Now in our daily reading (Exodus19-21) we see being at Mt Sinai, the 10 Commandments & general laws.
Exodus 19 Yahweh is telling Moses to come up to Mount Sinai. God wants to make them a kingdom of priests & a holy nation. A nation that would show the world how great God is. God commands Moses to make sure that the children of Israel do not come up & if they touch the mountain, they are dead!
Interesting to note that Israel stayed right here until Nu10.11!
Numbers 10:11 “11 Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony;”
That means they stayed there for 11 months & 06 days!
Exodus 20 The giving of the 10 Commandments.
God spoke these words (Exodus20.01), so they are not to be taken as the “10 Suggestions”. They are from God, not from Moses or anyone else…so keep that in mind!
01-Exodus 20.03 God First
“3 “…before Me.” Can be translated “in opposition to Me.”
02-Exodus 20.04-06 Worship only God, no idols
According to the Bible, an idol is anything that comes between God & us, or anything that we substitute for God. It’s what forms & shapes your thinking & behavior. (X. $, family, goals, etc)
03-Exodus 20.07 God’s Name in Vain
Most people only think of taking the LORD’s name in vain by using it to curse words.
But it’s more than that! Your name is your character & reputation. When you say that someone has a bad reputation, you are not making fun of the name that is on that person’s birth certificate. You are warning me that I can’t trust them.
Reputation=How you are when others are around & what they think of you
Character=How you are when no one is around.
If you are a CHRISTian, you have taken that name which means, “to be Christ-like” upon yourself, so therefore, you & I should live our lives accordingly!
04-Exodus 20.08-11 Keep the Sabbath Day
The word “Sabbath” means, “rest” & it is on Saturday.
The Sabbath has its beginning in creation. (Genesis02.02-03) For the Jew’s, resting on the seventh day was not only a beneficial thing for their bodies, but also for their animals that did work. It was also a great testimony to the surrounding pagan nations, for to them, it was just another day. Not working for one day can mean not making money, which can be scary, but as the people of God, they (& we) need to trust in God in everything & that He will provide all that we need. Its trusting that He knows what is best for us.
Nehemiah dealt w/this after he rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem (Ne13)
This is the only commandment that is not repeated in the New Testament as a commandment for us today.
In fact, the reason that we now worship on Sunday is because it was on a Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead! (Matthew28.01-08)
Early believers gathered on the first day of the week. (Acts20.07; 1Corinthians16.01-02)
But Paul tells us that it really doesn’t matter what day we worship on! IN fact we should daily worship Jesus! (Romans14.05-06; Colossians02.16-17)
So now we come to the Laws regarding man’s relationship w/fellow man…
05-Exodus 20.12 Honor Parents
Obeying your parents is the 1st commandment that we see here that is given w/a promise.
The promise is that by obeying your parents, God will bless you.(Ephesians06.01-03)
06-Exodus 20.13 No Murder
Life is a gift from God, & only He has the authority to take it. Because we are made in the image of God (Genesis01.26-27), murder is an attack against God.
The issue here is premeditated murder, which Jesus says has its beginnings in anger. (Matthew05.21-22)
This is not talking about defending yourself, or even accidental death, or even putting someone to death because of a crime that they committed.
In fact, God made provision for those who accidentally killed someone by setting up “Cities of Refuge” (Nu35). If they accidentally killed someone, they could run to one of these cities & be safe from those trying to avenge their loss.
07-Exodus 20.14 No Adultery
Adultery is having sex w/anyone who is not your spouse!
BUT!!! Adultery begins w/the desire in the heart caused by the 2nd look. (Matthew05.27-28)
08-Exodus 20.15 No Stealing
We are not to take anything that isn’t ours!
09-Exodus 20.16 No Lying
No lying! This seems simple, but today lying is accepted. A lie by any other name is still a lie! A half-truth is a complete lie!
10-Exodus 20.17 No Coveting
Desiring something that isn’t yours.
When you covet you are telling God that He has made a mistake by not giving that thing to you.
When you covet, you usually break if not all, most of the other commandments. To covet is to feed inward desires for anything that God says is sinful.
Exodus 21 The laws concerning servants, violence & animal control laws.
Exodus21.01-11 deals w/the bondservant, “ebed” in Hebrew. This is a man who realizes his life is better being a servant than being a free man. He recognizes that all that all he has been given comes from his master.
The ebed was than brought to a doorway to have his ear pierced. This was because the Jewish teachers taught that this all goes back to when they were in Egypt at Passover when they were all in slavery. God commanded them to kill a lamb & to put the blood on the doorposts that signified that they were covered & set free by the blood. But they had to make the choice personally to follow God & to be set free, or stay as a slave in Egypt.
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