Commentary - Deuteronomy 5:1-5

Bird's-eye view

In these opening verses of Deuteronomy 5, Moses convenes the new generation of Israel on the plains of Moab, on the very cusp of entering the Promised Land. This is not a history lesson for the sake of nostalgia. It is a formal, solemn covenant renewal ceremony. The central point Moses drives home is the present and binding reality of the covenant made at Horeb (Sinai). He insists that this covenant was not merely an arrangement with their dead parents, but is a living, breathing obligation for "all those of us alive here today." He reminds them of the terrifying, direct encounter with God in the fire and establishes his own crucial role as the mediator who stood between a holy God and a sinful people. This section serves as the preamble to the repetition of the Ten Commandments, grounding the law not in abstract principles, but in a historical, personal, and mediated encounter with Yahweh, the covenant Lord.

The entire passage is designed to impress upon the Israelites their corporate identity as the people of God and their personal responsibility to obey the covenant stipulations. The memory of the fire at Sinai is meant to instill a holy fear, while the reminder of Moses' mediation is meant to provide assurance. It is a masterful setup for the giving of the law, demonstrating that the law comes within the context of a relationship, a terrifying one that requires a go-between, which points inexorably to the need for the greater Mediator, Jesus Christ.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 5 marks the beginning of Moses' second major address to the people of Israel, which runs from chapter 5 through chapter 26. The first four chapters served as a historical prologue, recounting their journey from Horeb to Moab and exhorting them to faithfulness based on God's past actions. Now, Moses transitions from history to law. This chapter is the constitutional heart of the book. By restating the Ten Commandments, the foundational "ten words" of the covenant, Moses is reestablishing the legal and moral framework for Israel's life as a nation in the land they are about to possess. This is not new legislation but a reaffirmation of the original covenant for a new generation. The context is succession; the generation that received the law at Sinai has died in the wilderness, and their children must now formally embrace that same covenant as their own before they can receive the inheritance.

Key Issues

A Covenant For Us, Here, Today

One of the central temptations for any generation of believers is to treat their faith as a museum piece. We can honor the faith of our fathers, build monuments to their sacrifices, and speak piously of the great things God did in the past. But Moses will not allow for that. In this passage, he grabs the current generation by the lapels and tells them that the covenant God made at Sinai was not some dusty artifact to be admired. It was made with them. Here. Today. This principle of corporate solidarity is essential. The covenant is made with a people, a corporate body that persists through time. When God makes a promise to Abraham and his seed, that promise applies to all his seed in every generation. In the same way, the obligations of the Sinai covenant fall upon this new generation as though they themselves had stood at the foot of the trembling mountain. This is why we can speak of Christ's death as being "for us," though we were not chronologically present. We were there in Him, our covenant head. The covenant is always a present reality.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the judgments which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and be careful to do them.

The scene is a great, solemn assembly. Moses, the aged leader, summons the entire nation. His opening words, "Hear, O Israel," are the watchword of the book. This is the famous Shema. The word "hear" in Hebrew does not simply mean to register a sound. It means to listen attentively with the full intention of obeying. It is a call to heed, to take to heart, to submit. The purpose of this hearing is twofold: first, to learn, and second, to do. The Christian life follows this same pattern. We do not obey in ignorance, nor do we learn for the sake of mere academic curiosity. We learn the Word of God so that we might be careful to do it. Doctrine and duty are inextricably linked.

2 Yahweh our God cut a covenant with us at Horeb.

Moses immediately grounds his summons in a historical fact. Their obligation is not based on a set of good ideas he just thought up. It is based on a covenant that Yahweh Himself initiated. The phrase "cut a covenant" refers to the ancient practice of sealing a treaty by walking between the pieces of a sacrificed animal, signifying the curse that would befall the one who broke the agreement. God bound Himself to them, and them to Himself, in this solemn, bloody ceremony. Notice the possessive pronouns: "Yahweh our God" made a covenant with "us." This is personal, relational, and foundational to everything that follows.

3 Yahweh did not cut this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today.

This is a startling statement, and the theological linchpin of the introduction. How can Moses say this covenant was not made with their fathers? After all, their parents were the ones physically present at Sinai. And what about the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? The key is to distinguish between the fathers. He is not primarily talking about the generation that died in the wilderness, but rather the patriarchs. The covenant with Abraham was a covenant of pure promise. The covenant at Sinai, or Horeb, was a covenant of law, establishing Israel's national life. But he is also making a profound point about the nature of the covenant itself. It is not a hand-me-down. It is not a historical heirloom. It is a living obligation for the people standing before him right now. Every generation must own the covenant for itself. It was made with the corporate entity of Israel, and as the present manifestation of that body, it is their covenant.

4 Yahweh spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire.

Here Moses reminds them of the sheer terror and glory of the original event. To speak with God "face to face" does not mean they saw His physical form; the Bible is clear that no man can see God and live. It means the communication was direct, without an intermediary at first. God's own voice thundered from the mountain. And it came from "the midst of the fire." Fire in Scripture represents the holiness, purity, and judgment of God. God is a consuming fire. This was not a cozy chat. It was a terrifying, overwhelming display of divine majesty, designed to impress upon them the absolute seriousness of dealing with a holy God.

5 I was standing between Yahweh and you at that time, to declare to you the word of Yahweh; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said,

The "face to face" encounter was too much for the people. Their fear, which was a righteous and appropriate response, drove them to demand a mediator. They could not bear the direct voice of God. So Moses, the lawgiver, became Moses the mediator. He stood "between Yahweh and you." This is one of the clearest Old Testament foreshadowings of the work of Jesus Christ. Sinful man cannot stand in the presence of a holy God. We need a go-between, one who can represent God to us and us to God. The people's fear of the fire reveals the function of the law: it exposes our sin and our inability to stand before God. It makes us cry out for a mediator. Moses was the temporary answer for Israel, but he pointed to the permanent and perfect answer in Jesus, who is the mediator of a new and better covenant.

Application

This passage is a powerful reminder that our relationship with God is a covenantal one, not a casual one. Like the Israelites, we are tempted to think of the great events of salvation history, particularly the cross, as something that happened long ago to someone else. But Moses insists that the covenant is with "us, with all those of us alive here today." Through faith and baptism, we are incorporated into the body of Christ and the new covenant is cut with us. The benefits of Christ's death are ours, and the obligations of discipleship are ours. We are not merely admirers of a historical faith; we are participants in a living covenant.

Furthermore, we must remember the terror of the law. We do not come to a mountain of fire, but as the book of Hebrews tells us, we come to Mount Zion. This is only possible because we have a better mediator than Moses. Jesus did not just stand in the gap; He filled the gap with His own body on the cross. He absorbed the consuming fire of God's wrath that we deserved. The law, when we read it, should still drive us to fear, not a cowering fear, but a reverential awe that makes us cling all the more tightly to our Mediator. It is only in Christ that we can hear the word of God and not be consumed. Therefore, we must hear, we must learn, and we must be careful to do, all in the strength and grace provided by the one who stands between.