Deuteronomy 5:1 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 Yahweh our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Yahweh did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.
And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Shema Israel”—Hear, O Israel— “The first verse of the fifth chapter contains the four words, which are found so often in this book of moral responsibility and practical obedience. These words are ‘hear’ (over thirty times); ‘learn’ (seven times); ‘keep’ (thirty-nine times); ‘do’ (almost one hundred times). These are therefore characteristic words of this great book. They were to hear, and hearing to learn, and learning to keep, and keeping to do. And this is still Jehovah’s demand of us His people. All who have a spiritual nature love to have it so. What is more delightful and blessed, than to hear Him speak, to learn of Him, to keep His Word and to do what He tells us. Jehovah had made a covenant with them, not with their fathers, the patriarchs. The law covenant was made 430 years after Abraham. Moses then speaks in their hearing the words of the Decalogue.” (Gaebelein) That very same covenant was renewed with them in our hearing.
"'Yahweh our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.' The covenant was made not with the particular individuals who were then alive, but rather with the nation as an organic whole. Hence Moses could with perfect justice identify those who constituted the nation at that time, with those who had entered into covenant with the Lord at Sinai." (Keil & Delitzsch) "'Yahweh did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us,' that is, according to the usage of the Hebrew language in drawing contrasts, not only with our fathers (who actually heard it), but with us also, who were in the loins of our fathers, and for whom the covenant was intended no less than for them." (C . J Ellicott) Likewise Gentiles are now grafted in.
Deuteronomy 5: The First Bar Mizvah
4 Yahweh talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. 5 I stood between Yahweh and you at that time, to declare to you the word of Yahweh; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said: 6 “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“Moses having again called the congregation, opens his ministry by painting the awful scenes of mount Sinai, at the promulgation of the law; for that covenant was binding to the children, as to their fathers. To what else can ministers appeal; the covenant is the same through all succeeding ages; and if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do!” (Sutcliffe) They are "pure, enlightening the eyes." (Ps 19:9)
This generation had come of age. “‘Yahweh talked with you face to face.’ That is, as the Chaldaic reads, ‘talked to us, without a mediator'” (Joseph Sutcliffe) Moreover: “‘I stood between Yahweh and you at that time, to declare to you the word of Yahweh; not the ten commandments, which God himself uttered, but the following statutes and judgments.” (Matthew Poole)— for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain.’ The cause of their not going up into the mount was not their fear, but the express prohibition of Jehovah.” (C .J. Ellicott)
“He” — Yahweh— said “‘I am Yahweh your God’ — The only wise “God, who by natural claim as well as by covenant relation was entitled to exercise supremacy over His people Israel, had a sovereign right to establish laws for their government.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)— "'who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.' Each year this fact was rehearsed in the Passover ordinance. “When you enter the land that Yahweh will give you as He promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” (Exodus 12:25-27)
Then Moses rehearsed the Commandments or moral code binding on all who desire to do the will of God. “It is a legislative declaration how a citizen [of the heavenly kingdom of God] shall act; in morals it is a rule of conduct proceeding from One who has the right to rule, and directed to those who have the ability to obey. In this sense laws are mandatory, prohibitory, permissive, according to the object to be obtained, commanding what shall be done, forbidding what shall not be done, permitting what may be done.” (J. P. Newman, D. D.)
7 "He said, ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’ 8-10 ‘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; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, Yahweh 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, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.’ 11 ‘You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain’ 12-15 ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Yahweh 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. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.’ 16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which Yahweh 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 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.’”
“Moses left out purposely certain statements he uttered when the law was given through him in Exodus; and he added by way of comment other words in fullest keeping with the moral purpose of his message to the people. This is most evident in connection with the commandment to keep the Sabbath-day holy. In Exodus 20 we find the words ‘for 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.’ This reference to creation is omitted now by Moses, but he adds another spiritual motive to keep that day. ‘And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; therefore, the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day’ (verse 15)...The people are reminded of the faithfulness and goodness of Jehovah, His gracious dealing with them, and that is made the ground of their responsibility to obey His law.” (Arno Gaebelein)
The object of this Command—“‘Observe the Sabbath day,’ (Exodus 20:8) that is, the seventh day (20:10) ‘to keep it holy,’”— For the redeemed, the deliverance or new creation is a grander incentive to obey than the first creation. It was not Adam, but Jesus— the Second Man or Yahweh from Heaven— who had redeemed them out of Egypt and had lead them though the wilderness wanderings. And it is He who leads out of our spiritual bondage to sin and death into the glorious liberty of sons and daughters of God. Thus, our greater incentive— “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; therefore, the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day”
“‘Honor your father and your mother,’ as Yahweh has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which Yahweh your God is giving you.’ This promise was also used as an incentive to that first generation of sinners for the fifth Commandment. But we find here another subtle appendage to the Tenth. ‘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.’ The ‘field’ is added to the list of objects specifically forbidden in the parallel passage Exodus 20:17. The addition seems very natural in one who was speaking with the partition of Canaan among his hearers directly in view.” (Albert Barnes) Likewise, the heavenly minded, should not seek their neighbor's plot, rather their own.
22 These words Yahweh 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.
“When Moses states that God ‘added no more,’ he signifies that a perfect rule of life is contained in the Ten Commandments, and that, when their instruction is fully received, the whole body of wisdom is attained to, so that the people need seek to know no more.” (John Calvin) "'And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.' And Moses then placed them in the Ark of the Covenant underneath the Mercy Seat. "In the ark were the tablets of the law which Israel had broken. The broken law demanded judgment and death for the transgressors. The law [commandments] could not save them; it could only condemn them. It could not take away sin; it could only reveal sin. It could not give life to sinner; it could only kill the transgressor." (M. R. Dehaan)
Deuteronomy 5: The Mediation of Moses Accepted For A Season
23 “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 And you said: ‘Surely Yahweh our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. 25 Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of Yahweh our God anymore, then we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 You go near and hear all that Yahweh our God may say, and tell us all that Yahweh our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’ 28 “Then Yahweh heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and Yahweh said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’
“The Divine comment on the words of the people is recorded only in Deuteronomy; but in order to obtain a complete record of it, we must refer to Deuteronomy 18:18-19. [God planned to send Jesus to the earth before the world was formed- Rev 3-18] It will appear by comparison of the two passages that the promise of the prophet like unto Moses was given at this very time: ‘They have well said all that they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in His mouth and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it [his life for sin] of him. It is not a little remarkable that He who gave the Law from Sinai ‘in blackness and darkness and tempest’ should, on that very day, acknowledge the need of a different form of teaching for His people, and should promise it then and there. But it must not be forgotten that He ‘whose voice then shook the earth’ is the very same Person who ‘speaketh from heaven’ now. He who pronounced the Law in the letter writes it on the heart by His Spirit. The Angel of the Covenant and the Prophet like unto Moses are One.
He who gave the Law on Sinai died under it on Calvary, and provided for its observance for ever.” (C. J. Ellicott)
“’The best interests of His people are deep in the heart of God. This view of divine compassion shows how the Lord’s love focuses on what is best for his people. Here is no vindictive god in contrast to a loving NT Lord. No, this glimpse into the heart of God is in harmony with the most compassionate depiction of Christ in the NT.’ [Kalland, pp61-62.]
“‘Oh that there were such an heart in them.’- literally, ‘who will give that there shall be this heart in them, to fear me, and to keep all my commandments all the days?’ He who asked the question has also supplied the, answer: ‘I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.’ Or ‘Giving my laws into their understanding, I will also write them upon their hearts.’ (Heb 8:10) The need of a Mediator like themselves was well stated by the people; it was also met by Him who said, ‘They have well said all that they have spoken.’” ” (C. J. Ellicott)
Only “…God can give such a heart, and hath promised to give it, Jeremiah 32:40 Ezekiel 36:27. And if God will work, who can hinder him?” (Poole)
Then Yahweh told Moses, who stood in the place of God to Aaron as well as to the people for a season, “Go and say to them, ‘Return to your tents. But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’” So, as requested, “God revealed the rest of the covenant only to Moses, not to all the Israelites ( Deuteronomy 5:31), but Moses later reported this revelation to the people.”(Dr. Thomas B. Constable)
32 “Therefore you shall be careful to do as Yahweh your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the ways which Yahweh your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
"'Therefore you shall be careful to do as Yahweh your God has commanded you;' God who made thee without thee, will not save thee without thee.” (Augustine)— "‘you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.’ A phrase signifying their strict observance of God's laws, and a steadfast persisting in the path of their duty. It is a metaphor taken from a traveller, who, being once set into the right way, ought not to deviate from it. See chap. Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 17:11; Deuteronomy 17:20. Joshua 1:7.” (Thomas Coke) “The picture is that of a straight road, every deviation from which will plunge the wayfarer into destruction. It will be the aim of every Christian to follow the narrow pathway and to enter in at the strait gate which leads to eternal life, through the mercy and power of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Paul E. Kretzmann)
”’You shall walk in all the ways which Yahweh your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.’ For this was the only way in which they could ensure that they would live and not die.
And by it they would ensure not only that they lived, but that they lived so that it would be well with them and so that they would have long lives in the land which they would possess. All depended on hearing and responding to the covenant. That would ensure long life in the land which was only for the righteous. The idea of the ‘walk’ is common in Scripture. It indicated step by step progress forward..." (Peter Pett)
“God never gave a commandment to man which He did not design that he should obey. He who selects from the Divine testimonies such precepts as he feels but little inclination to transgress, and lives in the breach of others, sins against the grand legislative authority of God, and shall be treated as a rebel.” (Adam Clarke) "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)
“Grant, gracious God, that while I see myself justified by thy blood and righteousness from all things by which I never could be justified by the law of Moses, may I be enabled, by the sweet influences of the Holy Ghost, so to live a life of faith, on thee and thy complete salvation, that though dead to the law, as a covenant of works, I may not be without law unto God, but under the law to Christ.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Comm.)