Exodus 20
Bible Passage: Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments.
Most of us Christians (or even non-Christians) are very familiar with the Big Ten.
Or maybe not?
Close your Bible now, and try to list down the Ten Commandments in order on a piece of paper.
Did you get them all right?
Often, something that we thought we are very familiar with, yet they are often the ones we fail to commit to memory. We always think they are somewhere there at the back of our head, and that if we attempt to retrieve them into consciousness, we can. However, reality proves otherwise.
Why don’t we do another check? List down our True Church’s Ten Articles of Faith on a piece of paper now and see if you can get them all right.
If you can, give yourself a pat on the back, and let’s continue to read Exodus 20.
And God spoke all these words, saying:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Exodus 20:1-2)
Before God gave the Ten Commandments, He made the declaration that He is the LORD God, the one who brought Israel out of Egypt. It almost sounded like He was using that as a demand for what follows.
“Because I am the LORD, because I brought you out of Egypt, you better obey whatever I command you to do, which is as follows…….”
Was that the case?
I did have the impression that the Ten Commandments were something that God demanded of from us. And well, He had good reasons to do so. Afterall, He is the sovereign God, and being the Creator, He has authority over us, the created, so I have no reasons to complain.
However, it was brought to my attention (by the Bible Dictionary that I have) that the term “Ten Commandments” were actually literally “Ten Words”, so that changes how I view these Ten Commandments. They were not ten laws that an arrogant God had thought of to demand from us, as the word “commandment” might suggest.
Then what is the Ten Words? And what relevance does it have for me today?
It represents God’s unchanging standards from the beginning of time.
Even before the Ten Commandments were officially given, we can already see these laws in place. We saw that God did not condone Cain’s murder of his brother, Abel (Genesis 4). God also destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of the great sin of sexual immorality (Genesis 19). Therefore, the Ten Words were not something that God came up with after Israel left Egypt. Rather, it represents God’s unchanging principles and standards for us, even to today. In fact, through the Ten Commandments, we can also see the attributes of God and know God deeper.
Today, even though we know that all the laws and ordinances have been nailed on the cross by the sacrifice of Jesus (Colossians 2:14), we must understand that the Ten Words represented God’s standard, especially for those who are called His people. Therefore, we must still be careful to observe them.
It represents our covenant with God.
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” (Exodus 24:7-8)
A covenant has to be kept by two parties. However, we know that the Israelites broke the covenant with the incident of the golden calf. Yet, God is ever so merciful as we see how He told Moses to prepare again two tablets of stone and renewed the covenant again with Israel.
“Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. (Exodus 34: 10-11)
I think Leviticus 26 tells us very clearly the conditions of the covenant and so it might be good to take a look. In short, if Israel were to keep to what the Lord has commanded them to do, the Lord would bless them and lead them to the Promised Land to inherit it. God is faithful, and He will never go back on His words. But did the Israelites? We all know the answer.
Let us also reflect upon our own lives today. Have we also fulfilled our side of the covenant that we have made with Jesus the day we were washed in His blood? Have we kept to His commandments and lead a life pleasing in His sight? If so, we can be sure that He shall be faithful to bring us back to our heavenly home to inherit this everlasting possession.
As we mull over the Big Ten today, let us be able to delve deeper to see and know God deeper.
3 Comments
biblereadingcompanion
To all Mothers out there…. Happy Mother’s Day!
When I came to the 5th Commandment to “Honour your father and your mother…” I could not help thinking how appropriate this reminder is as we remember this very special lady in our lives on this day.
It is a shame that we tend to take Mothers for granted. And we only take time to appreciate them once a year. A Mother is the most awesome part of God’s creation and God’s best gift to men! Mothers take more abuse and sufferings but give more love than anything in all of creation besides God!
Let me admit this…. we guys like to think we are the better half. But the wife is definitely the better half… especially when they are mothers.
Mothers never cease to amaze me in their capacity to love and endure the endless things in life that would drive me crazy but I guess this is how God build Mothers – with inner fortitude, strength and ability to love and adapt.
I read this poem about mothers online and thought that this spoke volumes of what a Mother does….
When we were growing up, everything seemed all right in our home because her majesty MAMA was on the throne.
At meal time she as a CHEF.
She was a SURGEON when we got a splinter.
A DOCTOR when we were very sick.
A DENTIST for our loose tooth.
She was a JUDGE between us.
EXECUTIONER after a squabble.
When we came in hurt she was a NURSE.
She was a FARMER out in the garden.
SEAMSTRESS when we tore our clothes.
A PHYCHOLOGIST when we have a problem.
A THEOLOGIAN when she taught the Bible.
An EVANGELIST when she led us to Christ.
There are so many more things about Mothers that we ought to honour and thank God for…
Mothers are made to have “hearts of love” and emotions as strong as steel. Just thinking of the many pressures life brings them and yet they stand firm. If God did not make them this way, they would have crumbled and fallen when hurt by life’s and family’s problems.
Mothers are designed with a “built in alarm” to warn them of impending dangers to their loved ones. Throughout their lives, God gave Mothers the ability to warn their children of the perils of life and to pray for the safety and protection of their offspring.
The heart of a Mother was designed with great love and to have a desire to care for those that God would give her. Her arms were made to hold and comfort a crying child. They were made to wipe the tears from the eyes of a child and surround the frightened child with warmth and security that only a Mother can give.
Mothers were also made to teach their children to love God and their fellow men. They know that their children will make mistakes, like all creation that have “sinned and come short of the glory of God”. Mothers are not always perfect but they are taught by the Bible to strive for perfection and become all that God has intended as they obey their Heavenly Father. And in turn, they lead their children to God.
In Isaiah 49:15 God compares His love for His people to the love of a Mother.
Notice what inspires Isaiah to write…
“ Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
If God compares His love to the love of a Mother, we begin to get a glimmer of understanding as to just how awesome she really is!
To my Mother, I would like to say “Thank you very much Mom for all that you have done for me and am still doing it today”.
And to the Mother of my children I would like to say “I really thank God for blessing me with you who has shown me what love truly is. You truly are a wonderful Mother!”
Take some time today and tell your mom what she means to you.
appleofHiseye
Mother’s Day, a day to remember mothers all the more.
Reminds me of how children always seem to be on a mother’s mind.
They would tell them to ‘be careful’ and ‘take care’.
Reciting the Ten commandments today was refreshing too.
Reminds me of how we are on God’s mind 24/7, all the time.
He give us these commands to protect us from Satan’s snare.
Remembering the times when I broke the Ten commandments;
for breaking one command is like breaking all of them.
I would disobey my mother’s words at times because I dare.
However a mother’s constant reminder is for our protection.
She teaches me ‘prevention is better than cure’.
Why would her words to me be a restriction or seem unfair?
Just like God’s commands to us are words of love and life.
Why feel that it is so hard to keep them and remember them.
This is my resolve to keep them as I type away in this chair.
PS
Ex 20:5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.
Someone tells me that our God is a jealous God who wants everyone to love Him only. He is so possessive in His love that He does not even allow us to love ourselves. The person quotes Ex 20:5 as support.
i m quite taken aback by the remark. Surely this is not the God whom i worship.
i read the bible again and check the dictionary. The person has applied a narrow definition for the word “jealous” to mean envious (which is 嫉妒or 忌妒in chinese).
Jealous also means to be intolerant of unfaithfulness. This is more in line with the commandment that we are to have no other gods before Him (Ex 20:3).
When i read the ch bible, i note that “jealous” is recorded as “忌邪” in the chin bible.
忌 means to take offence at, 邪means deviating from the right way (不正当)
Then i sigh with a deep relief. My God is a God who is intolerant of unfaithfulness, not an envious or selfish God.
This may not sound important to mature Christians. But it is important to me who is still very much an “impressionable kid” in the faith.
(Oh yes, there is a difference between” 嫉妒” and “忌妒”)