Deuteronomy 5:5, commentary and pictures

Moses stood between the Lord and Israel at that time to make known the word of the Lord, because the people were afraid on account of the fire and did not go up into the mount. This was at Sinai when the law was spoken in awful grandeur amid cloud and fire and thunder and quaking, with Moses drawing near to the thick darkness to receive and declare the word while the people remained at the foot to meet God. He was rehearsing this to a new generation come again to Jordan at the time to possess Canaan, declaring that the covenant of Horeb was made with those alive that day and that the Lord had talked with them face to face out of the midst of the fire. The words he conveyed call for learning and keeping and doing the commandments, including keeping the seventh day holy in remembrance of creation in six literal days and deliverance from Egypt, with reverence and perfect obedience and no excuse accepted for disobedience. This instruction still binds today and is to be read with care and taught to children, for all must stand before the Judge of all the earth in the time of investigation and final review.

Setting and Mediation

Moses stood between the Lord and Israel at that time to show and make known the word of the Lord, because the people were afraid by reason of the fire and went not up into the mount. He was the mediator who conveyed God's words to them when they feared and did not ascend. This was at Sinai when the law was spoken in awful grandeur so the people would believe and know He is the only true and living God. He was not permitted to enter within the cloud of glory where the Father and the Son and the retinue of holy angels were, but only to draw near and enter the thick darkness which surrounded it to receive and declare the word to the people.

The divine Majesty descended in a cloud with a glorious retinue of angels appearing as flames of fire. There were thunders and lightnings and thick cloud and smoke as of a furnace and great quaking, summoned by the angelic host with a trumpet-like sound that grew louder and louder until the whole earth trembled and all the people in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people out to the foot of the mount to meet God, went up to the top when called, and was charged to warn the people and the priests not to break through to gaze lest the Lord break forth upon them and many perish.

The verse belongs to Moses' recapitulation of the Sinai law and the circumstances of its delivery with the Ten Commandments to a new generation. This was given when the children of Israel had come again to the river Jordan and the appointed time to possess Canaan was at hand, as they were soon to pass over Jordan and take the promised land. Many had been children or were born in the wilderness and needed to understand the commandments and the need to obey them, for few of the present generation were old enough to have comprehended its awful solemnity when it was first given. God therefore directed Moses to rehearse the deliverance from Egypt and the wilderness journeyings and to repeat the Sinai law, setting the claims of His law before them and enjoining obedience as the condition of prosperity.

In this setting Moses called all Israel to hear the statutes and judgments that they might learn them and keep and do them. He declared that the covenant made in Horeb was made with those then alive that day and not only with their fathers. He declared that the Lord talked with them face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, giving through Moses the words that follow beginning with deliverance from Egypt and the house of bondage and continuing through the ten commandments.

Law's Claim Today

The word Moses stood to make known called Israel to keep the seventh day holy, to rest from work, and to remember deliverance from Egypt. That Sabbath command rests on God making heaven and earth in six days and then resting, blessing and sanctifying the seventh day. Those six days were six literal twenty-four-hour days, not indefinite periods, and the seventh-day Sabbath stands as a sign of obedience and of God as Creator and Sanctifier.

The verse introduces commandments that must be learned and kept and done, showing that God's law demands reverence and obedience. Disobedience leaves no ground to expect the Lord to cooperate and bless, for unbelief clouds the mind against reverencing God, and many who profess to serve Him refuse to obey the precepts of His law. What was required in Israel's wilderness journey is still required now, namely sanctification of mind, soul, and body, which means perfect obedience to His will with no excuse accepted for disobedience to His commandments. The chapter is therefore to be read carefully for its charge that the Lord's directions and commandments are to be obeyed and none of the important things in His Word neglected.

The words of Moses in Deuteronomy 4-8 show what God required of His ancient people that they might be a holy people unto Himself, and they are to be read with profit now. That present reading matters because the world is nearing the day of God's great final review, when all must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for deeds, and because the present is the time of investigation when every character will be investigated and every case decided for eternity. The sacred history containing this account holds the Lord's special word and is suitable for teaching children to understand Scripture. The chapter itself belongs to the instruction parents should follow in teaching their children.