Israel is standing on the edge of entering the Promised Land and Moses reminds them of the covenant God made with them at Mount Sinai. God was establishing how His people were supposed to live in relationship with Him and with one another. The problem is that Israel and humanity in general could not perfectly keep God’s law. That sets up the need for something greater which is a savior. Moses repeats the 10 commandments to the Israelites so that they might not forget what God required of them.
The 10 Commandments:
Have no other gods
Do not make idols
Do not misuse God’s name
Keep the Sabbath holy
Honor your father and mother
Do not murder
Do not commit adultery
Do not steal
Do not give false testimony
Do not covet
Jesus didn’t come to tell people that God’s law was bad. He came to fulfill it. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Jesus perfectly obeyed what Israel and all of us have failed to obey perfectly. To simplify things, the Ten Commandments can be divided into two commands. Love God. Love people. Jesus summarized the entire law this way. When one the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” What Jesus is saying is that if we love God perfectly and love people perfectly we will be in accordance with the law. Problem is that this is impossible without God. No man has ever walked this earth and done this but Jesus Christ which made him the one and only perfect sacrifice for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Love y’all! Have a great day!

Leave a Reply