Chapter 5

1 The covenant in Horeb. 6 The ten commandments. 22 At the people’s request Moses receiveth the law from God.

1. The statutes and judgments. The same Hebrew words as given in ch. 4:1.

2. Made a covenant. See Ex. 19:5–8; 24:3–8.

3. Our fathers. That is, our forefathers, referring to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the 12 patriarchs. The agreements between God and the “fathers” were personal in nature. At Sinai, for the first time in history, God entered into an agreement with an entire nation. He was to be their King, and they His people.

4. Face to face. They were in His immediate presence, yet “saw no similitude” (Deut. 4:12; see also Ex. 20:22).

5. Between the Lord and you. Moses was the mediator between God and Israel (Ex. 19:10-12, 17, 21; Gal. 3:19).

8. Any graven image. Human conceptions of form cannot be applied to God. It belittles God to represent Him by any outward form (John 4:24). Material representations of God can give only a distorted and imperfect concept of His majesty and infinite character, and therefore depreciate God. The only earthly image that can even remotely resemble God is the human character transformed into the divine likeness (Gen. 1:26, 27; John 3:3; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:10).

10. Them that love me. Only those thatlove God can possibly obey Him. Obedience that does not come from the heart is nothing more than a legalistic attempt at self-righteousness, by which a man seeks to commend himself to God. In the sight of heaven such is not obedience at all. Without the spirit of obedience, the letter, the outward form, is worthless. But he who loves God supremely will find his greatest delight in cooperating with Him.

11. In vain. Literally, “to vanity,” meaning falsely, hypocritically, or in a thoughtless, common manner. Man’s attitude toward God is to be marked with reverence, and this is to be reflected in words and deeds.

12. The sabbath day. See on Ex. 20:8–11. The fourth commandment has a natural basis reaching back to creation (Gen. 2:1–3); it also has a moral basis in the Creator-creature relationship. The primary purpose of the Sabbath as an institution is to safeguard that relationship. As physical health calls for a day of rest each week, so spiritual health requires the Sabbath for exercising the mind and heart in quest of God, that we may “feel after him, and find him” (Acts 17:27).

15. Thou wast a servant. Every act of God on our behalf constitutes a reason why we should “remember,” that is, to reflect upon, acknowledge, and appreciate this love and beneficent care. It is God’s purpose that on the Sabbath day whatever interferes with the direct and personal fellowship between the creature and his Creator should be laid aside. The Sabbath is a day on which it is our happy privilege to become better acquainted with our Father in heaven, whom to know is life eternal (John 17:3). To know God is to love Him (see 1 John 4:8), to honor Him, and to appreciate the evidences of His paternal goodness (Rom. 1:21).

Their deliverance from Egypt constituted an additional reason why the Israelites should reverence the Sabbath, yet the very words of the fourth commandment itself point back to the origin of the Sabbath at creation (Ex. 20:8–11) as the reason for the command here to “keep the sabbath day to sanctify it.” It should be remembered that the form in which God spoke the Ten Commandments upon Sinai is that given in Ex. 20, not in Deut. 5. As its name implies, the book of Deuteronomy is a recapitulation of the various laws transmitted to Israel at Sinai, with additional explanations given by Moses in an attempt to impress the people with the importance of observing faithfully all that they had been commanded to do. If mention of the deliverance from Egypt in connection with the fourth commandment be taken as limiting its observance, in principle, to those who were thus delivered—literal Israelites—then the principles of the Ten Commandments as a whole belong to the Jews only, for both here (Deut. 5:6) and in Ex. 20:2 God presented His law as based on the fact that He had brought them forth from the land of Egypt.

As literal Israel was delivered from the bondage of Egypt, so God’s people today have been set free from the bondage of sin (Rom. 6:16–18). The Sabbath thus becomes for the Christian a memorial not only of creation but of the re-creation of the image of God in his own heart and mind (see on Deut. 5:8). The Sabbath is thus a “sign” of sanctification (Eze. 20:12)—of redemption as well as of creation.

16. Honour. Compare the instruction of the apostle Paul in Eph. 6:1–3 (see also Ex. 20:12). Only the child who learns to honor and respect the authority of his parents will learn to honor and reverence God.

22. Assembly. The word thus translated refers to the gathering together of people or of their chosen representatives. It is often translated “congregation” (Lev. 4:14, 21), and “company” (Eze. 23:46, 47).

Two tables of stone. Also referred to as the “tables of the covenant” (ch. 9:9, 11, 15) and the “two tables of testimony” (Ex. 31:18; 32:15; 34:29).

25. Why should we die? The people had been duly impressed by the majesty of God, and realized that, as sinners, they could not even live in His presence. Consciousness of sin made them fear for their lives. The wicked will eventually choose to die rather than to live in the presence of God (Rev. 6:15–17).

28. They have well said. Their profound awe at the manifestation of divine power and glory was the very attitude of mind andheart God desired to produce in them. It is only when a man becomes humble in God’s sight, when he realizes his utter sinfulness and helplessness in contrast to God’s righteousness and omnipotence, that God can work in him and with him.

29. Such an heart. Or, “such a frame of mind.” The life is but a projection of the thoughts of the “heart,” or mind; as a man thinks, so is he (Prov. 23:7). God is not so much concerned with the outward acts as He is with the motives that prompt the acts. If a man purposes in his “heart” to cooperate with God—“if there be first a willing mind” (2 Cor. 8:12)—the life will be transformed accordingly (Rom. 12:2). Heart obedience is the only true obedience; it alone is acceptable to God.

30. Get you. A command given in recognition of their request to be released from the presence of God. Moses was henceforth to be the go-between (v. 5).

32. Not turn aside. Those who enter into the covenant relationship are expected to serve Him with an undivided heart, and not to “turn aside” to follow their own inclinations (see chs. 17:11, 20; 28:14).

33. Prolong your days. The blessing of God is conditional upon obedience to His precepts, not by His arbitrary decree, but because cooperation with eternal principles naturally tends to “prolong” life. Furthermore, occupation of the Promised Land was conditional upon their continued loyalty. Their right to Canaan was based exclusively on the provisions of the covenant. Should they violate its requirements, they would forfeit their right to that land.

Ellen G. White comments

1-33PP 305-309; TM 135

12   PK 182