Morning Light – Deuteronomy 5

[Deuteronomy 5] Face to Face with the Father. In this chapter Moses recounts how God called the entire nation before Mount Sinai and spoke with them face to face. God’s first choice is always a face to face relationship. It is possible and it is available for us today. It is always God’s first response to us but often we opt for alternatives and exclude ourselves from the highest and best that He has for us.

[Deu 5:1-33 KJV] 1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, [even] us, who [are] all of us here alive this day. 4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, 5 (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, 6 I [am] the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8 Thou shalt not make thee [any] graven image, [or] any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 11 Thoua shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold [him] guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 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. 16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 17 Thou shalt not kill. 18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 19 Neither shalt thou steal. 20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. 21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any [thing] that [is] thy neighbour’s. 22 These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. 23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, [even] all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; 24 And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. 25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. 26 For who [is there of] all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we [have], and lived? 27 Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear [it], and do [it]. 28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! 30 Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. 31 But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do [them] in the land which I give them to possess it. 32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and [that it may be] well with you, and [that] ye may prolong [your] days in the land which ye shall possess.

In this chapter Moses recount’s the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Horeb. Other references say the ten commandments were given on Mount Sinai so the general opinion is this is two different names for the same place. Now it is interesting to note that there were two different sources of Old Testament canon. One is the “Yahwist” source and the other the “Elohist” source. The Elohist source is older but was superceded by the Yahwist source over time all taking place long before Jesus was born. The majority of the original references to God were primarily as “Elohim”. At some point many of these “Elohim” references were intentionally replaced by “Yahweh”. Yahweh is the covenant name of God revealed to Abraham. Elohim is the name of God used in creation and is seen as the plural name of God originally alluding to the trinity. The oldest meaning of Elohim is defined as “The creator El and His family or pantheon”. It is the inclusive name of God that by inference would in some sense include those that are born again as well.

The Sinai name of for the mountain would likely be the oldest appellation for this mountain with Horeb coming later. Sinai is a name based on a Summarian moon diety whereas Horeb means “glowing”. Mount Sinai never glowed until God came down over the mountain in a cloud of glory.

The elders and the people were called to the mountain and communed with God face to face. This was God’s first choice in communicating with the people. Not through a representative but to all the people. This shortly changes in the chapter but only at the suggestion and request of the people. God wants to have a face to face relationship with us. Moses’ face shown with God’s glory because of his prolonged exposure to the presence of God. It was a key to his long life and his vitality (as his natural strength abated not [De. 34:7]).

In v. 5 we see Moses reminding the people that he stood between them and the Lord after they feared to stand directly before God and instead wanted Moses to do so in their behalf. Even after centuries of painstaking relationship building the people are still in unreasoning fear before God. This is the same complaint that Adam gave when God came walking in the cool of the day.

[Gen 3:10 KJV] 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.

God asked Adam “where are you”. Adam’s answer was essentially “God, if you weren’t so scary I wouldn’t have had to hide myself. This is the same line of excuse made when he blamed his disobedience on Eve saying “that woman you gave me …” At Mount Horeb the people are making the same excuses for not wanting to be close to God because of the rigors and intimidating they complain of in His presence.

Beginning in v. 6 the Ten Commandments are again rehearsed by Moses in the hearing of the people. What do we take away from the ten commandments as New Covenant believers? We don’t believe that we are required to keep Jewish law respecting dietary restrictions and other precepts. What are the demands of the ten commandments (otherwise known as the Decalogue) upon us today? Jesus said in Mat. 5:18 that not one bit of the law would pass away until it had all been fulfilled. Is the law fulfilled in Christ? Romans 3:31 suggests that in Christ through faith we fulfill the law.

Rom. 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

The law when approached by mere willpower only brings us to failure. This is actually its intention. Gal. 4:2 says the purpose of the law is to bring us to Christ – to bring us exhausted by a performance based approach to God and deposit us helpless and humbled at the foot of the cross admitting that we need a savior. God knows that human nature is not going to keep the law. Even in the New Testament community Paul had to exhort them “let him that stole steal no more” (Eph. 4:28). The church in Ephesus is the most spiritual group of people in Biblical history but had to be TOLD such things as though they couldn’t figure that out on their own.

God wants us to be like Him. We are His children. He promises in His word that coming into His presence will change us:

[1Jo 3:2 KJV] 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

This is exactly what God was after at Horeb when He initially gathered the people to Him. This was His intent when after Adam’s disobedience He came walking in the cool of the day calling Adam to Himself. He was coming to solve the problem of sin by His presence for in His presence Adam would have been changed. The people of Israel would have been changed – and we ourselves in God’s presence will be changed.

Adam however rejected the presence of God so God made Him coats of skins. He took life to cover Adam. This is a picture of the sacrificial life of Jesus to cover us. Adam rejected God’s presence and God proceeded to point out the problem of disobedience. Likewise the people are afraid so they rejected His presence and God immediately gives them law because they still need a tutor – they haven’t figured out that their only HOPE was in His presence so He gives them that which would bring them to the end of themselves and bring them hopefully to Him exhausted by their own efforts to do things by themselves.

Verse 29 tells us that God is longing for God’s people to have a heart to keep His commandments, live in His righteousness and fear His name. The fear He is looking for is not the fear that causes men to withdraw from His presence but the fear that causes us to bow to His will and yield to His Spirit. The people understood that right relationship involved getting closer to God so they told Moses “go thou near”. We do the same thing today. We revere those who go near to God for us while we go on our way living our everyday lives lives. In Christian culture we see this in the clergy / laity dichotomy. The leaders minister for us, pray for us and serve God for us while we go on a live normal lives. In return we hold them up as particularly holy men and women (which so often they prove not to be).

God wants a face to face relationship with you. He wants us to walk in His ways verse 33 says. John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is our way, truth and life not some set of laws. In Christ we are changed and the ten commandments then become the ten promises in Christ because we have drawn near to Him and are changed.