Deuteronomy 10

In the opening section of Deuteronomy, Moses addresses Israel, looking back on the years in the wilderness. Chapter 10 is one of these addresses. In Deuteronomy 9, Moses recalled breaking the first tablets at the time of the golden calf incident. Chapter 10 continues with the account of receiving the tablets again and then exhorts Israel concerning the way in which it is to walk.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 The LORD commands Moses to hew two tablets of stone like the first and to make an ark of wood. Moses makes an ark of shittim wood and goes up the mountain with the tablets. The LORD writes the Ten Commandments on the tablets again, and Moses comes down and puts the tablets in the ark.
• Verses 6–9 This is a parenthetical record. When Israel journeys from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera, Aaron dies and is buried there, and his son Eleazar succeeds him in the priest's office. From there they go to Gudgodah and then to Jotbath, "a land of rivers of waters." The LORD separates the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant, to minister to the LORD, and to bless in His name. Levi therefore has no inheritance of land; the LORD is his inheritance.
• Verses 10–11 Moses stays on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as at the first. The LORD does not destroy the people and says, "Arise, take thy journey before the people."
• Verses 12–15 What the LORD requires is that Israel fear Him, walk in His ways, love Him, serve Him with all the heart and soul, and keep His commandments and statutes. Heaven and earth belong to the LORD, yet He delighted in the fathers to love them and chose their descendants after them.
• Verses 16–19 Moses exhorts, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked." The LORD is "God of gods, and Lord of lords"; He "regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward." He executes judgment (that is, vindicates the wronged) for the fatherless and the widow and loves the stranger. Because Israel too were strangers in Egypt, they are to love the stranger.
• Verses 20–22 Moses urges Israel to fear the LORD, serve Him, and swear by His name. The fathers went down into Egypt as seventy persons, but now they have become as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Key Verses

• Deuteronomy 10:12 "What doth the LORD thy God require of thee" — This verse brings together fear, obedience, love, and service, setting out the heart of the law.
• Deuteronomy 10:16 "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart" — This expression calls for an inward transformation that goes beyond the physical sign; it is later taken up in the Prophets and the New Testament.
• Deuteronomy 10:19 "Love ye therefore the stranger" — Grounded in Israel's own experience in Egypt, this command calls for care of the vulnerable.

People and Places

• Moses — The speaker of this address.
• Aaron — Moses' elder brother; this chapter records that he died at Mosera.
• Eleazar — Aaron's son, who succeeds his father as priest.
• The tribe of Levi — The tribe set apart for service at the tabernacle (see Levites).
• Beeroth of the children of Jaakan, Mosera, Gudgodah, Jotbath — Place names along the wilderness journey. Numbers 33 lists them in the order Moseroth, Bene-jaakan, Hor-hagidgad, Jotbathah.
• Egypt — The land where Israel lived as strangers.

Points for Reflection

• Who made the ark: This chapter says that Moses made the ark, while Exodus 37 states that Bezaleel made it. One interpretation holds that what was made at Moses' direction is described as Moses' own work; some strands of Jewish commentary regard it as a separate ark.
• Where Aaron died: Numbers 20 and Numbers 33 record that Aaron died on Mount Hor. Some interpreters harmonize the accounts by taking Mosera as the name of a place near Mount Hor, while biblical criticism sometimes regards the difference as a trace of distinct itinerary records that were later combined.
• Circumcision of the heart: The theme reappears in Deuteronomy 30:6 and Jeremiah 4:4. Paul takes it up in Romans 2:29: "circumcision is that of the heart" (see Philippians 3:3).
• Connections with other passages
• Verse 12 is often compared with Micah 6:6–8.
• The statement in verse 17 that God does not regard persons is echoed in Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11, and James 2:1–4.
• The title "Lord of lords" is applied to the Lamb in Revelation 17:14 and 19:16.
• Verse 19 parallels Leviticus 19:33–34.
• Seventy persons: The seventy persons of verse 22 agree with Genesis 46:27 and Exodus 1:5. Acts 7:14 gives "threescore and fifteen souls," a figure explained as following the Septuagint text of Genesis.

In Korean Churches

Verses 12–13 are frequently used as a sermon text on the theme of "what God requires." Verses 18–19 are cited in sermons on ministry to immigrants and strangers.