The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voiceThis phrase emphasizes the direct communication from God to the Israelites, highlighting the divine authority and importance of the commandments. The loud voice signifies God's power and the seriousness of the covenant being established. This event is reminiscent of other instances where God speaks directly, such as at the baptism of Jesus ( Matthew 3:17). to your whole assembly
The entire nation of Israel was present, underscoring the communal nature of the covenant. This collective experience was meant to unify the people under God's law. It reflects the communal aspects of worship and covenant seen throughout the Old and New Testaments, such as the gathering of believers in Acts 2. out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain
These elements symbolize God's holiness and the awe-inspiring nature of His presence. Fire often represents purification and judgment, as seen in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2) and the tongues of fire at Pentecost (Acts 2:3). The cloud and darkness convey mystery and the hidden aspects of God's nature, similar to the cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21). He added nothing more
This indicates the completeness and sufficiency of the commandments given at Sinai. It underscores the idea that God's law is perfect and needs no addition, paralleling the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice (Hebrews 10:12). And He wrote them on two tablets of stone
The use of stone tablets signifies permanence and the enduring nature of God's law. This act of writing by God Himself highlights the divine origin and authority of the commandments. The tablets are a type of Christ, who is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), embodying the law perfectly. and gave them to me
Moses, as the mediator of the Old Covenant, receives the tablets, prefiguring Christ as the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15). This transfer signifies the responsibility of leadership and the role of Moses as a type of Christ, who delivers God's law to His people. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, who directly communicates His commandments to His people. 2. MosesThe leader and prophet who receives the commandments from God and acts as a mediator between God and the Israelites. 3. The IsraelitesThe assembly of God's chosen people who witness the giving of the commandments. 4. Mount Sinai (or Horeb)The mountain where God delivers the Ten Commandments amidst fire, cloud, and darkness. 5. The Two Tablets of StoneThe physical representation of God's covenant, inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Teaching Points The Authority of God's WordGod's commandments are delivered with authority and finality, emphasizing their divine origin and unchanging nature. The Holiness of GodThe setting of fire, cloud, and darkness underscores God's holiness and the reverence due to Him. The Role of MediationMoses acts as a mediator, pointing to the ultimate mediator, Jesus Christ, who bridges the gap between God and humanity. The Permanence of God's LawThe commandments written on stone signify their enduring relevance and the call to live by God's standards. The Call to ObedienceThe Israelites' experience serves as a reminder of the importance of listening to and obeying God's voice in our lives. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the setting of fire, cloud, and darkness at Mount Sinai enhance our understanding of God's holiness and majesty? 2. In what ways does Moses' role as a mediator foreshadow the work of Jesus Christ in the New Testament? 3. How can we apply the permanence of God's commandments, as symbolized by the stone tablets, to our daily lives? 4. What are some practical ways we can ensure that God's commandments are "written on our hearts" as described in 2 Corinthians 3:3? 5. How does the experience of the Israelites at Mount Sinai challenge us to approach God with reverence and obedience today? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 19-20Provides the detailed account of the giving of the Ten Commandments, emphasizing the holiness and majesty of God. Hebrews 12:18-21Reflects on the fear and awe experienced by the Israelites at Mount Sinai, contrasting it with the new covenant in Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:3Discusses the new covenant written not on tablets of stone but on human hearts, highlighting the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. People MosesPlaces Beth-baal-peor, Egypt, HorebTopics Added, Assembly, Cloud, Darkness, Deep, Fire, Loud, Midst, Mountain, Nothing, Proclaimed, Spoke, Stone, Tablets, Thick, Voice, WroteDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 5:22 4366 stones
4805 clouds
5196 voice
5574 tablet
7209 congregation Deuteronomy 5:22-24 4810 darkness, natural Deuteronomy 5:22-26 1454 theophany Deuteronomy 5:22-27 6636 drawing near to God Library Prayer and Obedience
"An obedience discovered itself in Fletcher of Madeley, which I wish I could describe or imitate. It produced in him a ready mind to embrace every cross with alacrity and pleasure. He had a singular love for the lambs of the flock, and applied himself with the greatest diligence to their instruction, for which he had a peculiar gift. . . . All his intercourse with me was so mingled with prayer and praise, that every employment, and every meal was, as it were, perfumed therewith." -- JOHN WESLEY. …
Edward M. Bounds—The Necessity of PrayerThe Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible Questions About the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
AND PROOF, THAT THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK IS THE TRUE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. BY JOHN BUNYAN. 'The Son of man is lord also of the Sabbath day.' London: Printed for Nath, Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1685. EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. All our inquiries into divine commands are required to be made personally, solemnly, prayerful. To 'prove all things,' and 'hold fast' and obey 'that which is good,' is a precept, equally binding upon the clown, as it is upon the philosopher. Satisfied from our observations …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 "They have Corrupted Themselves; their Spot is not the Spot of his Children; they are a Perverse and Crooked Generation. "
Deut. xxxii. 5.--"They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation." We doubt this people would take well with such a description of themselves as Moses gives. It might seem strange to us, that God should have chosen such a people out of all the nations of the earth, and they to be so rebellious and perverse, if our own experience did not teach us how free his choice is, and how long-suffering he is, and constant in his choice. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The True Manner of Keeping Holy the Lord's Day.
Now the sanctifying of the Sabbath consists in two things--First, In resting from all servile and common business pertaining to our natural life; Secondly, In consecrating that rest wholly to the service of God, and the use of those holy means which belong to our spiritual life. For the First. 1. The servile and common works from which we are to cease are, generally, all civil works, from the least to the greatest (Exod. xxxi. 12, 13, 15, &c.) More particularly-- First, From all the works of our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Everlasting Covenant of the Spirit
"They shall be My people, and l will be their God. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me."--JER. xxxii. 38, 40. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants Jesus Fails to Attend the Third Passover.
Scribes Reproach Him for Disregarding Tradition. (Galilee, Probably Capernaum, Spring a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XV. 1-20; ^B Mark VII. 1-23; ^D John VII. 1. ^d 1 And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judæa, because the Jews sought to kill him. [John told us in his last chapter that the passover was near at hand. He here makes a general statement which shows that Jesus did not attend this passover. The reason for his absence is given at John v. 18.] ^a 1 Then there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Mount Zion.
"For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them: for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake: but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews The Foundations of Good Citizenship.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.--Ex. 20:1-17. Parallel Readings. Hist. Bible I, 194-198. Prin. of Politics, Chap. II. Lowell, Essay on "Democracy." Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou …
Charles Foster Kent—The Making of a Nation Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Deuteronomy 5:22 NIVDeuteronomy 5:22 NLTDeuteronomy 5:22 ESVDeuteronomy 5:22 NASBDeuteronomy 5:22 KJV
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