Exodus 20 -- A New Look At The Old

Before I started reading this morning, I asked God to reveal these oldest of laws to me in a new way, making them fresh for my soul.  My commentary helped do this with many “what this teaches” remarks.

#1  Have no other gods.  God wants us to acknowledge His omnipotence.  Why would we want to be worshiping any but the most powerful God?

#2  Use no carved image.  Even a carved image of Him is forbidden.  I believe this focuses us on His omnipresence, for carving an image would relegate Him to existing (in our minds) in that one place where that image resides, when He is really everywhere at once.

#3  Respect the Lord’s name.  This focuses us on His Holiness and His separateness from all of Creation.  If we dare to use His name in an unholy way, we are disrespecting His person.

#4  Honor the Sabbath day.  (My commentary notes that this is the only commandment that was not repeated for Christians in the New Testament.  It appears to apply specifically to the Jews.)  I believe it is God’s way of requiring us to respect our need for rest.

#5  Honor your parents.  It teaches respect for authority.

#6  You shall not murder.  It teaches respect for human life.

#7  You shall not commit adultery.  It teaches respect for marriage.

#8  You shall not steal.  It teaches respect for private property.

#9  You shall not bear false witness.  It teaches respect for a person’s reputation.

#10  You shall not covet.  God has now moved from actions to thoughts.  Some would say, “Now You’ve gone to meddling!”  I believe this teaches respect for God’s PLAN for our lives.  My commentary said it shows that it is sinful to lust after anything that God NEVER INTENDED US TO HAVE.  Wow!  That puts it into an entirely different light!

The sidebar in my Bible quotes Oswald Chambers:  “The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings … it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities.  It simply demands that we be absolutely moral.”  So we cannot claim that part of it doesn’t apply to us because…  There are no excuses or qualifications.  It simply always applies.  None of us are exceptions for any reason.  We aren’t special.  We don’t get a pass.  That’s just our sin nature trying to justify our desire to sin.  We are simply sinners.  Keeping these laws won’t get us to heaven, because no one is capable of keeping them.  They simply show us how far from the mark we are.  They also show us why God’s plan works and ours doesn’t.

The people told Moses to please get God to stop speaking to them or they would die.  Yes, this shows their conviction of sin, but I think it also reveals something deeper – once we hear God’s law, we become responsible for keeping it.  They knew that, and it was scaring them, because they knew they couldn’t keep it.

Chambers concluded:  “Sometimes we wish He would make us be obedient, and at other times, we wish He would leave us alone.  Whenever God’s will is in complete control, He removes all pressure.  And when we deliberately choose to obey Him, He will reach to the remotest star and to the ends of the earth to assist us with all of His mighty power.”

Father, I’ve heard …. And therefore I’m responsible.  I’m also incapable of keeping these laws apart from the power of Your Holy Spirit within me.  I admit that I often beg You to make me be obedient.  I’m glad I do that more often than I wish You’d leave me alone.  But You are right – whenever I give up my excuses and desires and decide to obey, You do remove all pressure, and therein lies Your freedom.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford