V. 1. 2. And Moses called out to all Israel 2c.
Here you have it that Moses, in order to complete Deuteronomy, preaches various sermons and calls the people together several times. Therefore, he always repeats on the following day what he had said on the previous day, as here, when he inculcates the covenant of God and the voice of the Lord 2c. Here begins the most important sermon of the ten commandments.
V. 3-5. and did not make this covenant with our fathers 2c.
Moses shows here the difference between the New and the Old Testament. The New Testament is the oldest, which was promised from the beginning of the world, yes, "before the times of the world", as Paul says in the letter to Titus [Cap. 1, 2], but only fulfilled under Christ. The Old Testament, which was promised under Moses, was fulfilled under Joshua. But this is the difference between the two, that the new one is based on the promise of the merciful and faithful God alone, without our works, but the old one also on our works. Therefore, the promises of Moses do not go further than keeping the commandments and the statutes. This was the cause that it itself had to finally become obsolete and be discarded and become a model of the new and eternal testament, which began before the world and will remain after the world. 1) But the latter has in the
1) Instead of äuravit in the Jenaer and in the Erlanger we have assumed äurnbit with the Wittenberger.
Time started and stopped after some time.
V. 6. ff. I am the LORD, your God 2c.
It seems that this commandment is merely an outward statute (ceremonias) about the images for the crude and childish people, but in truth it is a spiritual law, which requires the inward service of the spirit, also concerning the outward images. Incidentally, no one can interpret these commandments of the Decalogue better than Moses does in this Deuteronomy, as we shall see. Therefore, we do not want to talk more about it here.
But Moses shows the power of the law by saying that they could not have endured the voice of God, namely because the law, when it is proclaimed and heard in the spirit, completely kills and brings man to an unbearable knowledge of his sin and to the fear of death, so that man sighs for a mediator and desires a more loving word, that is, the gospel of grace, as here the terrified people ask Moses as a mediator, who will speak softer, so that they will not die from the voice of God. For what would a man suffer and do, so that he would not have to hear the law?
V. 22. ff. And did nothing about it 2c.
And afterwards [v. 32] he says: "Do not deviate, neither to the right nor to the left", namely he repeats again and inculcates that nothing be added to or taken away from the word of God, about which we have spoken enough above.