Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 301
10:3-21
D e u teronom y
289
“So I made an Ark of acacia wood and cut two stone tablets like the first
two. Then I went up the mountain with the tablets in my hand. Once again
the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets and gave them
to me. They were the same words the Lord had spoken to you from the
heart of the fire on the day you were assembled at the foot of the mountain.
Then I turned and came down the mountain and placed the tablets in the
Ark of the Covenant, which I had made, just as the Lord commanded me.
And the tablets are still there in the Ark.”
(The people of Israel set out from the wells of the people of Jaakan and
traveled to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried. His son Eleazar
ministered as high priest in his place. Then they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from there to Jotbathah, a land with many brooks and streams.
At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the
Lord’s Covenant, and to stand before the Lord as his ministers, and to
pronounce blessings in his name. These are their duties to this day. That
is why the Levites have no share of property or possession of land among
the other Israelite tribes. The Lord himself is their special possession, as
the Lord your God told them.)
“As for me, I stayed on the mountain in the Lord’s presence for forty
days and nights, as I had done the first time. And once again the Lord
listened to my pleas and agreed not to destroy you. Then the Lord said
to me, ‘Get up and resume the journey, and lead the people to the land I
swore to give to their ancestors, so they may take possession of it.’
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases
him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you
must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you
today for your own good.
“Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong
to the Lord your God. Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects
of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as
is evident today. Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.
“For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is
the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and
cannot be bribed. He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He
shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and
clothing. So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves
were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. You must fear the Lord your
God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name
alone. He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise,
the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your
