http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 Answers to Questions on Deuteronomy 5:1-33 1. How much time elapsed between Israel s leaving Egypt and their arriving at Mt. Sinai? Three (3) months. Exodus 19:1, On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt on that very day they came to the Desert of Sinai. (NIV) How long did Israel stay in the region of Mt. Horeb? Approximately one year, eleven (11) months and twenty days. Numbers 10:11-12, On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the covenant law. Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. (NIV) How much time elapsed between Israel s arrival at Mt. Sinai and Moses summoning Israel to hear him speak in Deuteronomy 5:1? Thirty-eight years.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Where was Israel when Moses delivered his speech which is recorded in Deuteronomy 5? In the Transjordan in Moab. 2. Moses said, Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 3. The covenant God made at Horeb was between God and all that were alive with Moses at Moab prior to crossing the Jordan River. It was not between God and their ancestors. 4. What did God say to Israel out of the fire on the mountain? God spoke the words of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. 5. Why did Moses stand between God and Israel? Was this a good thing? Moses interceded for the Israelites because
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 they feared the holy presence of God. God was pleased that they feared and respected him. 6. What is the Decalogue? The Decalogue is the Ten Commandments. Decalogue is derived from the Greek deka logos meaning ten words, the Hebrew title of the Ten Commandments. 7. Write here the first of the Ten Commandments and explain its meaning. You shall have no other gods before me. Only the one true God is to be worshiped. 8. Write here the second of the Ten Commandments and explain its meaning. You shalt not make any graven image. You are not to make any kind of idol to worship. No human figure or representation of any animal, from land, sea or
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 4 bird of the air is to be worshipped. God alone will be worshipped, not his creation. 9. Write here the third of the Ten Commandments and explain its meaning. You shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain. God s name is to be used in worship and with reverence, not taken in vain. 10. Write here the fourth of the Ten Commandments and explain its meaning. Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. God ceased his work of creation on the sixth day and on the seventh observed a day of rest. The Israelites were to observe the weekly seventh day Sabbath. 11. Write here the fifth of the Ten Commandments and explain its meaning. Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord is giving you. Obedience
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 5 and honor of parents led to a longer and happier life in the Promised Land. As we worship and honor our heavenly father we are to also honor and obey our earthly parents. 12. Write the sixth of the Ten Commandments here and explain its meaning. Thou shalt not kill. Willful premeditated murder is a sin. God is the giver of life and he does not condone the taking of a life. This commandment does not include capital punishment, warfare and accidental killings. 13. Write the seventh of the Ten Commandments here and explain its meaning. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Adultery is a sin against God and against the family. It shatters the family structure and debases societal morals. It is unfaithfulness to a spouse and also unfaithfulness to God.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 14. Write the eighth of the Ten Commandments here and explain its meaning. Thou shall not steal. This is a basic tenet for a law abiding society. This commandment protects the right of ownership of property and reinforces the rules to love your neighbor as yourself and to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. God wants us to be fair and honest in our dealings with others. 15. Write the ninth of the Ten Commandments here and explain its meaning. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. This commandment is about personal honesty and integrity. It prohibits not only false testimony in a court of law but includes gossip and slander, anything not based on fact that is harmful to another. Jesus said that Satan is the father of lies; therefore, to lie is to work in concert with the devil.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 16. Write the tenth of the Ten Commandments here and explain its meaning. Thou shall not covet. Do not be consumed by desire for something, or someone, belonging to another. Covetousness leads to temptation which leads to a greater sin such as theft, adultery, murder, etc. All great sins begin as a small thought that grows like a malignant cancer cell. 17. Which of the Ten Commandments relate directly to our duty to God? The first four. Which of the Ten Commandments relate directly to our duty to our fellowmen? The fifth through the tenth. 18. Who wrote the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone? They were written by the finger of God. 19. When Israel heard God speak the Ten Commandments from the top of Mt. Sinai ablaze with fire, what was their reaction?...
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 8 what did they do? They were afraid and would not go up to the mountain in the presence of God. They feared they would die, so they asked Moses to approach God for them. 20. What request did they make of Moses? Was God pleased with this request? Why or why not? The Israelites asked Moses to act as their mediator before God. God agreed that this was good and said the Israelites had spoken well. It was God s plan to utilize Moses as his intermediary to the Israelites. 21. God said, Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever! 22. So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the ways that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 23. Who is the Christian s mediator? Cite scriptures to support your answer. Jesus Christ is the mediator for all who believe in Him. 1 Timothy 2:5, For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, (NIV); Hebrews 8:6, But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. (NIV); Hebrews 9:15, For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. (NIV); Hebrews 12:24, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (NIV) 24. Show ways in which God s commands are designed to promote man s welfare. They promote and protect man s welfare by strengthening the generational bonds (5 th ), reaffirming the sanctity of life (6 th ), and the sanctity of marriage and the family (7 th ); protect property rights (8 th ); promote honesty in relationships and in courts of law (9 th ); and stops thoughts (ideas) before they turn into sinful actions (10 th ).
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org 10 25. How has obeying God s commands affected your life? How has disobeying God s commands affected your life? Be specific. Obeying God s commands will promote a sense of peace and well-being in your life. Obedience removes the nagging doubts and fears about your thoughts, words and deeds that you may have felt in the past. When you know in your heart that your actions are pleasing to God, you will experience the peace that passes all understanding._