Deuteronomy 10
McGeeCHAPTER 10THEME: God sent Israel to Egypt; God brought them out of EgyptAs Moses has said in his prayer, Israel belongs to God; they are His inheritance. He will not destroy them because of their sin but graciously give them again the Ten Commandments, written by Himself.
Deuteronomy 10:1
Moses brought the tables of stone down and placed them in the ark. Then the children of Israel continued on their journey.
Deuteronomy 10:8
There are great spiritual lessons in this for us. As Levi was the priestly tribe, so today the church is a kingdom of priests. That is, every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest. I am not a Roman Catholic priest, but I am a “catholic” priest (as is every believer in Christ) in the sense that catholic means “general.” The New Testament priest is to offer himself to God for worship, intercession, and service (Rom_12:1-2). And he is to exercise a gift as a priest according to 1 Corinthians 12. And every believer, as a priest, has a gift to exercise in the church. Notice that the tribe of Levi was to have no material inheritance. God was their inheritance. God had promised to give land, a certain amount of acreage, to the other tribes. And when He blessed them, it was temporal blessing. He did not promise that to Levi. This is also the position of the believer today. Like Levi, our inheritance is in God. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies.
Deuteronomy 10:12
Now do not make the mistake of thinking this is the gospel. It is not the gospel. You and I ought to thank God for that, because if it depended on this, you and I wouldn’t be blessed very much.
Deuteronomy 10:13
If Israel had kept them, they would have been blessed. When they broke them, judgment came upon them. God, for fifteen hundred years, demonstrated through Israel to the world and to you and me that He cannot save people by Law. These people under favorable circumstances, in a land geared to the Law, were unable to keep it. And if they were unable to keep it, then you and I are unable to keep it. Thank God, He saves by grace today. In fact, grace has always been His method. In the Old Testament He never saved anyone by Law. They were saved by His mercy and grace to them, looking forward to the coming of Christ to die on the Cross to take away their sins.
Deuteronomy 10:18
God loved the stranger. And He reminded these people that they had been strangers in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:19
The Lord Jesus quoted this to answer Satan, you remember. Our Lord certainly was familiar with the Book of Deuteronomy, as probably every Israelite was in that day.
Deuteronomy 10:22
The evident blessing of God was upon them. He sent them down into Egypt; He brought them out of Egypt. God was responsible, and He didn’t mind taking that responsibility.