Introduction

Deuteronomy 5 begins by pointing out what a privilege this generation was experiencing. The previous generation had died in unbelief in the wilderness - even though they had witnessed non-stop miracles for the previous forty years. Miracles by themselves do not bring people to faith. But these verses help to explain why this next generation would prove to be a people of faith in whom God was pleased. It highlights sovereign grace, God’s covenant, what covenant faithfulness looks like, God's provision of a mediator (Moses) who would stand as a type of Jesus, and the character of a people who would be powerfully used by God. It constitutes far more than just a continuing introduction to the Law of God. It is that. It’s the second part of the introduction. But it also constitutes a theology of covenant renewal. None of us can ride on our parents' coattails. Each generation must renew covenant with God if we are to be powerfully used by God. I've divided the passage up into four major headings.

All Israel is summoned to embrace the laws of the covenant with all that they are (v. 1)

First, verse 1 is God's call for the next generation to whole-heartedly embrace the covenant. Notice in the first words that "Moses called all Israel..." That assumes that all Israel was capable of hearing - children included. It's amazing how much even the youngest children can pick up in a worship service. For example , it does my heart good to see even toddlers raising their hands during worship songs. Sometimes they catch the essence of covenant worship from those around them even if they don't completely understand everything that is going on. And that's good.

But verse 1 not only summons all Israel to keep covenant with God, but it summons them to do so with everything that is in them. It says, "And Moses called [or literally, summoned] all Israel, and said to them: 'Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.'" Sadly, the New King James glosses over the fact that the Hebrew has four distinct verbs describing Israel's responsibility, not three. The King James is more literal when it says, "Hear, [That's the first verb - "Hear"] O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may [and here come the next three verbs] learn them, and keep, and do them." There are four important steps that Israel was to take (and that all of us should take) when confronted with the Word of God.

Hear them with our ears (v. 1a - שְׁמַ֤ע)

The first Hebrew word indicates that we are to hear with our ears. We are to listen up or pay close attention to the words that Moses speaks and later writes down. It is easy in a sermon to have words go in one ear and out the other, or to be distracted by the things that are going on around us. And granted , it is sometimes easy to be distracted by crying babies or by the way some people dress, but we are still responsible to listen up. And good listening involves active listening for what God is saying to us through His Scriptures. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 indicates that hearing is the doorway to covenant blessings, so this first sub-point is important. So how do we get better at active listening? There are a number of ways. My parents encouraged me to take notes when I was younger. That helped me to focus on what I was hearing. Others engage in active hearing by interacting with the message and saying "Yes Lord," "Amen," "Forgive me," "Help me to do that Lord," "I praise You, Lord," and other statements in their heads (or sometimes even out loud). One technique is by worshiping God through the truths that you are hearing preached, or that you are singing, or that you are reciting. But whatever techniques work for you to become an active listener, try to implement them. And teach your children how to be active listeners. So he first of all says, "Hear, O Israel."

Learn them with our minds (v. 1b - לָמַד)

The second Hebrew verb takes this one step further. It indicates that we need learn God's laws - "that you may learn them." Moses wanted the Israelites to study the law and understand it inside and out. You can recite the laws without really understanding the applications and implications of those laws. But learning implies more than just familiarity with the subject material. It involves knowing how these laws were intended by God to work out in our lives, in our family, and in our society. So our minds need to be actively engaged. This could again be via note-taking, or it could be through memorization, further interaction with your teachers, discussing the implications of what was said in the sermon over the lunch tables, and in other ways.

Guard them with our spirits/hearts (v. 1c - שָׁמַר)

The next Hebrew verb indicates that we need to guard the words preached and read with our spirits/hearts. The word shamar is defined by the dictionary as "to watch, guard, be careful, be on one's guard" and it points out that it is used of a night watchman who is making sure no enemies come into a city. The New King James translates it as an adverb, which (granted) captures the essence of what kind of listening and doing we engage in. But it is actually its own unique verb. Demons love to snatch the word out of our hearts in order to prevent us from implementing them in the next Hebrew verb. This verb means that we need to be on guard against that and maintain loyalty to God's laws in our hearts. In the parable of the seeds being sown, Jesus says in Matthew 13:19, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside." That person in the parable failed to guard God's words in his heart, and it was easy for demons to snatch the Word right out of his heart. So learning God's laws involves spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Too many Christians listen to sermons like consumers rather than as covenant-bound saints. They tend to evaluate preachers like critics do, not like disciples do. And when they are tempted, they fail to actively resist the temptation. When your eyes are tempted to look at something they should not be looking at, or to covet something, or do something that you know you shouldn't do, immediately rebuke Satan out loud (or at least under your breath). Say, "Get behind me Satan, I will not think about that because God's Word says," and then quote the verse you have memorized that is the opposite of that temptation. Your mind can't operate in a vacuum. You can't get rid of an evil thought without replacing it with a good thought - and what better thoughts to replace it with than Scripture - especially if the thoughts are being introduced by demons. The Word of God has a power that makes demons flee. Even Jesus, who was the perfect Man always resisted Satan with the Word of God, saying, "Get behind Me Satan, for it is written..."

Observe them with our actions (v. 1d - עָשָׂה)

The final Hebrew verb indicates that we are to observe the laws of God with our actions. It's not enough to know what is right; we must also live it out in the streets, so to speak. The word needs to make its way down to our hands and feet. Some people say they agree with the Bible, but they aren't keeping it or obeying it. They agree that God's Word calls for the abolition of abortion and penalties for those who murder babies, but because of lack of faith of whether God's will can “realistically” be accomplished, or the fear of others who are pressuring them, they opt for something less than God's will. Some people agree that they shouldn't watch porn, but as Dr. Shepherd will share in the young men's class, they aren't acting like soldiers in taking the needed steps to fight against that sin. The law is like a plumbline that measures our actions as we build our character. We are either magnetically being drawn toward self and Satan or we are magnetically being drawn toward God and His will. But on that line between God and self, it takes action to be moving in the right direction.

Those four words very nicely summarize God's means of sanctification. I forget who said it, but someone said, "Israel’s later downfall was not a lack of revelation but a lack of heed." The Puritans emphasized the doctrine of the uses of the law — instruction, conviction, and direction.

The covenant asserted (v. 2)

OK, moving on. In verse 2 Moses reminds Israel of the covenant God made with them forty years earlier. He says, "The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb."

The covenant was by God’s initiative ("made"); He is Lord

Note first that the initiation was with God, not man. It starts by saying, "Yehowah [or as some pronounce it, "Jehovah"] our God made..." In every age, the true religion is initiated by God, not man. Salvation is by sovereign grace - God choosing a people whom He will save and use as His vessels of mercy. But more than this, the covenant was imposed by sovereign grace. It was not negotiated or mutually crafted. O. Palmer Robertson defined the covenant as being "a bond in blood sovereignly administered." And I think that's an excellent definition of a Biblical covenant - a bond in blood sovereignly administered. And in his book he beautifully spells out the implications of each of those words.

In any case, before God repeats the Ten Commandments, he reminds Israel of the context of His covenant which first drew them into a relationship with Him. When they took vows before the Lord, they were not endearing themselves to God by their works. They had already proved that their works weren't that great. There would be nothing in their works that would endear them to God apart from Christ because sin defiles even good works, right? Instead, God in His graciousness initiated the covenant despite who we were. But it is clear that He is Lord; He is the Sovereign.

Years ago there was the Lordship controversy that arose when Charles Ryrie and Zane Hodges published a book that was claiming that you could accept Jesus as Savior and reject Him as Lord and still be saved even though you perpetually lived in carnal disobedience. John MacArthur and Ernest Reisinger and several others wrote against this to defend the historical Christian position that you cannot bifurcate God or Jesus. If He is your Savior, He is automatically also your Lord. And, as to whether Lordship is connected with the Gospel being preached in the book of Acts (which Ryrie and Hodges denied), MacArthur and Reisinger pointed out that the word "Savior" appeared two times in the evangelistic book of Acts, and the word "Lord" appeared 92 times. So yes, His Lordship is definitely connected with the Gospel. It is true that salvation is by faith alone, but the flip side of the coin of faith is repentance. Otherwise it is a false faith. You can't turn to the Lord without turning away from something. It's simple logic. True, it is only the turning to Jesus that saves us. Repentance alone doesn't save you. But you can't turn to Jesus without turning away from sin. That means that submitting to God's Lordship in repentance is the flip side of the coin of faith. The moment we are saved we become sons and daughters of a Father, but we also become stewards and slaves of a Lord. And He also disciplines and guides His children into righteousness. God doesn't treat growth in holiness as an option. So genuine faith is accompanied by submission to Jesus, willingness to serve Jesus, and obedience to His commands. Those things inevitably flow from true faith. Because God in the Gospel confronts sin, those who know God's grace must keep coming to Jesus for fresh forgiveness and fresh assurance. As believers we don't come in repentance to get saved over again. We are saved forever and are secure, but all those who are saved are drawn by their genuine faith to love and submit to God. And it is precisely because Jesus is Lord that He has the power to save us. In any case, God, the Sovereign Lord, initiated the covenant. That is the essence of Calvinism.

Covenant creates identity ("our God")

Next, the phrase "our God" shows both belonging and the need for loyalty. Back at Horeb God described His people as being His own special possession. He owns us. But since we are His property, He cares for us and He values us. In fact, Exodus 19:5 says, "if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people..." That's astounding. You are a special treasure to God. It's Christ's imputed righteousness that makes us that treasure. Praise God!

But not only does God possesses you, but you also possess God. He is your God. This means that the covenant establishes identity. It joins God and His people in a bond of mutual loyalty. God says He will be loyal to you and He calls you to be loyal to Him. In fact, He likens it to a marriage - mutual loyalty to each other. Israel is not just an ethnic group; they are God’s people because He covenanted with them. God will be loyal to them and He expects them to be loyal to Him.

Covenant is relational, not merely legal

But this also means that the covenant was relational, and not only legal in nature. Mount Horeb was an awesome place that inspired trembling, but it also was a place of intimacy with the Almighty God. Moses Himself was so tranformed that his face glowed. God bound Himself to His people through His revelation, His promises, and the obligations of His law. And both the promises and obligations were ways of saying, "You are Mine, and I will be your God." Israel’s entire existence was to be covenantal. Their land, their worship, their laws, their future — all of it flowed from that divine bond at Horeb.

Application? Reformed people believe that evangelicals need to recover this covenant consciousness. We regularly renew our covenant vows in baptism, the Lord's Supper, corporate confessions of faith, corporate confessions of sin, and membership vows. Listen to this quote that I found:

Christians must recover covenant consciousness. Modern evangelicalism lives by emotion; the Bible teaches us to live by covenant. Your salvation is not based on your feelings, your zeal, or your consistency. It is grounded in the covenant promises of God and sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ. God calls His people to covenant renewal so that we may remember who He is and who we are.

The covenant promises are for the elect alone (v. 3; cf. 2 Cor. 1:20)

Moving on to verse 3. Moses said, “The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.” Wow! There are a lot of different interpretations of this verse. Some take "our fathers" as referring to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they can't imagine that Moses was denying that a covenant was made with their fathers forty years earlier - especially since covenant language was indeed used forty years earlier. However, most interpreters are agreed that the context makes clear that "our fathers" can only refer to their immediate fathers who died in the wilderness. But that's as far as they are agreed. So how do they reconcile this with Exodus? Some insert the words "only" and "also" into the text, implying that God did not only make the covenant with their fathers, but also made the covenant with this generation, so that each generation must embrace the covenant personally. In fact, there are a couple of translations that translate it that way. But the words "only" and “also” are not in the Hebrew text. Others say that the covenant was intended for the living, not the dead, and what God said forty years before should be taken as having been said to them. And there is an element of truth to that, but it doesn't fully explain these words. Others say that though the covenant was made with their fathers at Sinai, each generation must embrace the covenant. Well, there's an element of truth to that too. But this text explicitly says that the covenant was not made with their fathers - in other words, the fathers who had died in the wilderness. That's why others say that the covenant, which drew them into an intimate relationship, was indeed made forty years ago, but it was only made with those (like Joshua, Caleb, Moses, and this generation) who were true believers at the time (many of whom were quite young back then). They believe that all the unbelievers died, and the believers survived the forty years and were here. God kept the elect alive. And they admit that the unbelievers were bound by the covenant's stipulations back then, but they only received its curses. I tend to favor that last view, but won't be dogmatic - especially since most scholars take the view that it wasn't only made with the previous generation but was also made with this generation. But the fact of the matter is that the benefits of the covenant were only intended for the elect as they are they are seen by God as being united to Christ. I believe that every covenant must be interpreted Christocentrically. Here's how 2 Corinthians 1:20 words it: "For all the promises [no exceptions here - ‘for all the promises] of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." So when some of their fathers rejected Christ, the covenant promises were not made to them. It is only through Christ that covenant promises can be appropriated and it's only through Christ that the laws can be obeyed. So even though I won't be dogmatic, I think that is the best way of reconciling these words.

But whichever interpretation you take, there are several principles that this verse highlights. First, each generation is responsible to respond to the covenant. Children can't ride on their parent's coattails. Second, no one can hide behind their ancestry. We can't change the unfaithfulness of past generations, but we can certainly own the covenant for ourselves. As the Puritans pointed out, God has no grandchildren. Every child raised in covenant homes must personally own the covenant by faith. That's one of several reasons why the elders in this church examine young children to see if they give evidence of faith and understanding before we admit them to the Lord's Table. God did not make His covenant in such a way that you may remain passive today. He made it with you. You must hear, learn, and observe. You must believe, repent, and obey. The very covenant that brought some of your forefathers to faith is a covenant that continues to summon you today and every day. Think of it sort of like passing the baton in a race. We don't disciple our children to have nostalgia for the past, but to self-consciously appropriate the covenant responsibilities and promises in the present by faith. This takes active parenting to help your children understand and appropriate the covenant for themselves. You fathers are pastors of your home. Pastor just means shepherd, and you are responsible to shepherd your children to do this.

Now, let me balance what I have just said by also saying that many children who grow up in covenant homes never knew a day when they did not have faith in Christ and love Him. That's probably the norm rather than the exception. They have always known and trusted Jesus alone for their salvation. Andy Keusal sent Gary a quote from J. Gresham Machen last week that is quite good along these lines. In dealing with the miraculous conversion of Paul, he says,

Paul’s conversion shows that Christianity is a supernatural thing. Up to the conversion Paul’s life had been a natural development, but the conversion itself was a sudden blaze of glory. It is very much the same with all of us. True, the form of Christ’s appearing is very diverse. We do not see him with the bodily eye. We do not, like Paul, become witnesses to the resurrection. Many of us do not know when first we saw him. It is a great mistake to demand of every man that he shall be able, like Paul, to give day and hour of his conversion. Many men, it is true, still have such a definite experience. It is not pathological. It may result in glorious Christian lives. But it is not universal, and it should not be induced by tactless methods. The children of Christian homes often seem to grow up into the love of Christ. When they decide to unite themselves definitely with the Church, the decision need not necessarily come with anguish of soul. It may simply be the culmination of a God-encircled childhood, a recognition of what God has already done rather than the acquisition of something new.¹

In other words, a lot of children have naturally embraced the covenant from as far back as they can remember. But this is a call to formally embrace the covenant.

The need for a mediator to stand between God and the people (vv. 4-5)

OK, moving on - verses 4-5 deal with the need for a mediator to stand between God and the people. It says,

"The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:..."

and then it goes on to give the ten commandments. And there are four things that these verses symbolically communicate.

The necessity of mediation

The first is the necessity of mediation. And verses 23-33 will get into that need for a mediator in much more detail. But very briefly, at Sinai, God's holiness was too much for them to be able to face. There was fire, thunder, darkness, a glory-cloud, and a loud voice coming out of that cloud. God's presence was scary - apparently very, very scary. When Moses went up on the mountain, they thought he had gone to his death. And when he didn’t come back week after week, they eventually gave up on Moses and proceeded to forget the covenant. In any case, Israel's fear highlighted the necessity of a mediator. And the Puritans pointed out that sinful man cannot approach God without a mediator.

Moses as the type of Christ

And in this, most commentators believe that Moses stood as a typological picture of Jesus. But the inadequacy of Moses can also be seen in Exodus in that Moses had to be covered with God's hand to protect him from death when God's glory passed by. It would have been too much for Moses, whereas Jesus does not have to be covered. John 1 says that He stands "face-to-face" with God's glory. When John 1 says that the Word was with God, it uses the Greek word pros," which some have translated as "before" or "face-to-face" with God. Indeed, He (even as to His Manhood) reflects God's glory. Moses declares God's Word, whereas Jesus is the Word. Moses stood between God and man, whereas Christ not only stands between us (as a protection), but He also brings man to God and God to man. Moses ascended the mountain, whereas Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the glory. Moses communicated the law that God wrote on tablets of stone, whereas Jesus Himself writes the law on His people's hearts. So most commentators agree that Moses stood merely as a limited picture or type of Christ.

But still, Moses' mediation teaches us a lot. It teaches us that sinners cannot approach God without aid. It teaches us that a mediator stands where sinners cannot stand. Mediation reveals both God's grace and His terror. God's grace was shown on Sinai in that Israel was not destroyed. God's terror was shown in that His holiness was unapproachable. And my application is that we can never approach God casually. We need to revere Him. Reformed people of the past often spoke of the critical importance of having the "fear of God." The God who descended in fire has not changed. He is the same God - a very scary God to those who are outside of Christ. But even those who are in Christ should have a godly fear or reverence of God. In fact, that is one of the synonyms of a Christian - a God-fearer. And those who fear this God, stick closely to Jesus. The only reason we can approach God with boldness is because Jesus, our New Covenant mediator, stands between us and a holy God. Where the fear of God is lost, obedience tends also to be lost. Covenant renewal requires reverence for God's holiness, trust in God's Mediator, and submission to His Word.

Conclusion

So, in this paragraph, Moses prepares Israel to receive the Ten Commandments properly by summoning them to hear, asserting God’s covenant, calling them to appropriate that covenant personally in each generation, and reminding them of the mediation required for covenant life. To sum up this passage in four points (that are not in your outline) this text calls the modern church to: 1. Reverent listening, 2. Covenant consciousness, 3. Generational faithfulness, 4. Christ-centered mediation.

When those four things are in place, we will come to absolutely love the laws that will follow. May it be so for each of us. Amen.