Deuteronomy 5:1-21

A. THE NATURE, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE COVENANT MADE AT SINAI (Deuteronomy 5:1 to Deuteronomy 11:32)

1. THE TEN WORDS REVIEWED (Deuteronomy 5:1 to Deuteronomy 6:3)

a. THE COMMANDMENTS GIVEN (Deuteronomy 5:1-21)

And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Hear O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and observe to do them. 2 Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Jehovah made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4 Jehovah spake with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, 5 (I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, to show you the word of Jehovah: for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the mount:) saying,

6 I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
7 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
8 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 9 thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me; 10 and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

11 Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain: for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that take this name in vain.
12 Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee. 13 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. 15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm: therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

16 Honor thy father and thy mother, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee; that thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
17 Thou shalt not kill.
18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
19 Neither shalt thou steal.
20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.
21 Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's wife; neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbor'S.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 5:1-21

99.

Please read Exodus the twentieth chapter to give an adequate background for this text.

100.

What distinction is there in statutes, ordinances, and commandments?

101.

Who is involved in the pronoun us in Deuteronomy 5:27?

102.

Jehovah did give the ten commandments to the fathers of the very persons to whom Moses spoke. How are we to understand Deuteronomy 5:3?

103.

Read the account in Exodus to provide an understanding of just how we are to understand the expression spake with you face to face. out of the midst of the fire.

104.

What one great lesson did God want to teach Israel by their sojourn in the house of bondage?

105.

Examine carefully every word of the first commandment as an example: Thouwho is involved here? Is this just a commandment for the nation of Israel? shalt have does this mean they had formerly worshiped more than one God? etc.

106.

Is there some difference between an image and a likeness? Just what is a graven image?

107.

Is the second commandment a prohibition against all sculpture? Discuss.

108.

How is iniquity associated with idol worship?

109.

Is verse nine natural or supernatural in the promise of punishment?

110.

Someone said, I do not even know when I am cursing; it has become such a part of my vocabulary that I use it unconsciously. Is this a violation of the third commandment?

111.

Why did God command Israel to keep the Sabbath day?

112.

Does the Christian have any reason for keeping the Sabbath day? Discuss.

113.

How could longevity possibly be linked with honoring parents?

114.

Does God forbid killing under any and all conditions?

115.

Are all forms of stealing condemned?

116.

What is a briefer form of stating commandment number nine?

117.

It would be interesting to list these same ten commandments in a positive form; instead of Thou shalt not try Thou shalt.

118.

Does the tenth commandment forbid lustful thoughts concerning thy neighbor's wife?

119.

Which commandment would be the easiest to observe?

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 5:1-21

And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances which I speak in your hearing this day, that you may learn them, and take heed and do them.
2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 The Lord made this covenant not with our fathers, with us, who are all of us here alive this day.
4 The Lord spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire.
5 I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to show you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the mount. He said,
6 I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
7 You shall have no other gods before Me or besides me.
8 You shall not make for yourself [to worship] a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
9 You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
10 And showing mercy and steadfast love to thousands and to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
11 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in falsehood or without purpose.
12 Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work;
14 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your manservant, or your maindservant, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the stranger or sojourner who is within your gates, that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you.
15 And (earnestly) remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstreched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe and take heed to the sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
17 You shall not murder.
18 Neither shall you commit adultery.
19 Neither shall you act slyly or steal.
20 Neither shall you witness falsely against your neighbor.
21 Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife, nor desire your neighbor's house, his field, his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor'S.

COMMENT 5:1-21

This section cannot properly be appreciated without reviewing the first giving of these commandments at Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 20. Much of what we could say by way of comment (on the ten commandments, particularly) belongs more correctly, perhaps, in a study of Exodus, However, these words have particular significance in view of Israel's present condition and location, (See the Introduction, II,), and it is with this in mind that the remarks below are offered.

JEHOVAH. MADE A COVENANT WITH US IN HOREB (Deuteronomy 5:2)The reference is primarily to the ten commandments, Deuteronomy 4:12-13. Along with these were statutes and ordinances (Deuteronomy 2:14, Deuteronomy 5:1)a more inclusive term (See Exodus 21:1). In what way was it with us? The previous generation of numbered Israelites had died (Deuteronomy 2:14). The covenant nevertheless applied to all Israel, Israel was assembled at Sinai, Israel was assembled on the plains of Moab.

JEHOVAH MADE NOT THIS COVENANT WITH OUR FATHERS (Deuteronomy 5:3)What fathers? Obviously, the law had been given to their literal fathers, for most of those now hearing Moses-' words were the sons and daughters of those who had died in the wilderness, Fathers sometimes refers to forefathers in the scripture, and it could have such significance here. Moffatt and Meek translate not with our forefathers. The law given at Sinai had not been given to their progenitorsAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[28] Fathers can refer back several generations and often does in Deuteronomy. See Deuteronomy 1:8, Deuteronomy 4:37, Deuteronomy 9:5, Deuteronomy 10:22, Deuteronomy 29:13, Deuteronomy 30:20 (where note that the Abrahamic covenant was made with their fathersAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That covenant was made with their forefathers; this one was not). See also such passages as Joshua 24:15 and John 8:39. Moses then is saying, God made this covenant with you (Israel)and not with your forefathers. You were its first recipients. See Nehemiah 9:13-15, and notes below.

[28] This is obvious in scripturein spite of the insistence of some that such commandments as keeping the sabbath were given long before the exodus.. the sabbath was kept by Adam in his innocence in holy Eden; by Adam, fallen yet repentant, when he was driven from his happy estate. It was kept by all the patriarchs, from Abel to righteous Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob. When the chosen people were in bondage in Egypt, many, in the midst of prevailing idolatry, lost their knowledge of God's law. (The Great Controversy, by Ellen G. White, p. 51 Pacific Press, 1944 edition.)

Another explanation, however, is preferred by many. That is, to understand Deuteronomy 5:3 to be simply saying, Jehovah not only made this covenant with your own fathers, but with us, even uswe who are all here alive this very day. The covenant was, indeed, made with their literal fathers and mothers. But, Moses is saying not just with them, It was also made with every one of you! The covenant was with Israel as a nation, not just its original recipients. He [Moses] means, Jehovah made a covenant not with our fathers only, or specially, but with us also (McGarvey). (Clarke's rendering is almost identical.) Instructions or commandments to their fathers were instructions or commandments to them. So in Deuteronomy 5:15 he could say to the present generation, thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt etc. And Deuteronomy 6:20-24 ... We were Pharaoh's bondmen etc.

JEHOVAH SPAKE WITH YOU FACE TO FACE IN THE MOUNT (Deuteronomy 5:4)A figurative expression for God's miraculous manifestations to Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19:9-11; Exodus 19:16-19; Exodus 20:18-21. Cf. Deuteronomy 4:33; Deuteronomy 4:36). No other nation had such a privilege.

NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME (Deuteronomy 5:7)Margin, besides me. Not no other gods ahead of me, for that infers that Jehovah God tolerates others, just so he is first. Ye shall not make other gods with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make unto you (Exodus 20:23). It might be well to note here that the New Testament forbids making a god or object of worship of anything earthly: Philip. Deuteronomy 3:18-19; Colossians 3:5, 1 Timothy 6:10; 1 Timothy 6:17; 1 Corinthians 6:12-14.

VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS UPON THE CHILDREN, AND UPON THE THIRD AND UPON THE FOURTH GENERATION OF THEM THAT HATE ME (Deuteronomy 5:9)Cf. Exodus 34:6-7. This passage is not speaking of final or eternal guilt. It is speaking of the effect of one's sin through several generations. It was a civil law in Israel that The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin (Deuteronomy 24:16). Will God have a less equitable sense of justice in the final day? Our Righteous Father judges as we should judgeindividually. This is abundantly taught in such passages as Ezek. the 18th chapter, and in the New Testament, in Matthew 16:27, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Ephesians 6:7-9, Colossians 3:22-25, 1 Peter 1:17, Romans 14:10-12.

How, then do we explain the righteousness of God in such cases as his commanding Israel to execute Achan's entire family (Joshua 7:22-26), including his sons and his daughters? We do not know, in that case, but that his family was an accomplice in his crime. The loot was hidden in the family tentrather hard to conceal!

God, however, did sometimes punish entire groups with death. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were destroyed with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones (Numbers 16:25-35). And we have just read how Israel was commanded to destroy the native tribes with the women and the little ones (Deuteronomy 2:34), These latter verses, I believe, form a parallel to the passage now under consideration. Many who were destroyed in Korah's rebellion and in the extermination of the Canaanite tribes were probably innocent themselvesbut suffered physical death because of their parent's sin. The Canaanite tribes were being banished for their own evil, as well as making way for Israel (Genesis 15:16, and under Deuteronomy 9:4).

We conclude that through the ages and even to the present day, children and other innocent parties may suffer physical death as a result of their parent's or other's sins, This may be the will of God. But final and eternal judgment is on a strictly individual basis, and no one will be in hell eternally who has not gone there on their own volition. See further under Deuteronomy 24:16.

THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF JEHOVAH THY GOD IN VAIN (Deuteronomy 5:11)Not here a prohibition of swearing by or to Jehovah's name per se, but of using his honorable name with lightness, levity, or without keeping an oath made to him. See Deuteronomy 6:13, Deuteronomy 10:20. But Jesus taught Swear not at all. (Matthew 5:33-37), and James taught, But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment (James 5:12).

The Hebrew word for vain (SHAV) is rendered by Baumgartner's Lexicon here as meaning name a name without reason, vainly; misuse a name, and by Gesenius-' Lexicon as specifically falsehood, a lie, translating here: -utter not the name of Jehovah upon a falsehood,-' do not swear falsely, compare Psalms 24:4, Isaiah 1:13.

This commandment, of course, has broad and far-reaching implications relative to our use of the name of God. Adam Clarke's comment, made many years ago of conditions in Britain, is still very much in order: Is it necessary to say to any truly spiritual mind, that all such interjections as God! my God! good Heavens! & c., & c., are formal positive breaches of this law? How many pass for Christians are highly criminal here!-'

OBSERVE THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY (Deuteronomy 5:12)a law that had the most severe punishment if broken, Exodus 16:29-30; Exodus 31:14-17; Exodus 35:2-3; Numbers 15:32-36. Present day sabbath-day advocates must, of necessity, keep the sabbath as the Bible directs, or not keep it at all. Anything less is inconsistent. See below.

AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SERVANT IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND JEHOVAH. BROUGHT THEE OUT. THEREFORE JEHOVAH THY GOD COMMANDED THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH DAY (Deuteronomy 5:15)One of many scriptures which shows this law was only given to Israel. See also Deuteronomy 5:2 and notes. The sabbath was in commemoration of their deliverance from Egypt. Thus, its observance by the Patriarchs (Deuteronomy 5:2) was impossiblefor the historical event it commemorated had not yet come to pass! Nor would its observance have any significance to any other nation! The sabbath was a national law of Israel made known at Sinai as an institution (Nehemiah 9:13-14) and never observed before Exodus 16 in the wilderness of Sin. Cf. also Deuteronomy 4:12-13. To Israel, and Israel alone was this law givenExodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:10-12. The word sabbath is not mentioned before the 16th chapter of Exodus, and it is obvious from the above phrase that no people were commanded to keep it who were not Israelites! How could the sabbath commemorate deliverance from Egypt before such a deliverance was a fact?

In Genesis 2:3, Moses, writing from somewhere in the wilderness or perhaps on these very plains of Moab, can say that God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made. When was it hallowed? Some (Alexander Campbell was among them) think it was hallowed thenthat is, at creation. But in the light of this verse, as well as Deuteronomy 5:2 and what is said in Exodus, such a position becomes untenable. Genesis 2:3, we believe, is a literary prolepsis. The statement made by Moses in Genesis was written after it had become historical fact at Sinai. It was now a facta very recent and prominent one in Israel's history. And Moses tells us the seventh day was chosen because God rested on that day or epoch when the world was being formed. (See C. C. Crawford's first volume on Genesis, pp. 362-370 in this very series). The Jewish people needed to know why God chose to memoralize the seventh day of the week rather than one of the other six days. And it was to be observed as a memorial of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. Crawford puts it We have in Genesis the reason why the particular day of the week was chosen! We have in Deuteronomy what the day was chosen for, that is, what it was divinely intended to memorialize. In regard to the phrase, And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah brought you out. Therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day (Deuteronomy 5:15). McGarvey states, The motive presented for keeping the sabbath, that Jehovah had delivered them from servitude in Egypt, was an appeal to their sense of gratitude. It was not given as the reason why God had sanctified the seventh day, but as a reason why Israel should observe it: -therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day,-' The reason why God had hallowed the seventh day, because in creation he had rested on the seventh day, had been given in Exodus [Exodus 20:11] and so far as it furnished a reason for keeping the sabbath, it was a reason applicable to all men, Moses, without repeating that, gives Israel a special reason why they should keep it, whether others did or not; and the reason is, gratitude to God for giving them rest from the servitude in Egypt. It was easy for every one who heard him, and who had ever heard or read the original commandment [as given at Sinai], to see that at this point he was not quoting the commandment, but adding a motive for its observance.[29]

[29] Authorship of Deuteronomy, pp. 80, 81.

And, as we have just seen, Israel was, in fact, the only nation divinely instructed to keep the sabbath. If others (strangers or foreigners) joined Israel, they, too, would be under Israel's lawthe law of God. See Deuteronomy 31:12-13, but especially Numbers 9:14; Numbers 15:14-16; Numbers 15:29, Leviticus 24:22. This would, of course, include the keeping of the Sabbath. But other nations, as such, were never given the sabbath. They could not commemorate a miraculous deliverance from Egypt, as Israel could.

No other nation had been dealt with as Israel had; no one been given the laws he had been given. See Deuteronomy 4:7-8; Deuteronomy 4:32-39, 2 Samuel 7:23, 1 Chronicles 17:21.

He showeth his word unto Jacob,
His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation:
And as for his ordinances, they have not known them.
Praise ye Jehovah.

Psalms 147:19-20

So I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Jehovah that sanctifieth them (Ezekiel 20:10; Ezekiel 20:12).

HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER (Deuteronomy 5:16)Cf. Ephesians 6:2. Honor (Hebrew, kabed) literally signifies heavy or weightyi.e., their parents were not to be regarded lightly, carelessly, or with indifference. Rather, proper respect, reverence, thoughtfulness, and obedience should be rendered them. This law carried with it the severest punishment if brokenDeuteronomy 21:18-21; Deuteronomy 27:16, Exodus 21:15; Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9. Let us, as Christians, not forget that the Son of God was in subjection to his earthly parents as a child, Luke 2:51.

Today, more perhaps than any other time in all the history of the western world, parents are not honored. Rather, there is disrespect, back-talk, scowls, sneers and contradiction. But what is being done about it by the parents themselves? By their own lives and conduct, they frequently encourage rebellion and disrespect! When there is no regular teaching in the home, (both by word and by example) and when parents so flaunt the law of Christ themselves, how can they expect respect, reverence, and obedience from their children? As the homes go, so goes the nation. Disrespect of parents becomes, in the minds of a youngster, the spawning ground for disrespect in all walks of lifeof school teachers, law enforcement officers, Christian leaders, and, worst of all, of Christ and his word.

Before leaving the ten commandments, we must ask the question, what is a Christian'S relationship to this covenant? In what way or manner are these laws binding on the child of God today? What is his responsibility to them? Is he bound to some, and not bound to others?

The answer is simply this: We are no longer bound in covenant relationship to ANY of the Mosaic lawincluding the ten commandments. This law was given to Israel alone (Deuteronomy 5:3; Deuteronomy 5:15) and the covenant was between God and that nation only. This answer may come as a shock to many, but it is plainly taught in the New Covenant scriptures.

Jesus taught that he came to fulfill the law and the prophets, and that Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished (Matthew 5:17-19). I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. What does that mean to you? Christ was the very essence of the Mosaic dispensation, keeping the law perfectlythe only one who ever did. He lived and died under that economy. How, then, could he say he came to destroy it? He came to bring it to its culmination, to completion, and hence to its termination! I did not come to abolish but to complete. (Berkeley). Thus, Jesus taught that while he was yet alive the law (including the ten commandments) should be kept. Note Luke 10:25-28, where loving God (Deuteronomy 6:5) and your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18) are both cited as a part of the law. (In fact, On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets [Matthew 22:40]i.e., love for God and one's neighbor was at the center and core of all the writings in the law and prophets,)

Again, in another instance, a certain ruler asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus-' answer was a reference to the ten commandments as well as an exhortation to sell all he had, distribute it to the poor, and follow Christ (Luke 18:18-22).

Jesus-' teachings (whether promulgated by himself or his inspired apostles) were being spread while he lived. But his new covenant could not be officially binding on all mankind until after his death, For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it. For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth (Hebrews 9:16-17). The new covenant is not some kind of hodge-podge combination of Old Testament and New. Not at all. To think of it as such is only to confuse and befuddle the mind. Rather, it is a BRAND NEW covenant, and it is only binding as a testament between us and its testator. It has certain stipulations and demands to qualify for its promised rewardsthese must be met. ... he [Christ] is the mediator of a NEW covenant (Hebrews 9:15). Trying to mix or combine our covenant responsibilities is like putting a piece of undressed cloth [not shrunk] upon an old garment, or putting new wine in old wineskins. So taught Jesus, himself, Matthew 9:16-17. Yet this is the very position (and an awkward position it is!) that those who propose to keep the decalogue today find themselves. The law, of course, must be kept as given by God, or not kept at all. Let us suppose, then, that we were to keep the sabbath, the seventh day, as specified in the law of Moses. (... the law is good, if a man use it lawfully, 1 Timothy 1:8). Here are a few things that we would have to keep in mind:

1. Not to boil or bake (Exodus 16:23)

2. No fires to be built (Exodus 35:3) (A rather difficult command to keep in cold or Arctic climates! But not impossible for Israel to keep.)

3. Two male lambs, a year old, to be offered (Numbers 28:9)

4. A meal-offering and drink-offering to be given (Numbers 28:9-10)

5. Not to pick up sticks. Those doing so to be stoned to death (Numbers 15:32-36)

6.. the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest unto Jehovah: whosoever doeth ANY work therein shall be put to death (Exodus 35:2).. in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates (Exodus 20:10).

7. Must be kept according to Jewish time (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday). How would our brethren in Fairbanks, Alaska keep this law in mid-summer? The sun doesn-'t go down! Israel, to whom this law was exclusively given, would not be faced with such a problem.

8. Death penalty for profaining the sabbath (Exodus 31:14). (I have yet to witness a blackslidden or careless sabbath-keeper executed or punished in the manner specified. Yet the very law that teaches sabbath observance also teaches that those who defile it must be put to death). Is it the duty of Christians to put to death those who desecrate the seventh day? If yes, who will be the public executioner? Shall it be by stoning, as commanded in the law? If no, what do we do with the law just cited (Exodus 35:2)?

9. The weekly sabbath is not the only sabbath to be kept, but also the sabbath of the seventh year, and the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:1-22). If Christians are required to keep the weekly sabbath as Israel did, why are they not also required to keep these sabbaths? By what authority do we keep the law in one instance and relegate it to obscurity in another?

No, the sabbath, and all old-covenant laws are done away in Christ. Read carefully 2 Corinthians 3:1-18, Colossians 2:13-17, Galatians 3:7-14; Galatians 3:23-27; Galatians 5:1-4. Christ was the perfect essence, the very embodiment of the law itself, and his death signified the death of the law.

When Christ was alive, he could say to one, Thy sins are forgiven thee, or to another, This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. But when he died, his new covenant was sealedratified by his own blood. Now, if we are to be the beneficiaries of his last will and testament, we must comply with its stipulations.
Some one will now ask, but are we not bound to keep such commands as Thou shalt not kill, etc. The answer is still nonot as a covenant. I do not kill, not because the Old Testament forbids it, but because Christ forbids, not only killing, but its source, hate. We have in the New Covenant a higher standard all the way through:

Mosaic law

New Covenant

1.

No other gods before me

... there is no God but one (1 Corinthians 8:4) ... to us there is one God, the Father, of whom all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6)

2.

No graven image

My little children, guard yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21) Neither be ye idolators (1 Corinthians 10:7) flee from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14) See also Romans 1:21-23, Colossians 3:5

3.

Not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain

Swear not at all (Matthew 5:34) Let your speech be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one (Matthew 5:37) ... every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36)

4.

Observe the sabbath day

There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest [heaven] for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9) (Sunday, the Lord's day of Revelation 1:10 is not commanded to be a day of rest, but is a day of worship: Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.)

5.

Honor thy father and mother

Honor thy father and mother (Ephesians 6:2) let them learn first to show piety towards their own family, and to requite their parents (1 Timothy 5:4)

6.

Thou shalt not kill

... every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire (Matthew 5:22) Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15)

7.

Not commit adultery

... every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:28) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. (Galatians 5:19) ... men that count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and blemishes. having eyes full of adultery (2 Peter 2:13-14)

8.

Not steal

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need (Ephesians 4:28)

9.

Not bear false witness against thy neighbor

Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye truth each one with his neighbor (Ephesians 4:25).. lie not one to another. (Colossians 3:9)

10.

Not covet

Put to death. covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). But godliness with contentment is great gain. having food and covering we shall be therewith content (1 Timothy 6:8)

We could, of course, extend the New Testament list considerably; but the above references are sufficient to illustrate the point: By observing the new covenant, (whose standards are always higher) the old law is no longer observed as a covenant.

Why then study the Old Testament? 1 Corinthians 10:11, Romans 15:4, and 2 Timothy 3:16 have the answer. Inasmuch as the Mosaic law supplied God's will to God's people of a past age, there is much there for learning, instruction, comfort, and example, for us. And one can continually ask himself, Are my standards as high as these standards God's people had under the OLD covenant? (A good test on this one is found in Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18), Further, much in the old (both by way of type and prophecy) foretells the new, Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of the feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's (Colossians 2:16-17). See also Hebrews 8.