Blessing and Curse: Deuteronomy 10, 11 (1)

Opening Prayer: Psalm 105.44, 45
He gave them the lands of the Gentiles,
And they inherited the labor of the nations,
That they might observe His statutes
And keep His laws.
Praise the LORD!

Psalm 105.44, 45
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
To them He granted the promised land, the portion of His gracious hand.
Though they were few, and wandered far, He kept them close within His heart.

So let us all in our Savior confide, and in His holy Law abide.
Let us observe His glorious Word, and praise our sovereign, faithful Lord!

Today’s Text: Deuteronomy 10.1-11

Preparation
1. What event did Moses recall here?

2. How did he connect that event with the generation to whom he was speaking?

Meditation
Moses wanted to make firm connections between those who first received the Law of God and the generation to whom he was speaking on the plain of Moab. He reviewed the history of God’s doings with His people, from Egypt to Horeb, throughout the desert, up the east side of the Jordan, and finally to the plain of Moab. By this means he sought to establish continuity with the past, in the hope of ensuring continuity into the future.

In these verses, Moses connected the preparation of a second set of tablets containing God’s Law – necessitated by his breaking the first set (v. 2) – with the new generation of Israelites, through the vehicle of the ark of the covenant. The second set of Law tablets that God wrote for Moses, he put into the ark (vv. 3-5). That ark was still in Israel’s possession and present in their midst. There’s the connection with God’s covenant in the past. The parenthetical aside in verses 6-9 helps to make a further connection with Israel’s past, before Moses again reverted back to Mt. Horeb and the beginning of Israel’s trip to Kadesh Barnea.

And we know what happened there, how the people disobeyed God, were turned back to the wilderness, and all died there in unbelief. Once again, Moses emphasized to the generation he was about to turn over to Joshua that they must not forget their past, and they must not repeat the mistakes of their forebears. God had brought them to the plain of Moab to cross over into the land of promise; but they must not seek to do so without keeping the Law of God in their midst – in the ark, in their hearts and minds, on their doorposts and gates, and in their children.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
At that time, as now, God gave a second chance to obey Him. But sin brings consequences. Moses carried the first man-made stone tablets in his hand; and then in anger and frustration, he threw them down and broke them. Consequently, he had to hew out two new tablets of stone, and build a safety carrying case for the second set of tablets. God knows us: “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103.14). He knows that we cannot accomplish anything without His help; and He knows the ultimate thing we cannot do – save ourselves. Instead of making us build an ark of safety for ourselves, He gave us Jesus! “For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4.6, 7). The Spirit of God within us writes the Law on the fleshly tablets of our heart, that we may know and do that which pleases God (Ezek. 36.26, 27; Phil. 2.13). Our continuity with the past and into the future is twofold – our dustiness and God’s grace. “For the wages [consequences] of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6.23).

Reflection
1. How can you see the grace of God in that second set of tablets? In sending His Spirit to write the Law on our hearts?

2. Jesus is our “ark of safety” where the Law is concerned. Explain.

3. Why must we always bear in mind both our dustiness and God’s grace?

The condescension of the Lord is almost beyond belief. He prepared the tablets a second time, even after the first set was broken… The Lord did not add to or take away from the commandments. Earl Radmacher (1931-2014) NKJV Study Bible Notes on Deuteronomy 10.2, 4

Let Your Word dwell in me richly today, Lord, so that I…

Closing Prayer: Psalm 105.26-44
Praise and thank God for the powerful way He delivered Israel from Egypt, and for the even more powerful way He delivered you from sin and death in Jesus.

Psalm 105.26-44
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
He brought His people from Egypt alive, and made their joy and song revive.
He made the nations’ land their own, and all the wealth that they had known.

T. M. and Susie Moore

Listen to our summary of last week’s study in Deuteronomy by clicking here. You can download all the studies in the series by clicking here.

Our book, The Law of God, brings together the statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies of all the Law of God under their appropriate number of the Ten Commandments. It’s a great resource for daily meditation, to help you let the Word of God dwell in you richly. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from Church Fathers from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy: Ancient Christian Commentary Series III, Joseph T. Lienhard, S. J. ed. in collaboration with Ronnie J. Rombs, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001). All quotations from John Calvin from John Calvin, Commentaries on The Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Order of A Harmony, Rev. Charles William Bingham M. A., tr. and ed. (Edinburgh: The Calvin Translation Society, 1863. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).