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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Deuteronomy 10:1 - 10:11
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A Further Recital of Wilderness Events
v. 1. At that time, when Moses was engaged in his earnest intercession for Israel, the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto Me into the mount, Exo_34:1-2, and make thee an ark of wood, Exo_25:10. Moses here, as often, groups events which belong together logically, even though this is not the chronological order.
v. 2. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. This was done at the time of the dedication of the Tabernacle, Exo_40:20.
v. 3. And I made an ark of shittim wood, Exo_37:1, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, Exo_34:4, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand, literally, "in both my hands. "
v. 4. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, or, words, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me.
v. 5. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me. The narrative here again shows that "Moses groups events here with reference to the impression he wished to make, and without reference to the order of time in which they occurred. These very differences may be fairly urged as proofs of the Mosaic authorship"
v. 6. And the children of Israel took their journey, when the wilderness legislation had been brought to a close, from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: Both the wells here mentioned and the station of Mosera, or Moseroth, were in the territory of the sons of Jaakan, the latter town being at the foot of Mount Hor. there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar, his son, ministered in the priest's office in his stead. This was another evidence, of God's mercy, that He maintained the office of high priest in their midst after the death of Aaron.
v. 7. From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters, Num_33:30-33. Moses mentions these external blessings in this connection as being examples of the special benefits which accompanied the renewal of the covenant relation. God had turned back to His people with His kindness and grace.
v. 8. At that time, while Israel was journeying in the wilderness, while the covenant relation was being reestablished, the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, Num_3:6, to bear the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, as the congregation journeyed from one station to the next, to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him and to bless in His name unto this day, Numbers 4; Num_18:1-6.
v. 9. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren, in the form of a separate territory in the land of Canaan, Num_18:20-24; Eze_44:28; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord, thy God, promised him. The Levites were to devote their entire lives to the service of the Lord, unhindered by special worries of business.
v. 10. And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights, Deu_9:18-25; and the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, and the Lord would not destroy thee, Deu_9:19.
v. 11. and the Lord said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, as their leader, that they may go in and possess the land which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them. The covenant relation being now fully established, the children of Israel were to take possession of the covenant land as soon as possible. Cf Exo_34:10-11.