God's Lineman Organization Ministry

Deuteronomy 10:1-22

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Gary

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““The Lord said to me at that time, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and come to me on the mountain and make a wooden ark. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you are to place them in the ark.’ So I made an ark of acacia wood, cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. Then on the day of the assembly, the Lord wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that he had spoken to you on the mountain from the fire. The Lord gave them to me, and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made. And they have remained there, as the Lord commanded me.” The Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. Aaron died and was buried there, and Eleazar his son became priest in his place. They traveled from there to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with flowing streams. “At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to pronounce blessings in his name, as it is today. For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him. “I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time. The Lord also listened to me on this occasion; he agreed not to annihilate you. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up. Continue your journey ahead of the people, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to give their ancestors.’ “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good. The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord had his heart set on your ancestors and loved them. He chose their descendants after them — he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today. Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don’t be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing. You are also to love the resident alien, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt. You are to fear the Lord your God and worship him. Remain faithful to him and take oaths in his name. He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt, seventy people in all, and now the Lord your God has made you numerous, like the stars of the sky.”

Deuteronomy 10 moves from Israel’s rebellion and failure into God’s mercy, His covenant, and His call to love and obey him. Moses is continuing to remind Israel what happened after the golden calf. God had given Moses the Ten Commandments, but Israel had broken their covenant with God by worshiping the golden calf. Moses broke the original stone tablets in anger. Yet God told Moses to make two new tablets, and He renewed His covenant with Israel. Israel failed, but God did not abandon them. God tells Moses to make two new stone tablets and bring them up the mountain. This shows God’s willingness to restore the relationship even after Israel sinned. Sound familiar? Moses explains that he interceded for Israel and that God listened to him. Moses stood between a sinful people and a holy God. The only problem was that Moses was sinful also. What Jesus does for us is on a so much greater level than what Moses does for Israel. Jesus is our perfect and infinite mediator. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind,  the man Christ Jesus.” Moses interceded for Israel, but Jesus continually intercedes for us who belong to Him.

The heart of the chapter is when Moses asks Israel, “What does the LORD your God require of you?” He answers them by saying to them fear God, walk in His ways, love Him, worship Him, serve Him, and keep His commands. We must notice that obedience isn’t presented as a way to earn God’s love. Israel had already experienced God’s love and mercy. Their obedience was supposed to be a response to what God had already done for them. Sound familiar? John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” We don’t obey Jesus so that He will love us. We obey because He has already loved us.

The part of this chapter that sounds off at face value is when Moses tells Israel “Circumcise your hearts and don’t be stiff-necked any longer.” When we read this we need to understand that circumcision was the physical sign of Israel’s covenant with God. When God is saying this he is saying that He wanted something deeper than an outward religious sign. He wanted their hearts. Jesus is searching for the same thing from us today. Jesus repeatedly taught that what comes out of a person is determined by what is in the heart. We now have God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. Christ changes us from the inside out.

In this chapter Moses also says God shows no partiality, accepts no bribes, defends the widow and the fatherless, loves the resident alien, and commands Israel to love the resident alien. This reveals God’s character. God cares about people who are vulnerable and easily overlooked. The people that God went after were the people society pushed aside. Time and time again he went after the poor, the sick, the sinners, the outsiders, and the rejected. In most cases when someone receives salvation it is when they are at their lowest because it is necessary to realize that it is impossible to work our way out of our sin problem. Most of us our hard headed just like the Israelites. We look at our circumstances and think money, power, or earthly love will save us or satisfy us. We usually try that first and realize that no matter how much we have or how hard we try to make our situations better it is never enough. Jesus is the only one that is enough and He is the only one that can satisfy us. Love y’all! Have a great day!

Related devotionals:

  1. Deuteronomy 1:1-46
  2. Deuteronomy 2:1-37
  3. Deuteronomy 3:1-29
  4. Deuteronomy 4:1-49

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