REASON BEHIND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (DEUTERONOMY 5:25,33; 6:24)

When we hear the word “command,” today. most of us tend to bristle at the idea that anyone else can have the nerve to command us to do anything. I remember as a kid during summertime wanting to spend as much time as possible at the public pool within walking distance of our house. Inside the pool area was a posting list of things forbidden to do and those commanded to do if we didn't want to be kicked out by the lifeguard.

I learned from my personal observations and those of a good friend of mine who during high school worked there part time that there were more than a few kids who took this list of forbidden behavior (no horseplay, no running around the pool area, no swimming directly beneath the diving boards, no peeing in the pool, etc.) as a checklist to see how many of these, in their mind quite arbitrarily imposed, commands they could break without the lifeguard catching them. They were even inventive enough to come up with new violations of public decency and hygiene (which I will not describe) in which to engage.

So getting to the specific issue of God's commands for the chosen people as outlined in Exodus and Deuteronomy, what was really behind these ten items as their real reason for their existence other than just providing another chance for God to demonstrate His absolute power over humanity to either bless or punish?

The underlying motivation is actually spelled out quite clearly in Deuteronomy 5:25,33:

        “...that it might go well with them and with their children forever.”

        “...that you may live, and that it my go well with you, and that you may live long in the land which you shall possess.”

And after some more specific commands are outlined in addition to these ten, we run into the important formulation given in Deuteronomy 6:24:

        “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day.”

Since these three promises basically say the same thing, below I will lump together a number of citations from the scholarly literature which comment on one or another of these three verses, starting with the briefest and ending with the most detailed.

Harrison: “The prescribed statutes and ordinances are uniformly conducive to a clean, just and holy life (cf. 10:13).”

Weinfeld: “These rewords are characteristic of Deuteronomy...What is peculiar here is the accumulation of benefits: life, goodness, and longevity.”

Cousins: “Verses 32,33 [of Deuteronomy 5] are typically deuteronomic in their warmth and urgency and stress on national and individual blessing as the fruit of obedience...Integral to the situation [of 6:20-25) are the divine commandments (24) which are indeed part of God's gracious provision and bring blessing. This OT 'gospel' entails obedience.”

Kaiser: “These commandments were to be stored in one's heart (Deut. 6:6) and taught to one generation after another (Deut. 6:7-9,20-25). Only in observing and obeying these precepts would Israel enjoy life to its fullest. (Note the three purpose clauses in Deut. 5:33).”

Wright: “Obedience to the law is not only a duty, but is constantly buttressed by the 'utilitarian' consideration that it will produce the greatest happiness of the greatest number. This is the thrust of the exhortations in Deut (e.g., 4:40; 5:33; 6:24-25; 30:15-20, etc.).”

Watts: “Capturing Deuteronomy's thoroughgoing integration of righteousness and the good, Moses instructs them that if they do what is 'right and good' (6:8; cf. Deut. 30:15), all will go well (6:21-25). But it can take place only in the context of the steadfast loyalty of covenant love toward God, which, in keeping his commandments, issues forth in embodying his benevolence by acting lovingly toward one's neighbor.”

Bruckner: “The people sin, fail, hope, persevere, reconcile and struggle. In the midst of the ambiguity, however, clear reasons for good actions are expressed, both in the realm of the 'natural' order of creation and in response to God's acts of redemption: (Gen 4:7a NRSV) and Deut. 5:33 [among others].”

Thompson: “There was no questioning that obligation [to keep God's laws] if she were to continue in her proper relationship with Yahweh. But there were side benefits. When Yahweh was obeyed Israel would enjoy the blessing of life itself, but also her life would be happy and long and would be perpetuated in offspring (5:33; 6:3)...The commandments were designed, not as a burden to be borne, but as the gracious provision by a beneficent Sovereign of a guide to good living.”

Moberly: “The language of faith / belief (pistis, pisteuo), which is of central importance on the NT, does not hold a position of similar importance in the OT. The difference, however, is perhaps more one of terminology than of basic outlook, as the OT widely uses two verbs whose meaning closely approximates to that of 'have faith / believe' in the NT; that is, to 'trust' (bth) and to 'fear' (yr', used overwhelmingly in the sense of moral obedience rather than religious awe, e.g., Gen 22:12; Deut 5:29; Job 28:28).”

Walton: “God's purposes in both law and story are seen to be parallel, 'for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive' (Deut 6:24). Law is to be obeyed, not just because Gd says so, but because its serves life and contributes to the well-being of the community...the liberation of Israelite slaves is a central event in Exodus, but it is not the final objective of God's word; redemption is in the service of a new creation. To this end the Exodus narrative moves beyond liberation to new vistas of life and well-being, embodied especially in the gift of the law 'for our good always' (Deut 6:24) and the provision of life-giving worship at the tabernacle for a sinful people.”

Craigie: “The reverence shown now [i.e. at Sinai] was in response to the phenomena accompanying God's revelation, and though it was not thereby any less genuine, it was nevertheless regrettable that the people could not show the same reverence in the more mundane affairs of daily life. It was not only that lack of reverence betrayed the wrong attitude to God, but also that such a lack was not good for the people themselves...at first reading, the emphasis on law in Deuteronomy may seem severe, but the purpose of the law and of obedience to the law was a lofty one. The good life, for the Israelites, lay in obedience to the law and of God rendered out of love...Both the acts and the words of God revealed his concern and his purpose for his people. Both the acts and the words imposed a responsibility on God's people, to revere and obey God in order that they might continue to experience his presence in history and continue to hear his words.”