INTRODUCTION

1 “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.

2 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.’

3 “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.

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 in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me.

5 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.” Deuteronomy 10:1-5

1. The first pair of Tablets

a) They were given by the Lord to Moses

b) Moses broke these tablets when he saw Israel worshipping a golden calf

c) The anger of Moses

i) He was angry that the children of God had become idolatrous

ii) They had also engaged in immoral activities

iii) They had turned away from God though He had spoken to them personally

iv) Moses destroyed the golden calf

2. The second pair of Tablets

a) God graciously gave a second pair of tablets to Moses

b) These Tablets contained the Ten Commandments

c) Moses had to spend time with God:

i) To pray and to intercede for the children of Israel

ii) This vigil took 40 days and nights

iii) It was a difficult time for Israel and for Moses

 

GOD’S REQUIREMENT EXPLAINED

12 “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,

13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it. Deuteronomy 10:12-14

1. Israel was carefully instructed

a) God’s requirement was made known

b) These were simplified and explained

2. A concise summary

a) To fear the Lord your God

i) To be conscious of God

ii) To have a sense of reverence

iii) To practise the fear of God faithfully

b) To walk in all His ways

i) Not a selective walk

ii) To know His ways

iii) To choose to walk with God

c) To love Him

i) The fear of God must be mingled with love

ii) This love must be genuine and deep

iii) This love must be carefully upheld

d) To serve Him

i) With all your heart

ii) With all your soul

e) To keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord

3. Why we should learn to fear God

a) It is for our good

b) We are to remember who God is!

i) He is the God who indwells Heaven

ii) He is also the Lord and Master of the Universe

c) We owe this to our children

d) We owe our all to the Lord our God

 

OUR CHALLENGES

1. To comprehend why we must practise the fear of the Lord

2. To realise that it is not an easy truth to understand

3. To know that great blessings can result when we practise the fear of God diligently