Deuteronomy 10 – Israel’s Restoration After the Golden Calf

A. God’s plan of recovery for Israel after the rebellion at Mount Sinai.

1. (1-5) Israel must return to the word of God, so God commanded the giving of the new tablets of the law.

“At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.’

“So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, just as the LORD commanded me.”

a. Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first: Moses broke the tablets of the law (Exodus 32:19), not only out of anger, but also as a powerful visual representation of Israel’s breaking of the law of God and the covenant He made with them. Now God commanded that they restore the law by making two new tablets of the law.

i. Which you broke: “That breaking of the first tables was natural; and unintentionally, it was symbolic. This is what man has ever done with the law of God.” (Morgan)

ii. In the days of King Josiah repentance and revival came to the people of God when they focused on God’s word again (2 Kings 22:8-23:25).

b. He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing: God wanted His written word to be the starting point for Israel’s restored relationship with Him. Therefore, God gave a second set of tablets, even writing on these with His own hand.

i. This is a powerful expression of God’s restoring grace. “The whole Bible is full of the truth that He finds a way for His banished ones to return, gives to failing man his second chance; writes again the broken law, restores the years the canker-worm has eaten, makes the marred vessel over anew, seeks and saves the lost. Upon the basis of that grace, men may hope, and start anew.” (Morgan)

ii. This is a powerful expression of the inspiration of God’s word. Though God did not literally write the Scriptures with His own hand, He did perfectly guide the minds and hands of the writers, so that the Scriptures are “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is given by the inspiration of God and comes, as it were, from His hand through human authors.

iii. From the midst of the fire: “The law was given in fire; it is ‘a law of fire’ (Deuteronomy 33:2), given by God, who is ‘a consuming fire’ (Hebrews 12:29), and hath a tribunal of fire (Ezekiel 1:27), and shall plead with transgressors in flames of fire (Isaiah 66:15, 16).” (Trapp)

c. And put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are: The tablets of the law were preserved in the ark of the covenant, and no further mention is made of these tablets in the Bible.

i. “Things which belonged together are here linked together without strict attention to chronological order or the lapse of time. In fact, the whole procedure took some time, for the documents had to be prepared, the ark had to be made, and the tabernacle prepared.” (Thompson)

2. (6-9) In order to deal with Israel’s sin problem, God established an enduring priesthood.

(Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stead. From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of rivers of water. At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear 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. Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God promised him.)

a. Where Aaron died, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stead: This parenthesis speaking about the priesthood demonstrated the need for priestly sacrifice and intercession in restoring a covenant relationship with God after a time of rebellion. Israel needed the sacrifice, intercession, and blessing that the Levites would bring to the nation.

i. The need for a priesthood said to Israel: “You can’t do it on your own. You must come to God through a mediator, who will atone for your sin, pray for you, and bless you. You will perish if you refuse your priestly mediator, and trust in your own ability to do these things.”

ii. The children of Israel journeyed: “It appears that after leaving Kadesh, Israel went toward Edom and then later returned to Kadesh before starting on the last trip around Edom and up onto the plains of Moab. Consequently the order here is the reverse of that in Numbers 33:31–33.” (Kalland)

b. To stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name: Restoring a covenant relationship with God after a time of rebellion must always have a focus on the priestly ministry of Jesus the Messiah. This work of Jesus is shown by His atonement for sin at the cross, by His intercession for His people in heaven, and by the blessing that He bestows from heaven.

i. “The phrase stand before is an idiom meaning ‘wait upon’, ‘serve’. It is used of many kinds of service in the Old Testament.” (Thompson)

ii. “The Levites were noticeably absent until Moses descended from the mountain, and then they became the Lord’s ministers of wrath and punishment (Exodus 32:25–29). By both election and obedience they demonstrated their qualifications to be the Lord’s inheritance (Deuteronomy 10:9; cf. Numbers 18:20, 24).” (Merrill)

3. (10-11) God’s command for Israel to rise and journey to Canaan.

“As at the first time, I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; the LORD also heard me at that time, and the LORD chose not to destroy you. Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

a. Arise, begin your journey: Israel’s rebellion at Mount Sinai with the golden calf was significant; it was no small matter. Yet God did not end His covenant with Israel or His relationship with them. After they came back to His word and came through His priesthood, it was time to move forward. God had a place to take them, and they had to begin the journey.

b. That they may go in and possess the land: Getting right with God after a time of sin and covenant-breaking must always lead to continued progress. It does no good to come back to the Bible, come through God’s priesthood in Jesus, and then remain stuck in the same place. God wants His people to go forward and make progress with Him.

B. What God required of Israel.

1. (12-13) What the LORD requires of Israel, the covenant nation.

“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 and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

a. What does the LORD your God require of you: In His grace, God gave Israel a summary of His commands, His expectations of them under the covenant agreed to on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:3-8). Though Moses spoke this to Israel on the plains of Moab in the context of covenant renewal, this statement has a general application to all God’s people.

i. “In a passage of great beauty, thrilling with earnestness, Moses made a statement summarizing the truth concerning the requirements of God as His people entered the land. The whole revealed the fact that everything depended on their relationship to Him. They were to fear Him, that is reverence; to walk in His ways, that is obedience; to love Him, that is worship; to serve Him, that is co-operation; to keep His commandments, that is fidelity.” (Morgan)

b. Fear the LORD your God: God requires from His people a reverential honor. This is not a fear that would make God’s people avoid Him, but a heart that so honors God that we would be hesitant to offend Him.

c. To walk in all His ways: God requires His people to live after the pattern He has set. God’s people are to walk on His road not their own. Israel was to walk in God’s ways, not in their own ways or in the ways of the Canaanites.

d. To love Him: God requires His people to love Him. This means the love He expects isn’t a love that just happens spontaneously, but it is a love that comes from a decision to set their affection on Him. It is a love that responds to the love of God that He first gives (1 John 4:19).

i. “That ye love him—have confidence in him as your father and friend, have recourse to him in all your necessities, and love him in return for his love.” (Clarke)

e. To serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul: God requires His people to serve Him, to do everything in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3:17). Service to God should not be superficial but performed with one’s whole being.

f. To keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes: God requires His people to not only know His word, but also to keep it. God’s people keep His word when they obey it and when they guard the integrity of God’s word.

g. For your good: Every command of God is given for the good of humanity. His commandments are never given merely so God can exercise His power, or so He can feel important. Every command God gives is with the best interest of humanity in mind, even when it is not immediately apparent.

2. (14-15) Why God required this from Israel.

Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.

a. The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them: God requires this conduct from His people because they are His special possession. Though heaven and earth belong to God, He set His focus and attention on Israel beginning with their fathers.

b. He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day: God’s choosing of Israel gave them some privilege, but also great responsibility. Under their covenant with God, Israel had a unique accountability before the LORD.

3. (16) What it takes to fulfill what God requires.

Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.

a. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart: All males among Israel had to be circumcised eight days after they were born (Leviticus 12:3). But this minor surgery was only a symbol for the real work of cutting away the flesh that God desired. God wanted Israel to be a spiritual people, trusting and obeying Him, and receiving the same righteousness by faith that Abraham received (Genesis 15:6).

i. The Bible often uses the word uncircumcised to refer to people as Gentiles, outside the covenant of God and not in a right relationship with Him (Judges 14:3, 15:18, 1 Samuel 14:6, 17:26, Acts 11:3, Galatians 2:7). Therefore, the idea of a foreskin of the heart means that someone could be outwardly a Jew, but not in a right relationship with God in his heart.

ii. This theme would be repeated later in the prophets, such as Jeremiah 4:4 (Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts). This idea is also stated in Leviticus 26:41, Jeremiah 9:26, and Ezekiel 44:7, 9. When Stephen rebuked the council, he said they were uncircumcised in heart and ears (Acts 7:51).

iii. To truly fulfill God’s law, it takes more than being given a command and having the intention to keep it. It takes an inner transformation, a transformation that only God can bring.

b. And be stiff-necked no longer: The phrase stiff-necked was a figure of speech that pictured a farm animal (such as a donkey or an ox) that resisted the will of its master. God called Israel to stop their resistance, and to submit to Him.

4. (17-22) A call to obedience, reverence, and compassion.

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.

a. The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords: The basis of this brief section of commands is set in the character of God. Yahweh (the LORD), the covenant God of Israel, was and is above all gods, both by nature and authority. He is the great God, mighty and awesome.

i. “That is, He is the source whence all being and power proceed; every agent is finite but himself; and he can counteract, suspend, or destroy all the actions of all creatures whensoever he pleases. If he determine to save, none can destroy; if he purpose to destroy, none can save. How absolutely necessary to have such a God for our friend!” (Clarke)

ii. God of gods: “The designations do not suggest that there are in reality other divine gods or lords over whom God rules. Rather, as God and Lord he is supreme over all. The superlative is based on the idea that other gods are said to exist but does not admit of their reality.” (Kalland)

iii. Mighty: “The adjective mighty (gibbor) is commonly used of a warrior, and seems to have overtones of the Holy War in which Yahweh as leader in battle displayed the qualities of a warrior (Psalm 24:8; Isaiah 9:6; 10:21; 42:13; Jeremiah 20:11).” (Thompson)

b. Who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe: When God requires His people to show justice, compassion, and reverence, it is because these virtues answer to aspects of God’s own character. God compassionately administers justice for the disadvantaged, and He loves the stranger.

i. Because God loves the stranger, believers are to therefore love the stranger. “And to show yourselves the friends of God…. Friends are like-minded.” (Trapp)

ii. “What God does in the social realm his people are to imitate (cf. Exodus 22:22–24). They must be especially sensitive to aliens living among them, particularly since they also had been aliens in Egypt (Deuteronomy 10:19).” (Merrill)

c. Who has done for you these great and awesome things: The obedience God calls His people to is always set in the context of what He has done for them. Service and obedience to the LORD are grateful responses to His goodness. If there is a lack in obedience and reverence, there is almost always a lack of appreciation for what the LORD has done.

i. One great thing God did for Israel was to cause them to grow into a significant nation. The family of Jacob went to Egypt as about seventy persons and over 400 years became a multitude.

d. He is your praise: This is true of God and for the people of God in at least two senses. First, He is the object of praise. Second, He makes His people praiseworthy. Any wisdom, beauty, or skill among God’s people is not to their praise, but He is your praise.

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