November 24, 2022 — Because God Says So

Carving the Decalogue into stone is a fairly strong hint that God wasn’t going to change His mind.

Moses begins his second address to the nation in Deuteronomy 5. He takes them back in their memories to Mount Sinai and God’s awesome visit to planet Earth. How could he ever forget it? “The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.…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” (Deut 5:2-5). Think of this! When you bow your head to give thanks for a meal (and I hope you do), or kneel with a child at bedtime to pray (and I hope you do), or cry out to Him in a moment of personal crisis (and I hope you do), this is the God you’re speaking to—the same One who spoke from the midst of the fire on Sinai. He is the God of the “mighty hand and…outstretched arm” (v 15) who had rescued a whole nation “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (v 6). He brought the world’s superpower to its knees. He opened up a path through the sea and brought water from the Rock. He fed millions with manna. So where do your problems fit on that scale? If He could do this for Israel, what can He not do for you? Moses then recounts the Top Ten (vv 6-21). “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly,” he said, “in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me” (v 22). Here are some clues as to their importance. They were personally delivered by God: “These words the Lord spoke.” They were all-encompassing in only ten lines: “and He added no more.” They were not composed on paper, and no editing was needed: “He wrote them on two tablets of stone.” So there!

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