapters has such significance for the storyline of Scripture that analysis is reqiried of both the individual commands and broad themes. Several individual commands from Deut 5-11 are repeated in the New Testament:

  1. Moses’ citation from the 10 Commandments (5.6-21) was foundational for New Testament teaching, but the latter went beyond the former. When Jesus was making His way from Galilee to Jerusalem, a wealthy man approached Him with the question, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?” (Mt. 19.16). Jesus pointed him to the commandments, specifically: “Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself” (vv. 18-19), respectively the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and fifth commandments of the Decalogue, followed by a phrase from Leviticus (cf. Deut 5.16-21; Lev 19.18). However none of these commands individually, or the sum of them collectively, satisfied either the man’s conscience, or Jesus’ standard. While the wealthy young man confessed that he had kept the commands he yet asked, “What do I still lack?” (v. 20). Jesus challenged the man to be perfect—to part with his wealth and commit to following Him fully in discipleship. Eternal life is reserved for those who have an unqualified commitment to Jesus, and commit to love for their neighbors (cf. Rom 13.8-10; Gal 5.13-15; Js 2.8-13)
  2. Likewise, when the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, at each point Jesus replied by quoting from Deut 6 and 8. When Satan tempted Jesus to turn the stones to bread, He replied from Deut 8, where Moses had said, “Remember that the LORD your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that he might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (vv. 2-3). When Satan tempted Jesus to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and misquoted Ps 91.11-12, Jesus replied with Moses’ word in Deut 6, “Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the LORD your God will become angry with you and wipe you off the face of the earth. Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah” (vv. 14-16). When Satan promised Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would bow to him, Jesus replied from Deut 6.13, “Fear the LORD your God, worship him, and take your oaths in His name.” Jesus was successful against Satan’s snares by using the very words given to Israel—words Israel failed to heed in the Promised Land
  3. Paul employed Moses’ command regarding circumcision of the heart to humble the Jews of the Roman congregation. While many Jews of Paul’s day thought themselves to be eternally secure because of their possession of the law, and adherence to the command to be circumcised. Paul warned that only those who practice the entirety of the law, from the heart, would profit from it; that is, only those whose hearts have been sensitive to God by an inner work of the Spirit of God. Paul wrote: “A person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not of the letter” (2.28-29).
 

While some of the broad themes of Deut 5-11 provide the structure for New Covenant ethics, there are some differences as well. First, nowhere in the new does God say that He will ‘curse’ His people; second, God’s blessing upon the obedience of His children is not so tightly connected to material prosperity in a certain geographical local. While it is true that obedience to God may bring prosperity to those working diligently, the Christian’s obedience is most often rewarded with greater knowledge of what God has done for us in Christ, as Paul wrote to the Colossians: “We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God” (cf. Col 1.9-10). Further, it may be that—like the congregation in view in the epistle to the Hebrews—identification with Christ might lead to persecution and suffering, not prosperity. In the new covenant, the former too are marks that one is a legitimate child of God. God’s dealings with those in Christ are thus at significant points different than His dealings with the rebellious Israelites; they received His wrath, Christians are refined—shaped into a form which better reflects Jesus. Concerning the difficulties one might receive for identifying with Christ, and how one ought to respond to those trials, the author to the Hebrews wrote:

“Endure it as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there whom a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had natural fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but He does it for our benefit, so that we can share His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the fruit of peace and righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb 12.7-11; cf. Prov 3.11-12)

 
 

*For a complete list of references, please see scripturestoryline.com