Exodus 20:1-20
Notes
Transcript
Gleanings in Exodus Chapter 28: The Law of God
Love to God is expressed by obedience to His will. Only One has perfectly exemplified this, and of Him it is written, “I will delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart” (Ps. 40:8).
1 Then God spoke all these words: 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, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving 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 male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”
Have you ever missed something in translation?
For example, someone says something or tells a story or gives you some instructions and you just don’t quite understand what they are saying.
—> For instance I come from a family of educators. Lots of folks in my immediate and extended circle are teachers or work in schools.
—> There is a certain language that is used its words that I hear but don’t always understand, or words and concepts I haven’t thought about in a long time. Then they start using acronyms and I’m lost.
—> As Methodist we have this too. We have acronyms and abbreviations and then we start using words like prevenient grace, sanctifying grace, justification, a spiritual journey. It can be a little confusing at times.
—> In Exodus Ch. 20 Moses is given 10 words, 10 sayings from God to help him guide the people. We have come to call these the 10 commandments.
—> We have seen through this series, and our look into Exodus that God is making a way for the Israelites. God is always providing them a way forward, a way to something better, a way to a new hope and a connection back to God. These words that God gives Moses are no different.
—> Sometimes however it is difficult to see the love of God when all we hear is “you shall not”.
—> That’s how we try to protect people though isn’t it. We tell them what not to do.
—> When something is hot we say “don’t touch that”
28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33 and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
—> When an area isn’t safe we say “don’t go over there”
—> When a relationship is bad we say “you shouldn’t hang around them”
—> It can come across like a set of rules and that we are trying to control them but really its us just trying to do what we think is best to help them.
—> God gives these sayings to Moses to not only help the people relate to God and keep that relationship but he also gives the people things to help with there relationships with each other. Again it doesn’t look like love one another but a set of rules and don’ts.
—> Don’t murder, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t disrespect your folks, don’t commit adultery, don’t covet.
—> Don’t, don’t, don’t —> man it sounds like I’m talking to my kids
—> so where is the love? How do I understand how to love God and love others. That’s what this is all about right?
—> Maybe Jesus can help us...
28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33 and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
—> Jesus has boiled down the 10 words/phrases that God gave Moses for the people into 2 phrases. Love God with all that you have and are, and love everyone like you love yourself.
—> Why? Why could Jesus do this. Those sound nothing like the 10 Commandments, and yet they are really the same thing.
—> When God gives Moses the 10 Commandments he is really starting a relationship with this people. They are finally together and on their own. They are making their own way trying to figure out this new life. God is trying to move them from the point of having to take care of their every need to letting them do things on their own. Think of Israel as toddlers. The people of God are starting to walk, starting to talk, and starting to find a little independence.
—> At that age it seems that don’t is the operative word at that stage as a parent.
—> God gave the 10 Commandments to the Israelites when they had no critical thinking skills.
—> They didn’t have a culture, they had been slaves in Egypt for generations. They Tabernacle and Temple weren’t a thing yet. They didn’t know how to show God love through religion, so God gave them a way to show Him love through obedience.
—> Obedience shows trust in the one we are obeying. It isn’t a form us subordination instead it is humility that says I have faith in you that you know what’s best.
—> Fast forward 1400 years. Israel has grown up a little bit. They have an identity they know who they are. They know now what it means to love God, to serve God with all that they have, with all of their being. They understand what it means to love your neighbor because now they have been doing these things for generations.
—> At times in our lives we need structure. We need a firm set of boundaries and rules. We need to know that there are lines we shouldn’t cross for our own good.
—> tell “a friends” college story
—> trust that God knows the way that is right for you. God isn’t putting rules on you to limit you. God doesn’t want to control you. God wants to love you. That’s all God has ever wanted.
—> So maybe its time that you stop just checking boxes and living like a kid in your faith. I didn’t murder anyone today, I didn’t steal today, I didn’t worship any idols today, but did you love your neighbor? Did you love God with every bit of your being? Make this week the week that something changes. Make today the day that you turn the corner in your relationship with God by going deeper than just a check list.