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Deuteronomy Chapter 10 "Warnings,
Retrospective [1-11]." This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location Deuteronomy 10:1 "At that time the Lord said unto me, `Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto Me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood." After the first set of tablets of stone were destroyed, and before Moses would go up on the mount again to receive the ten commandments, God is instructing Moses to build an ark. This ark is to be made of wood that would house the two tablets containing the ten commandments. This is God's instructions to Moses concerning the second set of tablets that God will given him. Deuteronomy 10:2 "And I will write on the tablets the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.' " God listened to Moses and forgave the Israelites for their evil acts when they repented. However, Moses is still going to have to go through the entire process again for the people. Moses is going to have to go back up on Mount Sinai, and go through the entire time of probation all over. That time of course was forty days and forty nights without food nor water. The people did the sinning, and Moses interceded for them before God. Deuteronomy 10:3 "And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand." Moses had great patience with these people. He had brought them out of Egypt, and after seeing the great sins while he was away, Moses was still willing to do what God required for the sake of the people. After building this ark of shittim wood, Moses headed right back up the mountain. "Shittim wood" is also referred to as "acacia wood", which was a wood having scourging thorns. This ark that was made to house the commandments would be a temporary box, for another Ark would be made later. Moses' trip up the mountain had all been done before by Moses, and it was not fun going through this hardship, and going with out food and water for forty days and nights. Deuteronomy 10:4 "And He wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me." God wrote on the second set of tables the same set of commandments that was recorded on that first set of tables. The ten commandments [Words] were written by the finger of God. Those ten Words, or commandments of God were intended for His people and all of His children, to govern their lives here on earth. They are the key of a happy and peaceful life, and our getting along with our neighbors. Deuteronomy 10:5 "And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me." When Moses came down off of Mount Sinai he put those two tablets into the ark. A container of manna, and the budding rod of Moses were also placed into the ark, and then a mercy seat was placed over the ark. The mercy seat was a separate thing, and not just the lid of the ark. The mercy seat is the seat of Christ, of course. Moses in following the instructions of God, became a type of savior, that would come in the distant future. Moses is a type of Jesus Christ, and at the end of this book we will come to the song of Moses. Within the "song of Moses" are the very words that those that overcome Satan, the Antichrist, will be singing at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing old about the Old Testament, for it is the type of pattern for what is happening now, and will come to pass in the future. If you know what to expect, then there can be no surprises and shock when those things come to pass. The "song of Moses" will be sung even after this dispensation of the earth age of the flesh. Revelation 15:2 "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." This is identifying those that would be singing the "song of Moses", and when they would be singing it. Notice that the victory has come, meaning that all the trumpets have sounded. All of the events concerning this earth age of the flesh are past, and finished. Satan, his mark of the beast, his number and everything that is attached to Satan in his role of Antichrist is finish and gone forever. So we are in Christ's Millennium age kingdom. All souls are in their new incorruptible bodies that will live and not see sickness during this time of discipline, all the way to Judgment day. As the elect of God are standing before the throne of God with their harps in hand, they will be singing with their beautiful voices these words. Revelation 15:3 "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." This song is given in Deuteronomy 32:1-43. We will study that song in detail later in this book. It is very modern, and up to day, and we will give attention at that time. Though we are around worldly people today, we don't have to act and do as they do. This is why God gives us many types in His Word, to alert us ahead of time before those time comes. Deuteronomy 10:6 "(And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead." This verse documents that after Aaron had sinned and led the people into the worship of the golden calf, not only did God return Aaron to the priesthood, but Aaron became the high priest, with his lineage through Eleazar to continue after Aaron's death. God listened to Moses and forgave Aaron completely. Remember that Eleazar was the third son of Moses, for Aaron's first two sons were killed by our Heavenly Father for having used strange fire on the altar of God. "Beeroth" in the Hebrew simply means "wells", like the wells of drinking water. This was the place of the wells of the sons of Jaakan, where the Israelites stopped for water, and it is not a place on the map. That is the place where Aaron died and was buried. Deuteronomy 10:7 "From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.)" They are moving from the desert area in the south, northward on the east side of the Jordan, where there are many rivers of waters. This is the place where they will make their preparation to cross over the river Jordan to enter into the promise land. Deuteronomy 10:8 "At that 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 unto Him, and to bless in His name unto this day." This documents the fact that God renewed the covenant that He had with the tribe of Levi, to prepare them to bear the responsibility of the ark of the covenant. God had selected the Levites to be the priests amongst all the tribes, and they were to be the ministers of God to all the people of all the tribes where ever they lived. God selected these Levites while the children of Israel were in their wanderings in the wilderness. All their training and preparation was to be in place before they went in to settle their lands. The Levites were the only ones that God allow to protect and carry His ark. Deuteronomy 10:9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God promised him." This heritage that God gave to the Levites is the same inheritance that God promise to His elect in the Millennium age. The Levites and the elect of God receive no land as part of their inheritance, but God is their inheritance, not just land, but everything. The minister for God, and God takes care of them through His people. Deuteronomy 10:10 "And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, and the Lord would not destroy thee." In other words, God listened to Moses' prayer when he went up into the mountain, and He did not destroy these Israelites at that time. Even Aaron was reinstated at this time, and Aaron and his sons were given over to the priesthood. They were now the Levitical priesthood Deuteronomy 10:11 "And the Lord said unto me, `Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them." God is telling Moses to get down there and take up the journey that I have given to you. We are coming to a part now and we will leave the discussion of the journey to take a closer look at what God expects from them, and even you and I living today. Deuteronomy 10:12 "And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul," God is asking a question, and it also applies to us living here and now. What does God require of us? God gives us the answer; it is to revere the Lord our God, and follow all the ways written in His Word. We are to serve Him according to His instruction, and to love Him. It is hard to explain the love of God to a person that knows nothing of the love of God, and His supernatural presence. This is to reverence to the greatness of our heavenly Father. If you were present when the Red sea opened and dry land instantly gave you a way of escape, there would be no doubt in your mind. If you passed through that great sea, you would stand in awe, at the great power of God. This is how we are to stand and expect great things of our Father in His protection of us even today. A human being standing in the presence of a supernatural power is a fearful and humbling thing. So this is what God requires of His people, that they walk in His ways and love Him. Your heart is your mind, while your soul is the part within your physical body that gives life to your flesh body. When the soul has departed from the flesh body, all you have left is a corpse, a dead body. Deuteronomy 10:13 "To keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?" The only reason that you are to keep the commandments of the Lord is for "thy good", for the good of your prosperous and healthy life. Deuteronomy 10:14 "Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is." Our heavenly Father owns everything, in the heavens and on the earth. God created all things for His pleasure and it all belongs to Him. What ever He allows you to have is for a very short time, for upon death it is taken from you and passed on for others use. When God gives you a blessing, He expects you to use if for your enjoyment. When we are one of God's children and striving to please Him, He has promised that He will take care of us and our needs. However, as heirs to God's kingdom, we still have to claim those promises that He has made to us through His Word, and by faith take what is rightfully ours. Deuteronomy 10:15 "Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day." These promises, blessings and love that the Lord had for our fathers continues right to this day. Don't ever try to lump "the house of Israel" in with "the house of Judah", for the two separate nations just will not fit together in these final days. There is a big split and that separation will continue until the coming of our Lord. We shall remain separated until the seventh trumpet sounds and the coming of our Lord. Deuteronomy 10:16 "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked." God's complaint with the children of Israel was that they were a "stiff-necked" people. "Stiff-necked" in modern day terms, means that they are "stubborn" and refuse to listen to God's instructions for them. They are so stubborn and set in their ways and traditions that they just didn't care what the Father wanted them to do. The "heart" is your mind and to circumcise the foreskin of your mind is to cut away the things of this world that try to take control your life. As long as you are in the flesh you are going to have shortcomings, however you can cut those things out of your mind that go against the things of God. Deuteronomy 10:17 "For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and terrible, Which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:" This verse is the essence of all that is divine. God is our heavenly Father, the One that created you and He loves you. God doesn't consider one person or race over another, for he loves all the souls of His creation. In fact when it came time to save the life of His own Son, He did not withhold and spare even Him for that sake of your soul. No just the contrary, He allowed His Son to be given for the sacrifice for your sins, not for Jesus' sins because He was sinless. God did not regard His own Son as untouchable, but He allowed His Son to be crucified for you. That is how much He loves you. What does God require of you? That you love Him in return. God's only reward that he can receive from you, is your love for Him. Deuteronomy 10:18 "He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment." God looks out for widows and orphans, and He is gentle with the strangers that come to Him for help. Each of these persons are children of God just as you and I are. The "stranger" as it is used here is a person of another race, and they are also God's children that are loved very much. God created all of the races because that is how God wanted it, each after their own kind. Deuteronomy 10:19 "Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." Just as the children of Israel were strangers or foreigners in the land of Egypt, other races will come and be in your land and you are to love and treat them as you would have them treat you. Deuteronomy 10:20 "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by His name." This goes to the next step above for not only are we to love God, but we are to revere and respect the name of the Lord. We are to serve Him and cleave to those laws and commandments that He as given to us. Notice here that the word "love" is dropped because in fear and reverence the two are the same. The love that we have for our heavenly Father is different than what we have for other people and things. Deuteronomy 10:21 "He is thy praise, and He is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen." These people standing before Moses had seen those mighty works that God had done for them in bringing them out of Egypt. Even the children that were not born during many of these mighty acts had parent witness to them of these might works. Deuteronomy 10:22 "Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude." They were a family of seventy people when they went down into Egypt to be under the protection of Joseph during the famine. Now they were a nation numbering into the millions as they were about to cross the Jordan and enter the promise land. In less than four hundred years, God took the twelve sons of Jacob [Israel], and made them into individual tribes that would in time become nations. Moses is reminding them that even in their hardships in Egypt, God blessed them and caused them to multiply into a vast number. God loved His children so much, and even though He loved Egypt, He gave the Israelites the wealth of Egypt when they departed for the wilderness and their promise lands. When God has His hand on His people, there are no accidents.
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