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The Central Demand of the Covenant — Deuteronomy 10

Jim Butler · 2026-04-22 · Deuteronomy 10 · 9,316 words · 55 min

Studies in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10 confronts Israel — and every subsequent reader — with the central demand of the covenant: to fear God, love Him, walk in all His ways, and serve Him with undivided heart and soul. The first eleven verses narrate the renewal of the Sinaitic covenant after the golden calf catastrophe of Exodus 32, demonstrating that Israel's continuation rested entirely on divine long-suffering and the intercession of Moses, not on any righteousness of their own. Verses 12–22 then press the covenantal demand that runs from Genesis 18 through Micah 6:8 and into Matthew 23, showing that the people always knew what God required but consistently failed to live accordingly. The passage finally anticipates what only the new covenant can accomplish: the circumcision of the heart wrought by the Spirit through the gospel of the true Israel, Jesus Christ, apart from any merit in the creature.

All right, you can turn to Deuteronomy chapter 10 as we continue to work our way through the largest exhortation in the book of Deuteronomy, chapters 5 to 28, basically an admonition or repeated exhortation on covenant loyalty or faithfulness to the covenant. In chapter 10, the first half continues chapter 9, so we'll look at that in connection with chapter 9, and then the new section is in verses 12 to 22.

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 10

At that time, the Lord said to me, hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark. So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. And he wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the 10 commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in 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 which I had made. And there they are, just as the Lord commanded me. Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Ben-Jachin to Masorah, where Aaron died and where he was buried. And Eleazar, his son, ministered as priest in his stead.

From there, they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah, uh, to Jothiba or Jot-ba-tha, a land of rivers of water. At the time, the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear 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 nor inheritance with his brethren. The Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised him.

As at the first time I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights, the Lord also heard me at that time, and the Lord chose not to destroy you. Then the Lord said to me, Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 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, and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Indeed, heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it.

The Lord delighted only in your fathers to love them, and he chose their descendants after them. You shall, you above, I'm sorry. He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. Therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff-necked no longer.

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore, love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve him, and to him you shall hold fast and take oaths in his name.

He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt with 70 persons. And now the Lord, your God has made you as the stars of heaven and multitude. Amen.

Well,

Introduction

as I said, chapter nine and 10 are very closely connected. If you go back for just a moment and look at chapter nine, basically you have in verses one to six, the anticipation of the conquest, a reminder of what's already been said in Deuteronomy seven and in Exodus chapter 23, that they're gonna go into the land, they're gonna dispossess the land and they're going to inherit the land because God promised the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then there is a recapitulation of their history in chapter nine, verses seven to 29. And much of it just reviews the golden calf incident that took place in Exodus chapter 32.

So after the ratification of the covenant in Exodus 24, where they swear fidelity to all that God had commanded, by the time they get to chapter 32, they're dancing around the golden calf. And so the provocation of God in verses 7 to 24 specifically, and then the intercession of Moses in verses 25 to 29. And then chapter 10 picks up on the heels of what happens there in Exodus chapter 32. And actually chapter 10 is connected with Exodus 34.

So Moses receives the second copy of the law. Remember he dashed them to the ground and they broke And so on the mountain, God rewrote for him or wrote with the finger of God on these two tablets, the Ten Commandments. You see that emphasis in 10-4. And he wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire and the day of the assembly.

So what we have here in Deuteronomy 10 connects back to the golden calf incident. And so what it shows for us is the renewal of the covenant. So here in chapter 10 verses 1 to 11, it's the renewal of the covenant. God could have cut them off.

God could have disbanded them. God could have destroyed them. And he would have been right to do so. But Moses intercedes on behalf of the children of Israel.

And so God spares them, God demonstrates His long-suffering and His kindness and His patience. And so we see that renewal of the covenant in verses 1 to 10. So notice specifically in verses 1 to 5, you've got that renewal in terms of the remaking of the tablets. In verses 1 and 2, hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first and come up to me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood.

So this is not something happening presently on the plains of Moab in another sort of a way, but it's rather hearkening back to what is already been stipulated or said in chapter 9 in terms of the Golden Calf incident. So basically, why Moses is recapitulating their history is to show that thus far they have not been consistent. Thus far, they have not been faithful with reference to their oath to God that they would carry out all that He had commanded them. It would be essential for them to see, it would be essential for them to learn from that, and it would be essential for them to resolve themselves in terms of a renewed covenant to a faithfulness greater than and exceeding what they had demonstrated previously.

So that's the purpose for the recapitulation. Verse two, I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke and you shall put them in the ark. So after the remaking of the tablets, we have them then placed in the ark made by Moses according to verses three to five. And then

The Threefold Division of the Law

note the emphasis on God's writing the 10 commandments. As I've mentioned, the ceremonial law and the judicial law of Moses all come from the hand of God. God didn't leave it up to Adam, or rather Moses to make up the ceremonial law or to make up the judicial law. But God writes by Himself with His finger the Ten Commandments.

Again, verse 4, He wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which shows the perpetuity, the abiding nature of the moral law of God upon all men in all ages, irrespective of what covenant you find yourself in, whether you're in the Old Covenant, whether you're in the New Covenant, whether you're saved or you're unsaved, all men everywhere have an obligation to God the Creator to obey Him, and then God the Covenant Lord, who has purpose to bless those who by grace believe on His Son. And so the moral law is set apart from the ceremonial and judicial. That's why we refer to it as the threefold division of the law. not divided as if there is no connection whatsoever. In fact, if you look at the ceremonial law, they flow out of the first table of the law, which has as its primary reference the worship of God.

And then the latter six commandments produce, or rather, are the fountainhead from which the judicial laws flow, because the judicial laws are tasked with governing man toward man, and that's precisely what the latter table of the law does. And so it's not division in the sense that there's no connection whatsoever. They are bound together. But when it comes to the moral law, it abides.

It is goes on in perpetuity. But the ceremonial law was fulfilled by our Lord Jesus Christ. And the judicial law was expired with the Commonwealth of Israel, that theocratic state when they were no longer the judicial laws of Moses no longer binding the way that they were, but there is a general equity. In other words, we can see wisdom in those judicial laws and we can extrapolate civil government principles from them even today.

So there is a distinction made even in our text about the threefold division of the law. So not only the renewal of the covenant in verses one to five, but the

Renewal of the Journey and the Priesthood

renewal of their journey. And I'm not going to read those words again because I felt like a moron. But verses 6 to 9 indicate that they take up their journey again. Again, this is God's grace.

I mean, it's a parenthetical statement filled with difficult Hebrew words. But the bottom line is, is that they get to go on. They continue on in the book of Numbers through the wilderness. They continue on toward the end of the book of Numbers to the plains of Moab.

They are presently at the plains of Moab, poised and ready to go into the promised land according to the promise of God. And so what we see here is God's mercy and grace and God's covenantal faithfulness to the promise that He made with reference to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is not owing to their righteousness. It is not a reward for their obedience.

It is not a merit badge because they somehow earned it, but rather it is the good mercy of God Most High. So the people continue on to the promised land, but the people as well continue to enjoy the priesthood. Notice in verse 6, It says specifically, now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Ben Ejokin to Maserah, where Aaron died and where he was buried. And Eleazar, his son, ministered as priest in his stead.

If you go back to chapter 9, specifically at verse 20, we learn something in Moses' recapitulation here of the Exodus 32 situation, something that Exodus 32 doesn't specifically say, that Moses prayed for Aaron. Moses interceded specifically for Aaron, according to verse 20. And the Lord was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him. So I prayed for Aaron also at that same at the same time.

Of course, God heard the prayers of Moses. He listened to the intercession of Moses and God spared Aaron. God spared the Aaronic priesthood. And so on this journey, this renewed journey, they continue to have a priesthood. which means for them sacrifice, which means for them intercession, which means for them the blessings of temple or tabernacle and then temple.

And so basically what this parenthetical statement holds out is that the journey is renewed But the priesthood is sustained and God is merciful. God is going to keep them intact so that they can continue to worship him and continue to approach him through that particular apparatus, the tabernacle and the temple. And notice what they do. They bear the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

They stand before the Lord to minister to him and they stand before the Lord to bless his name. Again, things that the people of Israel would participate in and would benefit from as a result of an effective priesthood. And then notice this brief section, the renewal of the covenant, ends in verses 10 to 11 in terms of a

God's Grace in Sparing Israel

reminder of God's grace. Verse 10, as at the first time I stayed in the mountain 40 days and 40 nights, the Lord also heard me at that time and the Lord chose not to destroy you. Now, it seems to me that Moses assumes that it would have been perfectly appropriate for the Lord to destroy them because they had broken the covenant, because they had engaged in idolatry, because they had danced around that golden calf. They deserved destruction.

They deserved obliteration. They deserved to be cast away forever and ever. But he emphasizes this, the Lord also heard me at that time and the Lord chose not to destroy you. Then the Lord said to me, arise, begin your journey before the people that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

And remember, up to this point, we have seen, according to Deuteronomy chapter 7, God didn't choose them because they were more numerous. According to chapter 8, God didn't choose them because they had power to gain wealth. And according to chapter 9, specifically in verses 4 and 6, we saw this last week, the Lord didn't choose them because they were more righteous than others. In fact, turn back to Deuteronomy 9, 4.

Do not think in your heart after the Lord your God has cast them out before you saying, because of my righteousness, the Lord has brought me in to possess this land. But it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. Remember I mentioned, it's not because Israel was righteous, but in this particular instance, there is a comparative statement. The Canaanites were worse, but that doesn't argue that the Israelites were righteous.

They just weren't as bad. And so God raises up the just not as bad Israelites to serve as that instrument of retribution for the absolutely gone wretched Canaanites to judge them and dispossess the land of them. And as subsequent history will reveal when the Israelites function like the Canaanites, God will raise up the Assyrians. God will raise up the Babylonians.

God will raise up the Romans to destroy those covenant breaking wretches. So because someone is worse than you, do not conclude you're righteous. That's a bad move. And that's what God is saying here in this section.

Again, in verse five, it is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations, that the Lord your God drives them out from before you and that he may fulfill the word, which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people." Of course, that's what then leads into the recapitulation of their history. You want a perfect example of the fact that you're not righteous? Well, let's go back to Exodus chapter 32 and watch you dance before that golden calf and see the events subsequent to that.

And so that's the particular context. And you can see the weight of this on the plains of Moab. Moses has a vested interest in this particular project. Of course, God, through Moses, has a vested interest in this particular project.

He had made the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had purposed and covenanted to get them into that promised land. So one of the motivating factors with reference to the plains of Moab was don't commit the sins you did previously. Don't commit the sins that your fathers did.

Don't go a whoring from God. Don't reject God. Don't turn the back from God and certainly don't go after those which are those things which are not God. This would have great weight upon the plains of Moab, hopefully to shape their minds and hearts.

In fact, Christopher Wright says, "...in the light of all that has come between the beginning and the end of the section, this should be a chastened people about to move into the land, a people with every confidence in their God, but with no illusions about themselves." It would humble them, hopefully. It would chasten them, hopefully. It would educate and encourage them and strengthen them and help them. That's the purpose behind these exhortations.

It's not just to review history for the sake of reviewing history. We don't review the history of the Old Testament simply to review the history of the Old Testament. We review it to learn the lessons that God has for us. We review it to learn what God says in terms of His faithfulness with reference to His people and what He calls His people to function as in this present evil age.

And so we've got the renewed covenant in verses 1 to 11. That brings us then to the

The Central Demand of the Covenant

central demand of the covenant in verses 12 to 22. Go back to Deuteronomy 6 at verse 4. Deuteronomy 6 at verse 4, we call this Israel's central confession of faith. It's called the Shema, which simply means hear.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. That's their central confession. They're a monotheistic people. They have one God.

They are then to love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength. So over here in Deuteronomy 10, verses 12 and 13 function as the central demand of the covenant. So notice that in verse 12, and now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Beautiful recapitulation ending now in a very practical admonition or exhortation on what they're supposed to take from this particular lesson.

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, and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Now when he says, what does the Lord your God require of you? Do you think that they possibly had the answer to that? Do you think that they potentially could have guessed the proper answer?

I'd suggest, yes, they had received the law from God at Sinai. They had received the law again from God on the plains of Moab. They had been hit hard by Moses, not physically, but metaphorically, with their duty to obey, their duty to receive, their duty to comply. their duty to do what God calls them to do. So I think he's setting the stage to drive home that central demand with reference to his hearers here in the context of what the first generation failed to do.

The first generation got this in terms of the auditory word of God coming to them and demanding compliance to all of his laws, but they didn't do it. So now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul? Now, I would bet that there's probably one verse in the book of Micah that many of you would know. Does anybody know one verse from the book of Micah? 6-8, absolutely.

Micah 6:8 and Its Roots in Deuteronomy

Guess where 6-8 comes from? Deuteronomy 10-12. There's even precedent in Abraham back in Genesis 18. You can turn there.

Genesis chapter 18. Verse 19, for I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him. Turn to Proverbs chapter 21. Proverbs chapter 21, this is a recurring emphasis, and I would argue it's rooted in and grounded in this central demand articulated by Moses on the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy chapter 10 at verse 12.

Notice in Proverbs 21.3, to do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Turn to the prophet Hosea, the first of the minor prophets. Hosea, chapter 12, specifically at verse 6. Again, it's not the exact wording, but it's the exact concepts.

Hosea 12, 6, so you, by the help of your God, return. Observe mercy and justice and wait on your God continually. And then notice as well in the prophet Zechariah. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

So the second to last book in the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter seven at verse eight. Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, execute true justice, show mercy and compassion. Everyone to his brother, do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor.

Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother. concepts that come out later in Deuteronomy 12 as God is highlighting his perfections and his works at extra outside of himself with reference to the marginalized in the world. And so we see this theme running throughout scripture. Now you can turn to the prophet Micah. Micah chapter six is what we call a covenant lawsuit.

And basically the prophet is functioning as a prosecuting attorney. When the prophets came, they didn't just come to tickle the ears of Old Covenant Israel and tell them, great job, pal, I want you to continue on, be a better you, that sort of a thing. No, they came with all the weight and fury of God's wrath and justice. So notice in 6.1, hear now what the Lord says.

Arise, plead your case before the mountains and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O you mountains, the Lord's complaint, and you strong foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel." So basically, it's a courtroom scene. Creation is called to witness.

Creation is called to participate by way of witness with reference to God and Old Covenant Israel. We've got the opening argument on the part of the plaintiff, God Himself. Verse 3, "'O My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you?' Testify against me, for I brought you up from the land of Egypt. I redeemed you from the house of bondage, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

O my people, remember now what Balak, king of Moab, counseled, and what Balaam, the son of Baor, answered him, from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, that you may know the righteousness of the Lord. Now here I take it, and the commentators differ on the specifics with reference to verses 6 to 8, but I take it as the part of the defendant. So the plaintiff, God, saying, look, I did this, entered into this obligation and arrangement with you, but you haven't done that. You have failed.

You have reneged. You have broken covenant. And so now on their behalf, the defense is saying, with what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? I think it's an insincere question.

I think what they're doing is, what's it going to take to get you off our backs? What's it going to take to silence this complaint? What's it going to take to keep us from the pressure of a God who is angry with us? With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, 10,000 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? In other words, it's an attempt to pacify God.

Whatever it is, we'll go ahead and do it. But it seems a bit outlandish and a bit excessive. Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams?

Will that get him off our backs? Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression? As if to imply that God, like Moloch, demands child sacrifice in order for atonement for sin.

Well, He does, but that points us to the son of His love that He provided with reference to the salvation of His people. So basically what they're saying is that they're trying to bargain with God to get him off of their backs. Now, verse 8,

Micah 6:8 as Covenant Indictment

it's not a bumper sticker, it's not a fridge magnet, it is an indictment for Old Covenant Israel because they knew good and well what God had required of them. How did they know good and well? From the example of Abraham in Genesis 18, and from the specific demand of God on the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy 10, verses 12 to 13. He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

You see, the people knew, but the people didn't live in light of that reality. So on the plains of Moab, the people knew, but they didn't live in light of that reality. They danced around the golden calf. So Moses recapitulates that history and then reminds them the central demand of the covenant in chapter 10, verses 12 to 13, to hopefully warn them off, to hopefully shock them that they not pursue that course of treachery and wickedness, and again, go a whoring from God.

One more place that this phrase or this conceptual phrase appears is in Matthew 23. You can turn there. Matthew chapter 23. It's the woes pronounced by our Lord upon the scribes and the Pharisees, the hypocrites, the religious leaders of the Sanhedrin in the first century that violently opposed our Lord Jesus Christ, that lay in wait, that by stealth tried to shoot him with arrows, that tried to kill the upright in heart, which they ultimately did by betraying him or having Judas betray him into their hands. and then manipulate the justice system or judicial system in their day so that Pilate gave the kill order.

But notice specifically in verse 23,

Christ's Woes and the Weightier Matters

woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law. Look at those justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. Blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.

You see, there are those in the time of Christ, and probably there might be those, that major on minors. And it's not wrong to pay attention to the minors, because he says, these you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. The reference to Pangtai, the mint, and Annas and Cuman, Don't utterly disregard that, but don't make that programmatic for the entirety of the Christian faith if you're gonna neglect justice and mercy and faith. You see, they knew this.

And these were the ones that you can almost envision in your mind weighing out Mint and Annas and Cuman to bring that to the temple on the Sabbath day, all the while they had murder in their hearts against the very Messiah that the God of Israel had sent. So I have to think that this probably was a gut punch to anybody out there that would later hopefully be convicted and converted. Blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. So this sort of demand has a long emphasis in Israel's history.

And that is precisely what we see on the plains of Moab. What does the Lord your God require of you? Nobody put their hand to their forehead and said, we would have never imagined the rest of what you say in verses 12 and 13. Really?

That's what God requires? Of course. Just like in Micah 6, he has shown you, oh man. The problem isn't that God has not prescribed how it is that you approach God.

The problem is that you knew that, you rejected and resisted that, and you not only didn't approach Him, but you went after this golden calf, and you said of it that it was what brought you out of the land of Egypt. So what does the Lord your God require of you? But to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good. So with reference to this revelation of the will of God, fear the Lord.

Again, concepts that are not absent from the previous part of the book of Deuteronomy, 529, 624, we see this emphasis on the fear of God. John Murray defines, or rather describes, the fear of God as the soul of godliness. This is a good thing. Old covenant religion in its purest form could often be referred to as the fear of the Lord.

It leads to life, as Solomon tells us. The necessity to walk in all his ways, not just some of his ways. Like those Pharisees tithing that mint in Annas and Cuman, and all the while neglecting the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith. No, it's all of the ways of God.

It must be a universal holiness. It must be a universal pursuit. And that's the specific emphasis. And to love Him.

This is the reflex. When we know God, we love Him. and then to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Meredith Klein says, true fear and true love are complimentary and inseparable. They're the response of a true heart to God's majesty and goodness, respectively, and together they are productive of wholehearted service to all of God, to all God's good pleasure.

In other words, these things are present in the people that fear the Lord. They love the Lord. Again, that central confession of faith. After the statement, Deuteronomy 6, 4, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, the response, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

So these are not new things on the planes of Moab here. They're not going, wow, we never would have imagined that God wanted us to fear him, that God wanted us to love him, that God wanted us to walk in all his ways. This is a reminder and exhortation calculated to promote in them an obedient heart on the heels of reflection with reference to the first generation and what they did in Exodus 32. And then obedience and to keep the commandments of the Lord and his statutes, which I command you today.

And I love that last bit, because I hate you. Because I want you to be miserable. Because I want to destroy, no, for your good. Isn't that what grace teaches us at some level?

I mean, I don't think we appreciate it. Like, hopefully we grow in terms of our appreciation. God's law is not for our bad. It's not calculated to destroy us.

It's not there to hurt us. It's not there to be a ball and chain that we lug around as if we're prisoners in a cell. In fact, John makes the observation in 1 John 5, 3, for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. They're not given to burden you.

They're not given to hurt you. They're not given to keep you down. The creature knows true blessing when the creature responds obediently to the Creator. Who knows what's best for us but the God who made us?

That's why the God who made us said, don't have other gods before me. That's why the God who made us said, don't go whoring after other gods. The God who made us said, don't blaspheme my name. The God who made us gave us the Sabbath day as a gift given by a gracious father.

The God who made us taught us about subordination to lawful authority. In other words, this is not anarchy. The world is not just like the animals. Even in the animal kingdom, they've got structure, hierarchy, and alpha males.

God has purposed it thus. Moses is the leader. Make no mistake about it. He's the head honcho in this project in terms of getting Israel from point A to point B. the most unenviable job that any man ever had.

I don't care what your job is and how hard it may be, it was never near what Moses had to go through in terms of getting this motley crew from point A to point B. And then murder. The good creator says it's wrong to kill people unlawfully. It's right to kill people lawfully, but it's wrong to kill people unlawfully.

The good creator says, one man, one woman. The good creator says, don't steal. The good creator says, don't lie. These are not burdensome.

What is it that our sin desires not to have it such? The problem is never the law of God. The problem is the heart of man. That's the issue.

So when God specifies that you need to fear me, you need to love me, you need to walk in all my ways, you need to serve me, and you need to do so with all your heart and with all your soul, you need to keep the commandments of the Lord and his statutes, which I command you today, for your good. It's for benefit. It's for blessing. It's for help.

It's for strength. It's for well-being and security and stability. As John says, the commandments of God are not burdensome. If we find in our hearts a railing against any of the commandments of the Lord God Most High, we should repent.

We should forsake that, because that is not lawful thinking. That is not godly thinking. It is not upright thinking. We need to embrace God's law.

We need to love that law. We need to understand it operative in this new covenant setting. We're not keeping the law in order that we may be saved. No, we are keeping law because Jesus has saved us.

He's justified us freely by his grace. The law showed us our sin and misery. The law showed us the need for the cross. We go to the cross and by the grace of God, we're saved.

And then Jesus points us to the law as the pattern for our sanctification. And if we see that pattern for our sanctification as burdensome, we need to repent of that, because it isn't burdensome. It is what God, in His glorious revelation of His own will for the creature, of His own nature, has demonstrated is ultimately for the good of His people, of His creatures. So the remedial purpose of God's law in this old covenant setting, it was to hedge them in, it was to preserve the line such that Messiah could come uncompromised by pollution from pagan nations, and it was for their ultimate good.

And then notice what we have. The

God's Majesty and Electing Mercy

goodness of God, underscoring this in verses 14 and 15. Indeed, heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God. Also the earth with all that is in it. The Lord delighted only in your fathers to love that.

And he chose their descendants after that. You above all peoples as it is this day. So the goodness of God is seen in his majesty. Again, it's his right to command as creator.

We as creatures owe obedience to God. irrespective of covenant, but that God enters into covenant in order to bless and better the station of his people is truly an amazing thing. And so God is the highest being, the Lord. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, your God, and also the earth with all that is in it. And then the mercy of God, verse 15, the Lord delighted only in your fathers to love them.

And he chose their descendants after them. You, above all peoples, as it is this day, as we have seen, not because they were more numerous, not because they had power to gain wealth and not because they were more righteous. It was God's good pleasure, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, not because we were holy and without blame, but that we would become holy and without blame. Election doesn't find us in Christ, as Gil says on Ephesians 1, 4, but it puts us in Christ, in love having predestined us unto adoption as sons, according to his own purpose, according to his pleasure, according to his sovereignty, not anything owing in the creature that obligates the creator to save or redeem him or better him.

So we've got God's majesty, God's mercy. Right on verse 15 says, this verse echoes 7, 6 to 8 in expressing the wonder of Israel's election. There, the surprise was that God should have chosen Israel, though they were so small. Here, the surprise is because God is so great.

In both cases, the message is that Israel's election was based on nothing in themselves that had evoked God's favoritism. but solely in the character and action of this amazing God. He didn't choose you because you were better. He chose you because He's gracious, He's good, He's loving, He's kind. The emphasis and accent is always on God's grace and not on the worthiness of the creature.

And then this

Circumcision of the Heart

admonition to repent in verse 16. He's not actually saying, you know, take a scalpel, open up your chest and circumcise your heart. No, he's speaking metaphorically and spiritually in terms of the internalness of the law of God. It was always supposed to be an internal connection.

It wasn't just external, as long as there was external compliance. So notice in verse 16, therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff neck no longer. So the necessity of heart religion with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Those things need to be present.

Great admonition here in verse 16. Circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff-necked no longer. The stiff neck probably points back to Exodus 32. That is a characteristic of a calf.

It's stiff-necked. It needs a yoke upon it. They became like that which they worship. That is precisely what the psalmist says in Psalm 115, 8.

As he mocks the idols, they have eyes but don't see, they have ears but they don't hear, they have mouths but they don't speak. He says definitively in verse 8, those who make them become like them. And that's why oftentimes Israel is upbraided as a stiff-necked people. because they worship stiff-necked idols and they became like that which they worship. They needed to have a yoke.

They needed to be controlled. They needed to be hedged in because they were wayward. They were prone to wander and prone to leave the God that they supposedly loved. Gil's gloss on this statement concerning circumcised the foreskin of your heart, content not yourselves with nor put your confidence in outward circumcision of the flesh, but be concerned for the circumcision of the heart for removing from that whatever is disagreeable to the Lord, even all carnality, sensuality, hypocrisy, and superfluity of naughtiness, and for having that put there, which is well pleasing in his sight. and which though it is the work of God and only He can do it and has promised it, yet such an exhortation is made to bring men to sense their need of it and of the importance of it and to show how agreeable it is to the Lord and to so stir them up to seek unto Him for it.

In fact, turn to Deuteronomy 30, specifically at verse six, which when we get there, God willing, I will argue this is a prophetic statement concerning the new covenant. We always go to Jeremiah 31 as the definitive Old Testament prophecy concerning New Testament religion. And it is. But there's a precedent.

And it's the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy chapter 30. Notice in verse 6, and the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live. Lo and behold, Jesus comes on the scene and Nicodemus says, how do I get to heaven? You must be born again.

Your heart needs to be circumcised. Paul says in Romans 2, 28 and 29, it's not the external or outward circumcision that matters. It's the inward circumcision. Colossians 2, 11 and 12 were circumcised, a circumcision made without hands.

Philippians 3, 1, we are the circumcision. It's regeneration. And so as Gil says, God does this in His sovereignty. But there is that exhortation here to show them the necessity of an internal religion and an internal commitment to the Lord and a seeking after him to do what it is that he calls them unto.

And then notice after that, the repentance of Israel. He then

God of Gods: Against Henotheism

highlights the perfections of God in verses 17 and 18. I just I mean, talk about good theology. It's not just history. It's good theology.

Moses is a great theologian. A theologian worthy of great imitation on the part of us today. Here's what you've done that's wicked and terrible. Here's what you need to do that's righteous and good.

And here's why you should do it. Because your God is good. Because your God is gracious. Because, in this sense, your God is God.

Look at verses 17 and 18. He speaks of the greatness of God and the goodness of God. So verse 17. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality, nor takes a bribe.

Now, when it says that He is God of gods and Lord of lords, does that mean there are other gods and there are other lords? You should all be shaking your heads. This is class participation time. No, it doesn't mean there's other gods and other lords.

How many gods are there? There is but one only, the living and true God, Westminster Shorter Catechism number five. In how many persons does this one God exist? There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. I believe that Moses is speaking in the manner of men. He is not teaching that there are several gods out there, that God, Yahweh, just happens to be the best one of the lot. That particular doctrine, it's called henotheism.

Henotheism. has made some inroads in evangelicalism. In our generation, it's actually happening right now. Henotheism is defined thus, the worship of a single primary deity, often a patron god of a tribe or nation, while acknowledging or accepting the existence of other deities without necessarily denying their power. So this idea that there are lots of gods out there, ours just happens to be the biggest and the best, They probably would go to Deuteronomy 10, 17 to try to ground that.

I think that's a fool's errand. There is but one only, the living and true God. In the next issue of the Journal for the International Reform Baptist Seminary, there's an article by Drew Grumbles. I wonder if he grumbles.

Great guy, the brief interactions I've had with him, and a very good article that's going to be in the journal. Some of this might be a little bit outside of our mental competency at eight o'clock on a Wednesday night, but I thought it was worth reading, because he is arguing against this henotheism. And again, it's come up in Reformed Baptist circles. If it was Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland and those guys that all own their own private planes, we probably wouldn't write articles and gerbs about that, but that it's made inroads into our camp and that there are guys that are being Sort of tantalized by that, I'm thankful that Dr.

Grumbles has responded. He says, there is no category of godness outside the existence of Yahweh himself. In other words, we do not say that something of godness exists, and Yahweh happens to fulfill all these criteria of godness. Instead, Yahweh exists eternally of Himself.

To have godness is to be Yahweh. There is no possibility of another being having any part of a genus of godness. Other beings cannot have a divine nature. Thus, whatever other creatures there may be, there cannot be any who are gods.

Other beings do not possess accidental properties in common with God, for God has none. To claim that spiritual beings are real gods must denote that these possess a divine nature. But that cannot be if Yahweh is His divine nature. Therefore, no other gods can exist.

The spirits are by nature, not gods. And then he cites Galatians 4a. Paul says, but then indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. It's amazing to me that this is actually entertained.

And I should say that sort of the gateway drug into this is what's called the divine counsel view of the creation. So in a better age, interpreters saw the reference to us in Genesis 126 as the triune God. But nowadays, that's the divine counsel, you see, God with his angels seeking, not seeking counsel as if he is to be taught, but including them in this purpose. So it's the divine counsel that functions as the gateway drug, and then typically these guys at least seemingly end up as henotheists, believing that out of all the gods out there, Yahweh just happens to be the best of the lot.

Brethren, that's not what Moses is teaching on the plains of Moab. Moses is highlighting the uniqueness, the solitariness, the singularity, and the glory and majesty of the living and true God. His works or perfections are greatness, mightiness, and awesomeness. And the works of God, notice at the end of verse 17, who shows no partiality nor takes a bride.

He shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. And then he highlights this in the goodness of God in verse 18. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves them food and clothing. He cares for the marginalized.

And Wright has really excellent comments text. He says, in some ancient Near Eastern royal texts, the action of national gods Wright doesn't subscribe to this, but he's just saying that other nations had their various gods, and they had their various writings, they had their various cults, and the widow, and the alien. Nothing could be more characteristic of Israel's counter-cultural faith. The majestic monotheistic superlatives of verses 14 and 17 are harnessed, not to the glory and power of the wealthy and strong, but to the needs of the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable.

Granted all the redemptive covenantal uniqueness of Yahweh's action on Israel's behalf, it remains true that what Yahweh did for them was, quite simply, typical for Him. I like that. That's really cool. That's what we see here.

God, the living and true, majestic, the great one, the mighty and awesome one. Verse 18, He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. And then it ends with the practical dimension of covenant life before God. What's Moses saying in verses 19 to 20?

Be like God. Verse 19, very simply. Therefore, love the stranger, for you are strangers in the land of Egypt. If God is about the marginalized, certainly that ought to characterize your life in the land.

Now brethren, when it comes to the strangers that came in to Old Covenant Israel, they had to obey externally the law. They couldn't rape Israelite girls and get free money from the Israelite state. You know, this idea that, well, the Bible is pro-immigration, so therefore, open the southern border and let the hordes come in and invade. No, not at all.

Remember, there's a gate around the New Jerusalem. There's walls. This is okay. When we read of the stranger, the alien, they complied, at least externally, with what was happening in Old Covenant Israel.

If they tried to worship their gods, If they tried to sacrifice to their gods, if they tried to co-opt Israelites into engaging in lawlessness and wickedness, they would be dealt with severely in terms of the law. The connection, covenantal fidelity toward God would be manifested in their loyalty to men. And that would be seen especially in the case of marginalized men. And again, this isn't new.

Leviticus 19.34 deals with the rules governing their lives with reference to strangers. And then verses 20 and 21, the necessity of the fear of God, you shall fear the Lord, your God, you shall serve him. And to him, you shall hold fast and take oaths in his name. And that, that, that, that, that statement hold fast, hold fast.

Isn't there a world of comfort in that? Just think about that. You shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve him, and to him you shall hold fast and take oaths in his name. And certainly in the context, hold fast to him and don't go after calves.

Hold fast to him and don't go after Baal. Hold fast to him and don't go after Asherah. Hold fast to him and don't go after Moloch. but hold fast to him because he is your good. Hold fast to him because he is your life.

Hold fast to him because he is about blessedness and kindness and mercy and goodness and love. Another place this verb is used is with reference to the marital union. Adam was joined to his wife or Adam clinged to his wife. What's envisaged there?

Sort of a one flesh arrangement. In other words, hold fast to God in such a way that there's no proclivity in you to go dance around a calf. Hold fast to God in such a way that when calamity hits or when disaster strikes or when circumstances change, nevertheless, you're holding fast to God. There's practical encouragement and comfort for the children of Israel to maintain fidelity, but as well to maintain their communion and comfort in God.

And then the

God's Covenantal Faithfulness and Christ the True Israel

passage ends, or the chapter ends, with a reminder of God's faithfulness. They were slaves in Egypt. Your fathers went down to Egypt with 70 persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude. slavery from Egypt, redemption from Egypt, and the fulfillment of God's promise to multiply Abraham's descendants. Genesis 13, look north, look south, look east, look west, you know, and all that.

Look up into the sky, see those stars, look at the sand on the seashore, see those grains of sand. Your descendants are going to outnumber that. Not because Abraham's virtue, certainly not because of Old Covenant Israel's virtue, but because of Abraham's seed. Whose Abraham's seed?

It's the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what Moses ends in terms of chapter 10 is to remind them of God's covenantal faithfulness and the fact that he fulfills promises. So let us not lose sight of what the immediate context is in terms of exhortation for the people to pursue faithfulness as they enter into the promised land. But let us never forget that they don't do that.

They fail miserably. And what this passage along with the book of Deuteronomy and the rest of the Old Testament does is anticipate the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true Israel of God, who actually does comply with all that the Father lays upon Him. And that the promise of heart circumcision is affected, it is applied, it is realized because of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit who works in us. And we ought to rejoice that by God's grace, not because of our great numbers, not because of our great strength to gain wealth, and certainly not because of our righteousness, we are participants in that new covenant.

It's by grace alone, through faith alone, in the covenant mediation of Jesus Christ alone, who is the true Israel of God. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the book of Deuteronomy and the rest of the Pentateuch and what it does in terms of setting up the entirety of the Bible to follow. And we pray that You would help us to learn the lessons, help us to practically hold on to You. Again, whether it be in our lives of pursuing holiness, but as well in our lives where we deal with many trials, many tribulations, many hardships and aches and pains, just give us grace to never let go, to cling to you, to be joined to you, and to walk in communion with you.

I ask that you would bless all the brothers and the sisters in our local church. I pray that you would be glorified in this church. Be with the brethren in Surrey and in Armstrong as well and just and just continue to bless your word as it goes forth. And we ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Scripture References