How does Deuteronomy 5:22 connect to the giving of the Ten Commandments? Setting the Scene • Deuteronomy 5 retells the Mount Sinai (Horeb) encounter forty years after it happened. • Moses has just repeated the Ten Commandments (5:6-21). • Verse 22 is Moses’ inspired commentary on that original moment. Deuteronomy 5:22 “The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly from the mountain, out of the fire, cloud, and thick darkness; and He added nothing more. Then He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.” Key Connections to the Giving of the Ten Commandments • Spoken by God Himself – “The LORD spoke these commandments” links directly with Exodus 20:1, “And God spoke all these words.” – Affirms the commandments are God’s own words, not Moses’ ideas. • Public, Audible Revelation – “To your whole assembly” echoes Exodus 19:16-19; 20:18-19 where all Israel hears the voice, sees the fire, smoke, and feels the quake. – This collective witness underlines the historical reliability of the event. • Accompanied by the Theophany – “From the mountain, out of the fire, cloud, and thick darkness” matches Exodus 19:18; 24:17. – The dramatic setting reinforces the holiness and gravity of the law. • Complete and Sufficient – “He added nothing more.” The core moral code was complete; ceremonial and civil statutes would come later through Moses (cf. Exodus 24:3-4), but the Ten stood alone as the covenant’s foundation. • Written by God – “He wrote them on two stone tablets” reiterates Exodus 31:18; 32:15-16—God’s own engraving. – Stone tablets signify permanence and unchangeability. • Mediated Through Moses – “And gave them to me.” God entrusts Moses as covenant mediator (Exodus 24:12), foreshadowing the ultimate Mediator spoken of in Hebrews 3:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:5. Why This Matters • Establishes the Ten Commandments as the direct, literal, and unalterable word of God. • Confirms their central place in the covenant and their abiding moral authority (Matthew 5:17-19). • Shows God’s desire for His people to know His will plainly—spoken, seen, and written. |
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