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New Tablets of Stone
10 “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. 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.’ 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. 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. 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 people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place. From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with brooks of water. 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. Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him.)
“I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, and the LORD listened to me that time also. The LORD was unwilling to destroy you. And the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
Circumcise Your Heart
“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, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
(ESV)
Deuteronomy 10 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
“Now, people of Israel, listen to what the LORD your God demands of you: Worship the LORD and do all that he commands. Love him, serve him with all your heart, 13 and obey all his laws. I am giving them to you today for your benefit.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 GNB
We often think of laws as being restrictive. They hold us back in some way. The path to sin is many times paved with our belief that the laws don’t apply to us because we are above them. It is interesting to read that God gave the laws to the people for their benefit. Think about that for a moment. The laws were never given to exercise authority or control over humanity. They were given because God knows how sinful we are and He had our best interest in mind. We may not be able to clearly see that all the time, but it’s true.
God stressed several other points with the people. They were to fear God in a way that their hearts desperately wanted to honor Him. That fear would produce a love for the things God loves and a hatred for the things He hates.
He asked them to walk in His ways. This meant changing paths in order to follow Him. It meant acknowledging that His way of living life, though sometimes difficult, it always best.
God’s desire was for the people to love Him. This love would come from our own free will decision to follow after His heart – not a robotic or manipulative love.
God wanted the people to serve Him and obey Him. This meant conforming to His image on a daily basis and coming to Him with every decision that was made.
Now, when you put these all together, you get a consistent image that also translates well to the New Testament. We are to first fear God. Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” That fear leads us to wisdom and knowledge. Through that wisdom, we gain insight into our lives. We realize that sin has separated us from God and we are on a different path than Him. This is where repentance takes place as we turn around and change the direction we were going in order to follow Him.
Through repentance, we hear the Good News of the Gospel. God’s sacrificial love fills us with love and gratitude for what He’s done. We choose to love God with our lives because of this fact. From there, it is a constant tug of war as we wrestle with the flesh to serve and obey God through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The beauty of all this is that the same God who spoke these words to His people thousands of years ago is the same God we serve today. God’s heart has not changed. He has been more than gracious in giving humanity exactly what we need to bear His image in this sin-stained life.