Deuteronomy 5:6-22 part 2

The Decalogue Itself

We’re going to go through the Ten Words and just to clarify for anyone has not been here or has forgotten: The Decalogue are what are known generally as the Ten Commandments, except Scripture in the original Hebrew never call them that. They are called the Ten Words. I use Decalogue which is Greek for ‘Ten Words’ as this is now the most common usage.

Remember that the Decalogue was not written to everyone but to a particular group of people, first to the Jews, but then more specifically to the male head of the house. This does not mean that these have no value for us but we should always ask to whom is Scripture being written, who is it being spoken to and whether there is a practical application for us. For this exercise we are trying to understand the Decalogue for its first intended hearers: the male head of the house.

Last week we looked at the first two but I will mention them again now:

The Lord has the right to exclusive allegiance. The head of the household is not to make another god to worship it in the place of, or alongside of, God.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain,” Last week we saw that this was more than swearing but that we bear they bear the name of God in the sense they belong to Him. This means that the Israelites are the property of the Lord and that wherever they go, they declare to the world that they belong to the Lord and they advertise to the world what their God is like. To break this word was to bear the name falsely in claiming this name but then to live as if one belongs to Baal or some other god. As an example we said that we are called Christians. Wherever we go, we advertise the character of Jesus, whose name we claim. You shall not wear this name in vain. To claim to be a Christian but live a worldly life is to take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

In the Exodus version, the Sabbath command: “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.… Because on six days the LORD created the heavens and the earth and then on the seventh day he rested, so you too should rest.” If you look at the Exodus version, this is a divine right to our time and our trust. We live according to God’s pattern. We trust Him to take care of us on the seventh day. But if you look at the Deuteronomy version, the Sabbath command is grounded in a totally different place. In the Deuteronomy version, Moses adds, “Remember the Sabbath, keep it holy.… For you remember what it was like; you were slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought you out. So keep the Sabbath, and be sure that your slaves and servants have a Sabbath and your draft animals have a Sabbath.” I can imagine the head of an Israelite household saying, “I am going to keep the Sabbath, but I am going to send out my servants to go out and work the fields, and they will take the oxen or the donkey as their work tools.” He could say, “I am keeping the Sabbath.” But what the Deuteronomy version is saying is every member of the household, not just the head, has the right to humane treatment. This is a divine right.

the parents have the right to respect, which will mean more than piously verbalising honour, but concretely caring for them in their old age and honouring them even after they are gone.

“You shall not kill.” This command recognises the family members and neighbours have a right to life.

“You shall not commit adultery.” The neighbours have the right to a pure marriage.

“You shall not steal.” The neighbours have a right to their own property.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.” This is not about everyday deceit or lying; it envisages a court context. The neighbours have the right to a true and honest reputation.

“You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.” This is the Deuteronomy version. The neighbour and the addressees’ wife have the right to freedom from fear that the head of this household is going to want to take the neighbour’s wife.

“You shall not covet your neighbour’s male servant or female servant, house or field, ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.” The neighbour has the right to freedom from fear of his intentions concerning property.

(Block, D. I. (2018). OT312 Book Study: Deuteronomy. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. Seg 54-58)

I will return, God willing, to do a more through series on the Decalogue. And what we’ll see is that every single one of us has broken them all, without fail when it is applied to our context.

Two Tablets

Moses says the Lord, when He had finished speaking, He wrote down all these words on tablets of stone. In keeping with ancient Near Eastern tradition, the Lord provided Israel with a copy of the basic covenant document, and He reassured Israel of His own commitment by creating a copy for Himself. These two tablets—and of course, if we ask, why are there two tablets? they relate to ancient treaty custom. these two tablets will have contained the same words. One is a duplicate copy of the other; they are identical in form and in content. Of course, what drives us to this conclusion is the recent information on how covenant tablets were produced. According to Near East tradition each party to the covenant gets a copy, and he takes it home with him, deposits it in the temple of his god, and that god then functions as the guarantor of the other person’s fidelity.

Here we’ve got two tablets. One of these tablets, Israel’s copy, is deposited in the ark of the covenant, in the holy of holies, with God as the guarantor of Israel’s fidelity. It is a reminder; this is that to which Israel has signed onto. But on the other hand, the other copy is the Lord’s copy. It is a constant reminder—located in the holy of holies where the Lord’s Shekinah glory dwells—it is a constant reminder to the Lord not only of Israel’s commitment, but especially of the Lord’s commitment to Israel. When God sees the tablet, God is reminded of His own commitment, so that these tablets function like the rainbow in Gen 9. When the Lord sees the rainbow, He remembers His commitment to the world and to Noah. One is God’s copy, reminding Him of the covenant to which He signed on, and the other one is Israel’s copy, reminding them that this is that to which we agreed.

Ten Words

The Decalogue is only 10 words: It is obviously not intended to be an exhaustive document. There are some very important aspects of Israelite life that are not represented here. Deuteronomy is full of charges on how to take care of the widow and the orphan and the stranger; they are not mentioned here. This is not intended to be exhaustive. This represents a sample of areas of everyday life where covenant commitment to the Lord should play a decisive role. The intention is to give us a worldview. If you live by that—those values represented here—you will be a righteous person.

I’ve heard it said that the first 3 commands are about us and God and the rest about us and people but it does not quite work out like this:

First, the first two commands relate to an Israelite and his God.

Second, the third and fourth commands relate to an Israelite and his household. (including the Sabbath, normally counted as one towards God, but it was made for man, according to Jesus)

Numbers five to eight relate to an Israelite and his neighbours.

Nine and ten this relates to an Israelite and his heart.

OT312 Book Study: Deuteronomy Four Types of Commands

Some people have said that, in the end, all of the commands in the Decalogue relate to coveting. Why would you have another god? Because your god is not giving you enough. You want more. In this interpretation—“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s household and properties,” whatever else—the point here is there is to be righteousness and integrity within the heart, the inner being of the Israelite.

We have to understand the ancient world which revolved around the Father, who was the head of the house: In Hebrew, a family is called “the house of the father.” However, in a patriarchal world governed by the values represented here, the members of the household are not there to serve the interests of the head; it is the opposite. The head of the household is there to see to it that everybody else’s welfare is protected and is being promoted, which is why we understand Paul’s statements in Eph 5. After saying, “Husbands and wives, be submissive to one another,” then he says, “Wives, be submissive to your husbands.” He adds then, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.” That is responsible headship. In this vision of the family, the head of the household is always willing to sacrifice his own interests for the sake of the other members.

The law of the Lord is perfect - we should note that Jesus encapsulates the whole law in:

Matthew 22:37–40 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

OT312 Book Study: Deuteronomy Love Is the Key

In Hebrew, the word 'ahav means: love, a covenant commitment demonstrated in action in the interest of the other person; that’s love. And now we understand Jesus. You shall demonstrate love for your God with all your being, with all your resources, by acting in His interests. And you shall demonstrate covenant commitment toward your neighbor by acting in their interests.

OT312 Book Study: Deuteronomy Love Is the Key

Jesus has encapsulated not only the Decalogue, but all the constitutional documents that sprout from this document. This is the key to Deut 5; this is the key to the book of the covenant in Exod 20:22–23:19; this is the key to the instructions on holiness in Lev 17–26; and this is the key to Deuteronomy: love. If we demonstrate covenant commitment to God, we will always seek His honor, His reputation, His glory. And if we demonstrate covenant commitment to our neighbors, we will always seek their well-being ahead of our own, which is why Jesus can say, “Greater love has no one than this, that a person lay down his or her own life for his friends.” That’s love—where I am willing to sacrifice myself for my neighbors, my family members, for the Lord Himself.

Next week we’ll see the response of the people and why the law is important to Christians in the light of the Apostle Paul’s apparent negativity of the law.

Bibliography

Block, D. I. (2018). OT312 Book Study: Deuteronomy. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. Seg 54-58

Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). Deuteronomy. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

Thompson, J. A. (1974). Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 5). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Wright, C. J. H. (2012). Deuteronomy. (W. W. Gasque, R. L. Hubbard Jr., & R. K. Johnston, Eds.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 07:33 18 July 2018.