Moses: "Look guys, it's pretty simple. Know the Law, Obey It, and Live well and long." Israel: "But what if. . . .?"

Deuteronomy Chapter 5: The Commandments, Israel’s Response, God’s Response

Deuteronomy 5:1-33 -- The Passage and Some Thoughts

In verses 1-5, Moses tells the children of Israel about the covenant God had made with them in Horeb. Then verses 6-21 basically repeat in detail each of the commandments.

Beginning in verse 22 and going to verse 27, Moses shares Israel’s response to God’s Covenant Commandments. To me, it was not the response that Moses or God may have expected. It sounded like they had their own concern as Moses tells us in verse 25 that the children of Israel feared that if they heard God’s voice any longer, they would die since no one before them had heard the voice of the living God and lived. And they wanted Moses to see what God had to say about that (vs. 27). In my opinion, they missed the whole point. They missed what God wanted for them and they were more concerned about their fear of dying. I wonder how many times we miss the blessing of God because of our fear of dying. How many times do we fail to see the big picture because we’re more concerned about one little aspect in the corner? It all reminds me of my recruitment days when our company was offering incredible and well-paying jobs to people and all some of them could ask about was whether or not they had to wear a suit, because if they did, it would kill them. (Yes, that was decades ago but you get my point.)

And God responds (through Moses) in verses 28-33. And while God indicates that the people spoke well, He also, as I read it, sees right through them when He said, in verse 29, “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!”

And then God tells Moses to say to the children of Israel (verse 30): “Return to your tents.” I am confident that God was upset at them. He was angry.  First of all, notice the emphasis He placed on His statement in verse 29 – it ends with an exclamation mark. You don’t see a lot of those in these passages.  Secondly, please note there’s a closing double quotation mark at the end verse 30.

[In fairness to those that are studying this passage with me, I must admit I may be in the minority of those who read the text in this way. Many commentators think that God was actually quite pleased with the Israelites, their response, and the fact that they enquired further of Him through Moses. I just don’t find the words and punctuation support that. I would value your perspective on it.  Just reply with a comment on the site, or to the posting on the social media you may have used to get here.]

He was done with them, and in verse 31, God addresses Moses only. He tells Moses to sit tight, to stand by Him so that God could give him all the commandments so he could teach them to the sons of Israel so that they would keep them in the lands that God gave them.

Then in verses 32-33 Moses again turns to, and instructs, the Israelites, perhaps more emphatically or as a command even, to observe these laws and not waver to the right or to the left of them. He wants them to stay on the course, on the path (the way) that God commanded. And again, the blessing would be life for them, prolonging their days.

Wrap-up

At face value, this is a pretty straight-forward historical account of events that took place between God, Moses, and the children of Israel before the took over the Promised Land on the west side of the Jordan. However, focusing on God as our hero in every passage of Scripture, we see once again His incredible patience with His children. They were worried about getting closer to God and hearing His voice may cause their death. So, He set their minds at ease by simply asking them to learn and follows His commandments and statutes and to teach them to their children and future generations. And doing so meant that “they would live, that things would be well with them, and that their days would be prolonged”.

What amazes me about this whole thing is its simplicity. Here are the rules. Obey. Gain a lot. Nothing complex here.  And so it is with. God is saying to us, “Here is My Son. He died for you. Accept Him as Savior. And live.”  So simple. Yet so hard for many to grasp.

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Why We May Be Failing To Hear God

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Patience After Patience

Exodus 24:16-18: And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.  And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop.  And Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

What can we glean from these three verses?

Perhaps a good place to start is to make sure we have an understanding of what the “glory of the Lord” may mean.  Matt Slick, President & Founder, Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, defines it this way:

The phrase "glory of the Lord" occurs 38 times in the NASB, 36 in the KJV.  Glory is synonymous with splendor, honor, praise, worthiness, etc.  The phrase is used to describe the manifestation of God’s greatness (Exodus 16:10) and is seen as a consuming fire (Exodus 24:17), a cloud (1 Kings 8:11), radiance (Ezekiel 1:26-28), and brightness (Ezekiel 10:4).  It fills the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34) and can be seen (Numbers 16:42) and can bring fear (Luke 2:9).

From our text under study here in Exodus it appears that the “glory of the Lord” moves about, and in this case, it rested on Mount Sinai.  This reminds me of two things.  First, I think of a quote, from the book, Experiencing God, by Henry & Richard Blackaby, and Claude King.  It went like this, “Watch to see where God is working and join Him” based on John 5:17,19,20. We need to find out where God’s glory is being manifested and both worship and serve in that arena. Secondly, in this passage, His glory rested on a mountain – a mountain that Moses had to climb. Many of us today just want to have His glory where we are – down here in the easy-going, soft, self-fulfilling life that we live.  God says, “No, you’ll find me on the mountain and it’s hard work getting up here.” How hard is it finding God’s “glory”?  Well, I think the next phrase tells us.

Even though God’s glory rested on Mount Sinai, a cloud covered it for six whole days. Moses had obeyed.  He made the trip up the Mountain, but he still had to wait for God’s timing for leader of Israelites in the desert to hear from Him. How would your patience, or mine, have handled that? If we answer, “not well” – perhaps we’re not ready to hearken to what He has to say to us.

And then God calls Moses on the seventh day – seven whole days after Moses was summoned to make the trip up the Mountain.  Moses obeyed; he did everything he had to, and God still made him wait.  If we question God’s action in that regard, we still need to do some work on Who God is and How He operates.  Not to mention reconsidering exactly who we are.

Meanwhile, half way down the Mountain, the other 72 leaders and elders that had joined Moses and Joshua for the first leg of the trip, saw, from below, the glory of the Lord as a consuming fire at the top of the mountain.  Can you imagine what went through their heads?  Was it possible that they thought Moses and Joshua were simply called up higher to be sacrificed in a burning fire?  If not, will they ever return and what will they be like?  And so on.  I am sure, that at the least, they would have been filled with great awe and perhaps considerable fear.  Think of your possible reaction if that had been your pastor and the head of your church’s board of directors?

And then we read, that after God called Moses (on the seventh day) from the midst of the cloud, Moses walked into the cloud (I believe without Joshua) as he continued to get closer to God.  Great, at last, we’ll have some action.  Things will happen now, won’t they?  “We need things to happen now, God.”  But they didn’t.  In fact, our text says, “Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights” after that point in time.

Here’s the lesson.  If we really want God’s wisdom, His direction, and His help – we must realize, understand, and accept the fact that we have absolutely no control over how He gives them to us.  Sometimes He acts quickly, sometimes in “a little while”, and sometimes it seems forever.  But He’s fully aware of time, and knows that although He’s not bound by it, we are concerned with it.  Until we get to the point where we can honestly believe that His timing is absolutely best, designed to both take the ultimate advantage of circumstances into account, as well as providing us with the ultimate opportunity to grow in patience and in our faith, we will always struggle with when God speaks.  I pray you get ‘there’ sooner rather than later.

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