Deuteronomy 5 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

*There is a mistake on the video. I said Moses wrote the 10 commandments on the tablets of stone, but God was the one who wrote them. I’ve fixed this mistake on the website and the PDF… Sorry. 

Deuteronomy 5 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Moses’ speech, recorded in the opening chapters of Deuteronomy, occurred immediately following the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.  

• The Israelites were in the wilderness from approximately 1490-1450 B.C.

• The Book of Deuteronomy opens on the 1st day of the 11th month in the 40th year (Deu 1:3) following the Israelites departure from Egypt (approximately 1450 B.C.).

CHARACTERS:

• Israelites (Hebrews) – The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God granted them freedom after several hundred years in slavery in Egypt. Leading up to the book of Deuteronomy, the Israelites had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness as they made their way to Canaan, the land God promised to give them as a home.

• Moses – Moses was selected by God to lead the Israelites to Canaan. God spoke directly to Moses and Moses communicated God’s words and laws to the people.    

WHERE:

• Deuteronomy 1:5 tells us Moses spoke the words recorded in Deuteronomy while in Moab, probably on the plains of Moab near Pisgah (Numbers 22:1).

OUTLINE:

• MOSES RECOUNTS THE 10 COMMANDMENTS GIVEN AT MOUNT SINAI (5:1-33):

  • Moses summoned all the people to him and began reminding them of the events that occurred at Mount Sinai nearly 40 years earlier.

  • God appeared to the people in fire on the mountain and spoke the words of His law.

  • The first part of God’s law was known as the 10 commandments and God wrote the commandments on 2 tablets of stone (5:22).

  • THE 10 COMMANDMENTS:

    • 1. The Israelites were not to make idols.

    • 2. They were not to worship other Gods.

    • 3. They were not to take the Lord’s name in vain.

    • 4. God’s Sabbath day laws were to be kept and respected.

    • 5. Children were to honor their father and mother.

    • 6. Murder was prohibited.

    • 7. Adultery was forbidden.

    • 8. Stealing was outlawed.

    • 9. The Israelites were not to give false testimony (bear false witness).

    • 10. The Israelites were not to covet their neighbor’s possessions.

  • After hearing these 10 commandments from the voice of God, the elders of the people were terrified of God’s voice and asked Moses to speak with God privately and share His words with them later.

  • God took Moses up on the mountain and shared the rest of His teaching and commands with him there.

  • When Moses came off the mountain, he taught the people how God wanted them to live and how He would bless them and give them the land of Canaan if they obeyed Him.

  • Here in Deuteronomy 5, Moses reminded the people of this agreement as they were about to enter Canaan and make it their home.

APPLICATION:

• We need to have a sense of reverence when we approach God in worship and in prayer.

• As disciples of Jesus’, we don’t need to fear God in the sense that the Israelites did, a fear that He would destroy them (5:25), but there should be a healthy amount of reverence present anytime we approach the Lord.

• As we discussed in the last chapter, God is an approachable loving Father, but His merciful disposition to us doesn’t diminish Him as a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).