◄ Deuteronomy 5:22 ►
The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
Study Bible
The LORD spoke
The phrase "The LORD spoke" emphasizes the direct communication from God to His people. In Hebrew, "Yahweh" is the covenant name of God, signifying His eternal presence and faithfulness. This direct speech underscores the authority and divine origin of the commandments, reminding us that they are not human constructs but divine decrees.

these commandments
The "commandments" refer to the Ten Commandments, which are foundational to the moral and spiritual life of Israel. In Hebrew, the word "mitzvot" is used, which implies not just rules but divine instructions meant to guide the covenant relationship between God and His people.

in a loud voice
The "loud voice" signifies the power and majesty of God. It is a voice that demands attention and reverence, illustrating the seriousness and importance of the commandments. This auditory experience would have been awe-inspiring and unforgettable for the Israelites.

to your whole assembly
The phrase "to your whole assembly" indicates that the commandments were given to all of Israel, not just a select few. This communal aspect highlights the collective responsibility of the nation to uphold God's laws and the inclusive nature of God's covenant.

out of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness
These elements—fire, cloud, and thick darkness—are symbolic of God's presence and His holiness. Fire represents purification and judgment, the cloud signifies mystery and divine protection, and thick darkness conveys the awe-inspiring and sometimes incomprehensible nature of God. Together, they create a setting of divine majesty and mystery.

on the mountain
The mountain, likely Mount Sinai, is a place of divine revelation. Mountains in biblical literature often symbolize a meeting place between heaven and earth, where God reveals His will to humanity. This setting underscores the sacredness of the event.

He added no more
This phrase indicates the completeness and sufficiency of the Ten Commandments. God provided a perfect moral law that needed no additions, emphasizing the finality and perfection of His word.

And He wrote them on two tablets of stone
The act of writing on "two tablets of stone" signifies permanence and durability. Stone tablets were used for important documents, indicating that these commandments were meant to endure through generations. The divine authorship of these tablets underscores their sacredness and authority.

and gave them to me
The "me" refers to Moses, the mediator between God and Israel. Moses' role as the recipient and deliverer of the tablets highlights his unique position as a prophet and leader, chosen by God to guide His people. This transfer of the tablets signifies the trust and responsibility placed upon Moses to teach and uphold God's law.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who directly communicates His commandments to His people.

2. Moses
The leader and prophet who receives the commandments from God and acts as a mediator between God and the Israelites.

3. The Israelites
The assembly of God's chosen people who witness the giving of the commandments.

4. Mount Sinai (or Horeb)
The mountain where God delivers the Ten Commandments amidst fire, cloud, and darkness.

5. The Two Tablets of Stone
The physical representation of God's covenant, inscribed with the Ten Commandments.
Teaching Points
The Authority of God's Word
God's commandments are delivered with authority and finality, emphasizing their divine origin and unchanging nature.

The Holiness of God
The setting of fire, cloud, and darkness underscores God's holiness and the reverence due to Him.

The Role of Mediation
Moses acts as a mediator, pointing to the ultimate mediator, Jesus Christ, who bridges the gap between God and humanity.

The Permanence of God's Law
The commandments written on stone signify their enduring relevance and the call to live by God's standards.

The Call to Obedience
The Israelites' experience serves as a reminder of the importance of listening to and obeying God's voice in our lives.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the setting of fire, cloud, and darkness at Mount Sinai enhance our understanding of God's holiness and majesty?

2. In what ways does Moses' role as a mediator foreshadow the work of Jesus Christ in the New Testament?

3. How can we apply the permanence of God's commandments, as symbolized by the stone tablets, to our daily lives?

4. What are some practical ways we can ensure that God's commandments are "written on our hearts" as described in 2 Corinthians 3:3?

5. How does the experience of the Israelites at Mount Sinai challenge us to approach God with reverence and obedience today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 19-20
Provides the detailed account of the giving of the Ten Commandments, emphasizing the holiness and majesty of God.

Hebrews 12:18-21
Reflects on the fear and awe experienced by the Israelites at Mount Sinai, contrasting it with the new covenant in Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:3
Discusses the new covenant written not on tablets of stone but on human hearts, highlighting the transformative work of the Holy Spirit.
Sermons
Moral LawJ. Orr Deuteronomy 5:22
Perpetual Obligation of the Moral LawW. Niven, B. D.Deuteronomy 5:22
The Completeness of the CommandmentsJ. Parker, D. D.Deuteronomy 5:22
The Voice of GodDean Farrar.Deuteronomy 5:22
Reminiscences of HorebJ. Orr Deuteronomy 5:1-33
Character Determines EnvironmentD. Davies Deuteronomy 5:21-33
How Moses Became MediatorR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 5:22-33
People
Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt, Horeb
Topics
Added, Assembly, Cloud, Darkness, Deep, Fire, Loud, Midst, Mountain, Nothing, Proclaimed, Spoke, Stone, Tablets, Thick, Voice, Wrote
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 5:22

     4366   stones
     4805   clouds
     5196   voice
     5574   tablet
     7209   congregation

Deuteronomy 5:22-24

     4810   darkness, natural

Deuteronomy 5:22-26

     1454   theophany

Deuteronomy 5:22-27

     6636   drawing near to God

Library
Prayer and Obedience
"An obedience discovered itself in Fletcher of Madeley, which I wish I could describe or imitate. It produced in him a ready mind to embrace every cross with alacrity and pleasure. He had a singular love for the lambs of the flock, and applied himself with the greatest diligence to their instruction, for which he had a peculiar gift. . . . All his intercourse with me was so mingled with prayer and praise, that every employment, and every meal was, as it were, perfumed therewith." -- JOHN WESLEY. …
Edward M. Bounds—The Necessity of Prayer

The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

Questions About the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
AND PROOF, THAT THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK IS THE TRUE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. BY JOHN BUNYAN. 'The Son of man is lord also of the Sabbath day.' London: Printed for Nath, Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1685. EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. All our inquiries into divine commands are required to be made personally, solemnly, prayerful. To 'prove all things,' and 'hold fast' and obey 'that which is good,' is a precept, equally binding upon the clown, as it is upon the philosopher. Satisfied from our observations …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

"They have Corrupted Themselves; their Spot is not the Spot of his Children; they are a Perverse and Crooked Generation. "
Deut. xxxii. 5.--"They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation." We doubt this people would take well with such a description of themselves as Moses gives. It might seem strange to us, that God should have chosen such a people out of all the nations of the earth, and they to be so rebellious and perverse, if our own experience did not teach us how free his choice is, and how long-suffering he is, and constant in his choice. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The True Manner of Keeping Holy the Lord's Day.
Now the sanctifying of the Sabbath consists in two things--First, In resting from all servile and common business pertaining to our natural life; Secondly, In consecrating that rest wholly to the service of God, and the use of those holy means which belong to our spiritual life. For the First. 1. The servile and common works from which we are to cease are, generally, all civil works, from the least to the greatest (Exod. xxxi. 12, 13, 15, &c.) More particularly-- First, From all the works of our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Everlasting Covenant of the Spirit
"They shall be My people, and l will be their God. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me."--JER. xxxii. 38, 40. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Jesus Fails to Attend the Third Passover.
Scribes Reproach Him for Disregarding Tradition. (Galilee, Probably Capernaum, Spring a.d. 29.) ^A Matt. XV. 1-20; ^B Mark VII. 1-23; ^D John VII. 1. ^d 1 And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judæa, because the Jews sought to kill him. [John told us in his last chapter that the passover was near at hand. He here makes a general statement which shows that Jesus did not attend this passover. The reason for his absence is given at John v. 18.] ^a 1 Then there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Mount Zion.
"For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them: for they could not endure that which was enjoined, If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned; and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake: but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto …
Thomas Charles Edwards—The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews

The Foundations of Good Citizenship.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.--Ex. 20:1-17. Parallel Readings. Hist. Bible I, 194-198. Prin. of Politics, Chap. II. Lowell, Essay on "Democracy." Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou …
Charles Foster Kent—The Making of a Nation

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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