There was a statement made on the matters of "covenants" which was stated as,
"Moses made it clear in a Deuteronomy 5 that their father’s nor anyone else had the law and ten commands before then:" [
citation reference]
[Deuteronomy 5:2-22, along with Exodus 31:13, was given in evidence, with Deuteronomy 5:3,15; Exodus 31:13 being specifically highlighted]
"... Notice that after he says that only they and no one before them had ever been given what Moses was giving them, He gave them the Ten Commandments: ...
... Deu 5:3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. ..."
The claim is, by this participant, that the "Ten Commandments" are the "this covenant" that God had made with the peoples (Moses and 'Israel' (physical descendants of Jacob)), and that this (or these Ten Commandments) is/are the 'old covenant'.
A question we can ask, Is the statement true, based upon the word of God, and the context of Deuteronomy 5 (as is cited)?
Let's take a look.
Does Deuteronomy 5:3 explicitly state that the "this covenant" is anywhere the exact "Ten Commandments"?
No.
This means that some people "think" that it does by implication, being so near to the Ten Commandments being re-iterated by Moses.
What is the "this covenant" that Moses is speaking about in Deuteronomy 5? It is found referred to in vs 2.
Deu 5:2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Please notice, that the "covenant" referred to, was "made" with the peoples ("us")
"in" (not near, or around) "Horeb".
Where can we find such an event, of a "covenant" "made" "in" "Horeb"/"Sinai" that is original? It is found in Exodus 19 & 24.
Exodus 19:12 "... that ye go not up into the mount, ..."
Exo 24:1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
Exo 24:2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
Exo 24:3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
Exo 24:4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Exo 24:5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
Exo 24:6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exo 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
Exo 24:8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
Exo 24:9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
Exo 24:10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
Exo 24:11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
Exo 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exo 24:13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
Exo 24:14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
Exo 24:15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
Exo 24:16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
Exo 24:17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Exo 24:18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
What then is the "this covenant" that was not made with any of their ancestors?
It is found in Exodus 19:3-9, 24:1-11.
The "this covenant" is not the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were not spoken aloud by the LORD in awesome majesty, until 3 days later (Exodus 19:11,16). Rather, it is the "... if ... then ... and ..." (Exodus 19:5-6) of the LORD, and the agreement of the elders of the people that said, "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do." (Exodus 19:8), "All the words which the LORD hath said will we do." (Exodus 24:3).
There was never anywhere before Mt. Sinai/Horeb that the LORD had ever made such an arrangement (covenant) or agreement with the Patriarchs. It was unique with Moses and the peoples of Jacob/'Israel'.
The Ten Commandments were already known long before Mt. Sinai. For instance, see Exodus 16 in which God spake of the Sabbath of the LORD, the 7th Day.
Exo 16:26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
Exo 16:27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
Exo_16:28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
Each of the other of the Ten Commandments may also be seen long before Mt. Sinai, upon request.
