Deuteronomy 5:1-3 - Hear, O Israel

5:1

We now have the second giving of the Law, starting with the Ten Commandments or “ten words” (the decalogue). Moses summoned all Israel and called upon Israel to hear the decrees and Laws which Moses would declare to them.  They were to learn them, and to follow them. They needed to know what they were, and they needed to understand them. It is only by doing that we begin to fully understand.

5:2,3

Moses reminds them that God had made a covenant with Israel at Horeb. He then goes on to say “it was not with our ancestors”. What this means is that the covenant was still valid, it applied to the current generation. The first generation had virtually all died out in the wilderness because of their disobedience. It was up to the present generation to grasp hold of the covenant.