This chapter begins with Moses speaking about the second set
of Tablets of the Covenant. He had broken the first set because of the sin of
the Golden Calf (Deut. 9:9-19). Although Israel had failed God, He gave them
another chance after they showed repentance of what they had done.
(Deut. 10:1-2) At that time
the LORD said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the
first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood. (2) And
I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you
broke, and you shall put them in the ark.’
What words did the Lord write in the Tablets, in the first
set as well as in the second set? He wrote on there what is known as “the Ten Commandments”, which represent the summary of the entire Law (or
teaching, and in Hebrew: Torah).
The Tablets serve as a testimony of the Covenant between God
and Israel. What does the covenant consist of? In short, it is the commitment
Israel made; agreeing that they would do everything God said – Yehovah would be
their God, and Israel would be His people. The summary of the Covenant is
written in those tablets.
(Deut. 4:13) And he declared
to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten
Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone.
The whole Covenant was written in the Torah scrolls, and
that is what he read before all the people…
(Exodus 24:7-8) Then he took
the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they
said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” (8)
And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood
of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with
all these words.”
Israel made a covenant of obedience with God, sealed with
blood. After having established the covenant, Moses went up Mount Horeb to
receive the Tablets of the Law.
(Exodus 24:12) The LORD said
to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you
the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written
for their instruction.”
On the Tablets was written the summary of the covenant: the
10 Commandments. This is the foundation for all the law. Besides being a
summary, the Tables were a testimony of that Covenant, which is why they are
also known as the “Tablets of the
Testimony”.
(Exodus 31:18) And he gave to
Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets
of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
(Exodus 32:15-16) Then Moses
turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in
his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back
they were written. (16) The tablets were the work of God, and the writing
was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
The first set of Tablets of the Covenant were broken because
the people had failed God (Deut. 9:17). But they repented, and the Lord gave
them another chance…
After receiving God’s forgiveness, the Lord gave them new
Tablets of the Testimony (the second set of Tablets), in which he also wrote “the
Ten Commandments”.
(Deut. 10:3-5) So I made an
ark of acacia wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up
the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. (4) And he wrote on the tablets,
in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that
the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the
fire on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me. (5)
Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark
that I had made. And there they are, as the LORD commanded me.”
The first Tablets were carved and written by God. When it
came to the second tablets, Moses had to help by cutting the stones, although
it was the Lord again who wrote on them. God wants us to do our part, and He
will do His.
(Exodus 34:1, 4) The LORD said
to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will
write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke...
So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the
morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him,
and took in his hand two tablets of stone.
In the context of the Second Tablets, God showed his
attributes of mercy…
(Exodus 34:5-7) The LORD descended
in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of
the LORD. (6) The LORD passed before him and proclaimed,
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, (7) keeping steadfast love
for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will
by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
God’s mercy does not get rid of His justice. In his
compassion He erases our faults if we repent, but when He gives us a second
chance He expects us to do righteousness thereafter (Exodus 34:9-11).
TRIBE OF LEVI:
KEEPERS OF THE COVENANT
The Tablets of the Law had to be kept in the Ark of the
Covenant, which was found in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle. God chose
the tribe of Levi to take care of the Ark and everything related to the
Tabernacle. All the Levites dedicated their lives to that.
(Deut. 10:8) At that time
the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant
of the LORD to stand before the LORD to minister to him and
to bless in his name, to this day.
Moses reminded the Israelites once more about the special role
the tribe of Levi had. They would not participate in the conquest war because they
would not inherit any land; they would just be assigned cities where they would
live, scattered all throughout the land of Israel (Number 35).
Although the Levites would not receive their own land, their
inheritance was the best…
(Deut. 10:9) Therefore Levi
has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his
inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him.)
The Levites would be devoted to working for God in the
Temple, and as teachers and judges in their communities. Since they did not
have any economical income or anything they produced, they depended on the
offerings and tithes of the people.
(Numbers 18:20-21) And the LORD said
to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have
any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people
of Israel. (21) To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an
inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the
tent of meeting
Ezekiel also mentions this when he talks about the Temple in
the Messianic era…
(Ezekiel 44:28-30) This shall be
their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no
possession in Israel; I am their possession. (29) They shall eat the grain
offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in
Israel shall be theirs. (30) And the first of all the firstfruits of all
kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to
the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a
blessing may rest on your house.
WHAT GOD IS ASKING
Knowing what God expected of the Tribe of Levi (serving God
in the Tabernacle), we could ask ourselves: What did God expect of the rest of
the tribes of Israel? Moses answers this question next…
(Deut. 10:12-13) And now,
Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your
God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul, (13) and to keep the
commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for
your good?
Every Israelite is called to serve God with their obedience and
their love. This is the essence of what God wants and expects of His people.
This is the same core message the prophet Micah spoke of…
(Micah 6:8) He has told
you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but
to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Sounds simple, right? Then, why is it so hard to obey God?
It might be because of the hardness of our heart and the lack of humility. But
Moses exhorts us saying:
(Deut. 10:16) Circumcise
therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
The concept of “circumcising the heart” did not begin in the
time of the New Testament, but it has been there from the beginning, in the
Torah. The Lord has always been interested in our heart, ever since the
beginning.
CIRCUMCISE YOUR HEART
Clearly, the image of “circumcising your heart” is allegorical
and not literal. Taking “the foreskin off of your heart” represents getting rid
of the desires of the flesh which lead us to sin. It is also related to the
hardness of heart.
A verse in Leviticus gives us an idea of what having an “uncircumcised
heart” means, and it relates it to arrogance and the inability of seeing our own
sin…
(Leviticus 26:41-43) so that I
walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then
their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, (42)
then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant
with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. (43)
But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies
desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because
they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes.
Paul explains that the circumcision of the heart is more
important than the physical circumcision, and this first one is related to the
willingness of obeying God…
(Romans 2:25-29) For
circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law,
your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. (26) So, if a man who is
uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be
regarded as circumcision? (27) Then he who is physically uncircumcised
but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and
circumcision but break the law. (28) For no one is a Jew who is merely one
outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. (29) But a Jew is one
inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the
letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
Jeremiah, the prophet, also relates circumcision of the
heart with obedience…
(Jeremiah 4:4) Circumcise
yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah
and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with
none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.
Psalms 119, which talks about the goodness of the Law of God,
mentions the heart several times when it speaks about obedience. Let’s see some
of them:
(Psalms 119:10-11) With my whole
heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! (11) I have stored
up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
(Psalms 119:34) Give me
understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
(Psalms 119:111-112) Your
testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. (112) I
incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.
(Psalms 119:69-70) The insolent
smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts; (70) their
heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.
The end of the book of Devarim, relates the circumcision of
the heart with loving God.
(Deut. 30:6) And the LORD your
God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you
will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
that you may live.
This is really the same message, since we express our love of
God through our obedience, just as Jesus taught and John explained…
(John 14:15) If you love me,
you will keep my commandments.
(John 14:23) Jesus answered
him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love
him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
(1 John 2:3-5) And by this we
know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. (4) Whoever
says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth
is not in him, (5) but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of
God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him
We will finish the study on this chapter by reading the
message that summarizes what God expects of His People:
(Deut. 10:20-21) You shall fear
the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by
his name you shall swear. (21) He is your praise. He is your God, who has
done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.
More lessons on
Deuteronomy: DEVARIM (Deut.)
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