Consequences

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 21:1-2, 7-17, 22-27; 22:21-31; 23:1-12 (day four)

There are consequences for every action…prices to pay for offending the law.  God’s word is law.  There is a price to pay for disobeying His word.  In the garden, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command.  Sin entered the world and mankind is born under that sin.  Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  And Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…”  Death is the consequence for sin.  When Christ died on the cross, He paid the price for our sin.  When He rose from the grave, He had victory over sin.  Our consequences were not just cancelled, they were paid in full.  We often hear of a victim of a crime forgiving the criminal, but there are still consequences, even though they are forgiven.  Jesus didn’t just forgive, He paid the price, He suffered the consequences in our place.  We can stand before God justified, only through Jesus Christ.

Extras

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 21:1-2, 7-17, 22-27; 22:21-31; 23:1-12 (day three)

“These are the laws you are to set before them.”  In a movie, the people who fill the background are called “extras”.  No movie critic ever rates the performance of the extras; you don’t know their names; no one in the theater cares about them.  In real life, though, each person matters to God.  Therefore, consider the way you approach people at a lower station in life than you are, the way you use your authority over others, the way you live with foreigners.  In each of these realms of life, you are responsible to honor the sacredness of the person with whom you come into contact.  Each of the persons we encounter everyday is one whom God has determined should receive kindness, fairness, and love–from you.

Rule of Law

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 21:1-2, 7-17, 22-27; 22:21-31; 23:1-12 (day two)

We are a nation of laws. We believe and affirm them as guides to a civil society. Most organizations from the largest corporations to the smallest club have some type of regulations, rules, or laws that people are expected to follow if they want the rights and privileges that come from belonging to that organization. Although much of the language and spirit of the laws we are reading about today refer to a culture that is no longer around, they do inform us that God understands our bent to structure. We need guidelines and parameters to function well. In order to know where we can go, we must also know where we cannot. Beyond the do’s and don’ts how can obeying the laws of the land, and more importantly God’s laws bring honor to him? Law need not be a burden, but an opportunity to show obedience and commitment to our calling.

Moral, Civil, Ceremonial

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 21:1-2, 7-17, 22-27; 22:21-31; 23:1-12 (day one)

It is an important point.  God gave the people of Israel three different kinds of law.  Moral law–the Ten Commandments.  Written on stone to symbolize their permanence.  For all people, at all times.  Civil law–laws for the national life of Israel.  Not permanent or universal.  See Acts 10-11 as God convinces Peter to set aside  “kosher” law.  Ceremonial law–guidance for the religious life of Israel.  Feasts and fasts and ceremonies.  No longer binding on Christians, but rich in symbolism and instruction.  Fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Our RE Verse reading this week deals with civil and ceremonial laws.  Are Christians under these?  No!  Is the Moral law still a permanent revelation of God’s will for us (achieved now by the Spirit)?  Yes! “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law shall pass away, until all is accomplished.”–Jesus (Matthew 5:18)  Followers of Christ benefit from reading and reflecting on the Law.

Twice Mine

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

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.”–v 2-3.  Old story.  Boy builds a toy boat.  Loves “sailing” it in a pond near his house.  Loses it one day.  Sees it later in a pawn shop window.  Buys it back.  Says, “you are twice mine, I made you and I bought you.”

God owns us the same way.  He made us in creation.  He purchased us through our redemption in Christ.  We are “twice His”.   A clear claim in this week’s text.  “I AM the Lord your God (creator), who brought you out of Egypt (savior).  YOU SHALL worship only Me!   Who can dispute that God DESERVES our obedience?  We are twice His.

I will look for you in worship in a few hours.  We will think together on what we owe Him.  I love you guys!

Our [g]ods

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

Exodus 20:4
Our gods are of our own making. Even when we think on God we tend to “make him in our own image.” We keep the things we like and cast off the things we don’t. Every culture and every generation does it. A new way of thinking about God began anew when God told Moses His name, “I AM.” The name was a clear statement of His holiness; that he was distinct and separate from humanity, that He had a character and nature all of his own that wasn’t dependent on human invention.

That’s why the Law was so good, because it was God revealing to the Hebrew people (and humanity) that you can’t make gods in your image anymore, because I AM your God. The giving of the Law exposed our god-making nature. The Law takes us back to the earliest days in the garden when the Serpent tempted Eve with the notion that she would become like God if she ate of the fruit. Ever since we have been exalting ourselves by fashioning our own gods. The Law says, to be like God you must lay down your god-making ways and worship God only, and then will you clearly see that you were made in the very image of God. The Law reveals our tarnished God-like image; it did back then and it does today.

The Law, and then ultimately Jesus (he alone fulfilled the Law on our behalf) is a God ordained means to restore His image in humanity. Which is why Paul wrote in Romans 8:29, “those who he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son.”

 

Be thankful for the Law; it is good!

Remember, Remember

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

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  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.

What a splendid thought and picture…  The Creator of the Universe commanding us to intentionally and regularly pause, rest, look, listen and worship!!  As we remember and set apart the Sabbath, through His creation, we gain understanding and appreciation for God’s power, wisdom, and divine nature (Romans 1:20).

As Moses reminds the Israelites later of God’s Commandments (Deut. 5:15), he challenges them to remember in the Sabbath observance, another facet of God’s work and character (provider and rescuer).  “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.”

God not only created them (us) but saved them (us) as well.  The focus (our remembering) is on God as both creator and deliverer.  A humbling lesson learned and celebrated by keeping the Sabbath Holy:  We did not create ourselves and we could not save ourselves.  Makes a heart turn to God in wonder and gratitude!!

Written in Stone

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 20:1-17 (day four)  We have a saying…”It is written in stone!”  We mean that it is established, unchangeable, and permanent.  God’s 10 commandments were written in stone.  As important as they were to the Israelites then, God had even greater plans for His Laws.  Romans 2:12-16 tells us that those who have the Law will be judged by the Law, those who do not have the Law will be judged by the Law written on their hearts.  God’s intention was never justification for the Israelites alone.  He wrote His Law on the hearts of the Gentiles as well.  We are each judged by our obedience to God’s Law.  It is not the letter of the Law that saves, it is Christ in our hearts…God’s Law written on our heart off flesh.  When we, by faith, respond to the invitation of Christ, we receive justification before God that was never achievable through tablets of stone.

Score

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

“And God spoke all these words.”  These Ten Commandments call us to a whole life; they cannot be separated from one another and mean the same thing that they mean together.  The man who will not observe the Sabbath will surely believe that the world will not function without him, and therefore will place himself as a god before the Lord.  The one who refuses to honor his parents will desecrate family ties and is therefore only a step away from destroying another family through adultery.  God spoke “all these words” not some of these words.  Separated, they just become an occasion for measuring our lives up against others, and when we do that, we covet everything our neighbor has.  God calls us to a life, not to a score.

Barriers and Views

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 20:1-17 (day two)

What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. Romans 7:7

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. Romans 7:12

If you heard Pastor Don’s children’s sermon this week you will remember the picture of a boy looking over a cliff at the ocean waves crashing against the rocks hundreds of feet below. You will also remember the gate that was put up to protect people from going over the edge. If you have been to many monuments or parks like these you know these barriers exist. If done well they will protect you, but not hinder the majesty of the view. You are aware of their presence by the way the guard you from danger or intrusion. God’s law is like this. By it we know where sin is, and what we ought to be wary of, but it does not hinder our view of God. Like any warning or barrier, they serve to articulate what is not good for us and how we should monitor our choices. In the end our view is spectacular and we are safe.