2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
As believers, God should come first in our lives, and we should respect the Lord - immensely - as He is God and He loves us so much that He came in flesh to shed His blood to pay the ransom for our lives so that we can have a close, personal relationship with Him. Why would we then turn our backs on Him to seek help and guidance from nature or other people? He created all things, He knows all things, He is over all things! And knowing us better than we know ourselves, He gave us the ten commandments, since we very much need guidance!
The ten commandments neatly sum up all the "do's and don'ts" in the Bible. And when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with some compromising rhetoric, Jesus made it even more succinct and easy for us to follow...
(Matthew 22:37-40) And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
God is not "preachy" for a reason! Because life is not about do's and don'ts, but having a relationship with Him. And having a good, solid relationship with the Lord will help us in our relationships with others. Most of these are no-brainers! Although a lot of us might struggle with respecting our parents, we all know murder, adultery and stealing are wrong. I do know it is quite easy to get caught up in lying about what someone else has done or not done - whether it is to protect ourselves somehow or it is to see someone else suffer - it doesn't matter why, it is wrong.
And then the last one: "do not covet" seems to sum everything up! This can be the root and cause of so many ills, actually. Lying, lust, stealing and murder! If we are coveting anything, it points to the fact that God is not first in our lives. It is when we put ourselves first that we will have reasons to lie, lust, steal and/or murder. Therefore, it is when we focus on the Lord and really trust in Him, we will have peace, joy and hope, and we will be content in all things.
The ten commandments aren't there just to direct us in how we should behave, they are there to help us realize that we are not perfect, and we need more in life than rules and regulations. By seeking the forgiveness and salvation of Jesus and believing in Him, we take on His righteousness. Therefore we are free from the law and the slavery to sin, and He is the one who will help us live in His will as we allow Him to work in and through us.
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