Laws and Rules

Four years ago our family met up with some of our extended family and went down to Rocky Point in Mexico. Bekkah grew up going to Rocky Point and I have been there several times as well so we are quite comfortable with the trip, but this was the first time that Aubreigh has been since she was older. So when we crossed the border into Mexico and headed to our stop before we got to Rocky Point we started to talk to her about Mexico and how it is a different country and that we need to be careful. We told her that we wanted her to be safe just like she is at home, and we wanted her to have a fun vacation, but that there were some rules that had to be in place before we got out of the car.

We explained to her that she could not go anywhere without telling either Bekkah or I and that she needed to be with at least one adult. She couldn’t be in charge of Madisyn like she is sometimes at the house and that if she wanted to do something with her she again needed to have at least one other adult with them. We talked about some other rules as well so that she knew what was expected of her on the trip. Now she knew, and so did we that some of the rules were the same as they had always been, but we wanted to impress upon her the importance of following them at all times when we were in another country and that we weren’t going to be as lenient about them because of that.

In today’s text we have a list of rules and laws that the Israelites were expected to follow. The 10 commandments were the laws given to Moses and the Israelite people by God at Mount Sinai. Many of us know them by heart and we do our best to live by these laws that God has given us. You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not steal, or murder, or covet anything of your neighbors. Like most laws today the 10 Commandments are seen as a list of ‘thou shall not’, or in other words a list of things that you can’t do.

You can’t drive until you’re 16 years old. You can’t vote until you’re 18. You can’t drink alcohol until you’re 21. You can’t rent a a car until you’re 25. And even when you get to do those things there are then a whole list of rules and laws within those things. You can’t exceed the speed limit and if you do you’ll get a ticket. You have to follow the rules of everything in order to not get in trouble with the city and the government. Just like you have or had to follow the rules of your parents unless you want to get in trouble.

There are so many things to follow. We follow rules from family, we follow the laws of both state and federal governments and we follow the rules and laws of God. Quite honestly it can be difficult sometimes to follow so many rules and make sure that we are keeping ourselves out of trouble. With so many cant’s and thou shall not’s it almost seems like things are stacked up against us.

And yet, as with so many things in life, there is always another way to look at things. One person who has been instrumental in looking at God’s 10 “Thou Shall Not’s” is none other than Martin Luther. In his Small Catechism, Luther explains the 10 Commandments to us. We’re not going to go through all of them, but I do want to point out what Luther does that is so incredible. Luther explains what the commandment says, but instead of just re-confirming what we shouldn’t do he goes on to say what we should do about each commandment. For example, he says that not only should we not covet anything that is our neighbors, but that we should do everything in our power to make sure that our neighbor’s stuff stays our neighbors and to praise and lift up our neighbor in all that they are and all that they have.

Luther helps us to see that the 10 Commandments aren’t just about what we can’t do, but about how we can help out and lift one another up. In fact, if you look at the 10 Commandments there are 4 that are about our relationship with God and 6 that are about our relationship with one another. God knows how important it is that we get along with one another. Jesus re-affirms that in our Gospel today by telling the scribe that the greatest and first commandment is to love God and love neighbor.

In fact Jesus doesn’t say anything about what we can’t do, but what we should do. And that is mirrored in what Moses shares from God in our story today. Before God says anything about what we cannot do, God first says in Deuteronomy 5:6 that God is their God. Before anything else God tells them that he is God, and that God as been with them , and will continue to be with them forever.

When we talked to Aubreigh about the rules for Mexico the first thing we told her before we laid the rules out, were that we wanted her to be safe and to have fun on our vacation. I believe that is what God was doing for the Israelites. God wasn’t trying to create a list of things they would have to worry about breaking and getting into trouble, but instead letting them know how much God loves them and wants them to prosper in the land God has given them. God wants them to know that God has been with them, God is with them, and God will continue to be with them forever.

The Lord is our God. The Lord alone is our God. God desires for us to have joy and happiness in our lives and to know that God is with us. Just as I talked about last week we see again that God is the great I AM. The God who is with us now and forever. The God who wants us to know how to love another and God. The God who loves us and wants us to have a healthy relationship with one another and God and how our relationships with one another and God impact each other. God has given us so much and God wants us to have every good thing in life. Keep these words that God is giving you and share them with your children, bind them in your hand and heart because all of this is a part of the great and wonderful covenant that God is our God and we are all God’s people. Now and forever. Amen.