Category: Commandments

Re:Verse passage –Exodus 20:3 (day three)

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

Whole lotta gods out there—you know, those concepts or people or things that you’ve organized your life around, made concessions to, or given up dreams for so that they could make your life secure. We’ve all been there over and over. Those gods will claim to shield you from suffering, be it pain or hardship or loss or sickness or famine. The actual God will shield you from no such thing. Instead, the actual God will teach you to live the kind of life that suffering will not destroy. If your god has convinced you that it can separate you from suffering, your god has not prepared you for reality. Only the God who actually is will lead you to know how to live in the universe that actually is.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:3 (day two) “You shall have no other gods before Me.

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Matthew 4:8-10

Anything that takes your focus and affection is a ‘god.’ It can be the promise of fame and fortune, but ultimately it costs your soul. God is not in the get rich quick business. He doesn’t guarantee success if you follow him, and frankly  we should be very wary of anyone or thing that does. In fact, all we are promised during our lives is that it will cost us everything. Jesus was not swayed by the promise of the kingdoms of the earth, and we shouldn’t be either. The joy of serving the Lord, and walking in his presence is enough reward for any of us.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:1-17 (day seven)

This week begins an exciting new study of the 10 commandments, and there are a couple of things I would like for you to do with me along the way:

1. Since through much of the summer we will be studying a verse a week, and since the 10 Commandments are critical to our life as believers, I would like for us to memorize the text. I believe God will bless that effort and grow us more than we can imagine through a memorization exercise.  We will start with Exodus 20:1-2 this week.
2. As I study I am going to work through 4 questions for each commandment to help set a baseline for what we are looking for:
   A. What is forbidden?
   B. What is required of me?
   C. What does this say about God’s character?
   D. Where is this commandment referenced in the New Testament?

I hope you’ll do both with me through the summer and see how God uses them to grow us.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:1-17 (day six)

“This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”-Jesus, John 17:3

This is a first; a significant introduction. Up to this point stories of God had been handed down from Abraham to Jacob, and onto his sons, grandsons, and great grandsons, but nothing had been written down, until now. God sets a new precedent, that His Word would become His primary and most concrete form of revelation, with the Ten Commandments serving as a formal introduction to a chosen people.

And not just a greeting, but an introduction to eternal life. God gives His people His written law, so they might know Him, love and obey Him, and thus have eternal life. The law tells us, there is no god like our God.

The law proclaimed it, Jesus, the Word, fulfilled it.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:1-17 (day five)

There is a wonderful rhythm to God’s actions and intentions with the Law. The commandments are given after God rescues the nation of Israelites from Egypt.  First salvation, then the law. We see this as far back as we can look into the scriptures. In the garden, God establishes relationship wIth Adam and Eve, sets them free, then gives them the law (just 1). Jesus teaches the same principle in the New Testament. “If you love me, keep my commands.” Only after a relationship with God do the commandments  become a blessing. The word delight is used over and over in the Psalms when thinking about the law and commandments. Psalm 112:1 Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. (Notice the rhythm). The New Testament echos the same truth, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,”.  In relationship with God, the commandments are invaluable.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:1-17 (day four)

This week begins a 13-week study of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).  The Israelites had left Egypt as slaves and were being called out to meet the God of all creation.  Moses had led them out and brought them to the mountain of the Lord, Mt. Sinai.  Here, God met Moses and gave him the ten words.  These were the foundation of who God was…His character.  The commandments have shaped and formed cultures and societies ever since.

God spoke these words thousands of years ago…yet, they are still true and valid today.  One of God’s character qualities is immutability…He never changes.  What peace and security we have, knowing that God’s Word never changes. We can trust God in whatever He says.  Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”  We have a God who never changes…we have a Savior who never changes…we have foundational law that never changes…we of all people are blessed!

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:1-17 (day three)

“And God spoke all these words.”

John Ortberg relates an incident from the life of philosopher Dallas Willard: Someone once asked Willard, “What is reality?” He responded, “Reality is what you can count on.” The questioner followed up with, “What is pain?” Willard answered, “Pain is what happens when you bump into reality.” These words God spoke in Exodus 20—they’re not rules. Neither are they laws in the way we are often accustomed to thinking of laws. That is, they do not exist in order to make life run a certain way. These words of God exist in order to make life possible in the first place. They are laws in the sense that gravity is a law, or that the speed of light is a law. Reality: It’s the way the universe works.

Re:Verse passage – Exodus 20:1-17 (day two) “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.” ‭‭ROMANS‬ ‭3:19-20‬ ‭

These set of rules have been a bedrock for western civilization for thousands of years, and yet, it seems odd for Paul to state that one of the purposes of the law is to point out our sin. In fact, that is one of the great tenants of our faith, but not in a deterring way. These great tent poles of righteous behavior gives us an anchor to which we can tether our fallen natures. They serve as a reminder of a better way, and a more perfect path. They ultimately point us to Jesus who came to fully live, and to fully obey so that we may further tether our faith to his redeeming example. Don’t be discouraged by the set of rules, be encouraged that God loves us enough to give us guide posts to help steer us.

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”” JOHN‬ ‭14:21‬ ‭