Deuteronomy 5:5 - Forerunner Commentary

Deuteronomy 5:5

3 The Lord ^adid not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.

4 ^aThe Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.

5 ^aI stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for ^byou were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:

6 ^a‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of¹ bondage.

7 ^a‘You shall have no other gods¹ before Me.

8 ^a‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

Commentaries:

No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Deuteronomy 5:5.

Deuteronomy 5:1-6

God tells us to hear the covenant that He has made with us, particularly the commandments that were Israel's and our response to Him. It is our part of the covenant to obey these commands. So when we keep them, we fulfill the terms of the agreement and thus secure the blessings of God's presence with us. And as an added benefit, we grow in character. Our character begins to reflect His own. Thus He urges us to learn, to hear, and to be careful to do them because there are no downsides to keeping God's commandments. It is all good.

It is amazing how many people think that keeping God's commandments is a bummer. It is dull. They think the exact opposite. This is the carnal way, which the apostle Paul says, "The carnal mind is enmity against God" and it cannot keep God's law because, this is one of the big things, they think keeping God's law is a downer. It is a bummer, it is restrictive, it is constraining. But there are no downsides to keeping God's law.

That is just human nature's response, because it does not want to do them. Because keeping God's law does require a bit of sacrifice. But the sacrifice pays off beautifully in the end. You live. Otherwise, you die. I did mention that. He emphasizes that a consequence of hearing and obeying is living. We want to live, right? Living comes by keeping God's Word, by doing the commandments of God.

Excerpted from Deuteronomy: Hearing by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Deuteronomy 5:5-6

We will turn to Scripture that provides a foundation. The foundation for us is that we not only believe God but He is sovereign over His entire creation and He is faithful to do what He says He will do. That has to be in place for us for the greatest result to be produced.

Our God is God and He identifies Himself with those that He brought out of Egypt. I do not think that I could turn to any place that would be plainer that this is the one we are dealing with just like the Israelites did.

Excerpted from Leadership and the Covenants (Part One) by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

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