The Ten Commandments

I had a summary post on the Ten Commandment written and ready to post. However, after my Bible study this morning, I realised I had missed something.

In the introduction to the Ten Commandments,

God introduces Himself.

·

And God spoke all these words, saying. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exodus 20: 1, 2

He does not say, “I am the Boss,” He does not even say, “I am your Creator” – both with the implication that ‘therefore I should be obeyed’.

He introduces Himself as their Liberator.

He freed them from slavery in Egypt. He has also saved them from the myriad of foreign gods that were worshipped by the Egyptians.

Did you notice anything?

I didn’t… before. Now I see it.

Before God asked anything of these people, He gave.

He gave them their freedom.

But in the wilderness, the Israelites were out of their ‘comfort zone’. Even as slaves in Egypt they had food to eat, and life beyond the mud pits. Why else did they complain about the manna…

The Israelites said to them, “If only the Lord had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!”
Exodus 16: 3 (GOD’S WORD® Translation (©1995)

·

It seems that the people, in their four hundred years of slavery had forgotten much of their heritage. They would have lost touch with Sabbath and Holy Day keeping. (The Sabbath was given at the beginning.)

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Genesis 2: 2, 3

In my mind, it is not so huge a jump to think that He would have given the instructions on what He expected, to Adam and Eve. He told them they had to ‘tend and keep’ the Garden. That meant work. So, as He rested on the seventh day it seems likely He would have passed on that instruction too. After all in Jesus’ own words…

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27

He would know, He was there.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God John 1:1

The former slaves had to meet their God

Having been in Egypt for all those generations, their idea of God could have been ‘muddled’ to say the least. (They proclaimed a golden calf as their god at one point.)

So, God had freed them, brought them out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, led them to Mount Sinai and introduced Himself.

Then He asks for their worship of Him only.

You shall not have any other gods before My face. Exodus 20:3

The choice was theirs, as it is ours.

Something to think about

Shalom

Susan