The Commands

Key Phrase: Repeat them again and again to your children

Intro

Moses shares the Ten Commandments with the people after he has an extended visit with God on Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments start the whole body of rules referred to as the “Law”. The Bible calls the Law a stone which breaks men because only one, Jesus Christ, was able to live in complete obedience to the Law. About 1500 years later, Jesus summarizes the entire Law in two references: Love God completely & love your neighbor as yourself.

The Commands

 Deuteronomy 5:1 Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, “Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn them and obey them!

 6 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
  7 “You must not have any other god but me.
  8 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. . .

 11 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
  12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you.

14 . . .the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do.

 16 “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
  17 “You must not murder.
  18 “You must not commit adultery.
  19 “You must not steal.
  20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
  21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. . .

 Deuteronomy 6:1 “These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2 and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3 Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

 4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[1] 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

 Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Connect

The next stop on the trail fulfills the second promise to Abraham. (Remember a big family, land and a blessing to the whole world!) The Israelites reach the edge of Canaan, the Promised Land.

Footnote

[1] Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.