Applying the Decalogue: The larger context of 4:44–28:68 is Moses’s Second Sermon and involves the application of the the Decalogue. This opening section focuses on the core of God’s guidance (4:44–5:33). 

 

4:44–49. As in Deuteronomy 1:1 and 29:1, so 4:44 introduces the next sermon with the similar rhetorical expression: “This is the law.” It begins with a summary of the story already rehearsed in chapters 1–3, a use of repetition that is not uncommon in other ancient Near Eastern narrative texts.

 

5:1–33. Before reiterating the law, originally given at Sinai, here in the plains of Moab, Moses emphasizes the importance of the “ear” as the organ for listening and responding—“Hear, Israel” (5:1). But Moses also gives three important principles prior to giving the Ten Commandments.

 

First, Moses…