The Law · Chapter 5 of 34
Deuteronomy 5
Moses gathers Israel and restates the Ten Commandments given at Horeb, stressing that the covenant was made with the living generation before him. He recounts how the people, terrified by the fire and the voice, begged him to stand between them and God and receive his words on their behalf. God approved their fear and their request, wishing they would always keep such a heart, and commissioned Moses as mediator to teach them the way of life.
What happens in Deuteronomy 5
Moses summons all Israel to hear the statutes, insisting the covenant at Horeb was made not only with their fathers but with them, alive this day. He repeats the Ten Commandments: one God only, no graven image, honoring God's name, keeping the Sabbath, here tied to their slavery in Egypt, honoring father and mother, and the prohibitions of murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and coveting. He recalls how God spoke these words from the midst of fire, cloud, and thick darkness with a great voice, then wrote them on two stone tablets.
The people, overwhelmed and afraid they would die if they heard God's voice again, asked Moses to go near and hear for them, promising to obey. God commended their words and voiced a longing that such a fearing heart would remain in them always, that it might be well with them and their children forever. He then set Moses as mediator to receive and teach all his commandments.
Deuteronomy 5 in context
Deuteronomy means second law, and here Moses restates the Ten Commandments first given in Exodus at Sinai, called Horeb throughout this book. Addressing a new generation who must own the covenant as their own, he recalls the terrifying theophany and the people's plea for a mediator.
This account establishes the pattern of God speaking to the people through a chosen intermediary, central to Israel's worship and to later hope for a coming prophet.
Main themes of Deuteronomy 5
Deuteronomy 5 (KJV)
1And 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. 2The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4The 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, 6I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8Thou 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: 9Thou 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, 10And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 11Thou 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. 12Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14But 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. 15And 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. 16Honour 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. 17Thou shalt not kill. 18Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 19Neither shalt thou steal. 20Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. 21Neither 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. 22These 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. 23And 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; 24And 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. 25Now 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. 26For 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? 27Go 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. 28And 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. 29O 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! 30Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. 31But 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. 32Ye 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. 33Ye 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.
Verses to carry from Deuteronomy 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,”Deuteronomy 5:5
“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.”Deuteronomy 5:22
“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!”Deuteronomy 5:29
Thematic connection
How Deuteronomy 5 points to Jesus
The heart of this chapter is a people so overwhelmed by God's holiness that they beg for a mediator to stand between them and God, and Moses does. Yet Moses himself points beyond his office, for the New Testament declares that there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, greater than Moses, who brings us not to a mountain of fire and darkness but near to God through his own blood.
God's aching wish here, O that there were such a heart in them, exposes what the law could command but not create. That longing is answered in the new covenant promised through the prophets and secured by Christ, who writes God's law upon the heart and gives his Spirit, so that the obedience God desired becomes not merely required but inwardly born.
Questions about Deuteronomy 5
Why did the people ask Moses to be their mediator?
Because the fire, cloud, and voice of God so terrified them that they feared they would die if they heard him directly. They asked Moses to go near, hear God's words, and bring them back, promising to obey. God approved. Their need reveals a truth about sinful people before a holy God: they need someone to stand between. That office finds its fulfillment in Christ, the one mediator who brings us safely near to God.
What does God's wish for such a heart reveal?
It shows that God desires more than outward rule keeping; he longs for a heart truly bent toward him. His cry, O that there were such a heart, admits that the law could command obedience but not produce the inward love behind it. This unmet longing points forward to the new covenant, where God promises to write his law on the heart and give his Spirit, an inner transformation accomplished through Christ.
Reflection
You were never meant to approach God's holiness on your own terms. The people rightly sought a mediator; you have the perfect one in Christ. And the heart God longed to see, he now offers to create in you by his Spirit. Ask him for that changed heart.
A prayer from Deuteronomy 5
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