Old Testament for March 3, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 20:1-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Ten Commandments are regarded in Western culture as the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality.  These ten laws aren’t exhaustive.  Altogether in the Torah (which is the first five books of the Bible), especially from Exodus to Deuteronomy, there are over 600 laws, commandments and precepts.

These ten laws are essentially relational, prescribing the duties of humans toward God and one another.

God initially declares his claim on Israel.  He is Yahweh their God, who has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The covenant between Yahweh and his people is predicated on this history.  Before he was their lawgiver he was their Savior and Liberator.

The first four commandments may be described as “vertical.”  What I mean is that they address the human relationship with God.  First, God commands their absolute allegiance to himself.   No other gods.  The second is an amplification of the first — no worship of images.  The faith of Israel requires strict monotheism and no handmade objects of devotion.  God is the maker of all creation.  It is not creation that is to be worshipped and adored, but God alone.

God is described in very personal terms here — he is jealous of his worship, and punitive toward those who are disloyal; and he is loving toward those who love him.

Third, they are not to misuse the name of the Lord.  This isn’t simply oaths or cursing, but the attempt to manipulate the holy name of God for personal gain, or even purposes of magical incantation.  A name in the Hebrew mind contained in it the very nature and identity of the person.  So, to misuse the name of the Lord is to affront the very nature of God himself.

Fourth, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest for the people and their creatures, commemorating the culmination of creation on the seventh day when God rests from his acts of creating.  Just as God’s name is holy, so is this day to be holy — set apart.

In other words, there are to be boundaries between what is holy and what is not holy.

• One God
• No rivals
• A holy name
• A holy day

These commands are to remind them of the God who has delivered them.

The last six commandments govern human relationships.  These are the “horizontal” commandments.  But the fifth commandment, like the first, is a demand for reverence and loyalty — in this case, honoring one’s parents.  As with the second commandment, which promises love to a thousand generations of those who love God, the fifth commandment also promises blessings — in this case long life.

It would seem that every “civilized” society holds these five commandments in common:

• Respect for parents
• Respect for life
• Respect for marriage
• Respect for property
• Respect for truth telling

The final commandment, though, crosses the line from mere external obedience into internal motivation.  Covetousness is that sense of greed or craving or envy that begins to penetrate and to corrupt the heart.  It might even be said that the sins of murder, adultery, theft, and even deception begin with covetousness.

Needless to say, these commandments are a cornerstone for a Biblically righteous and harmonious life.

APPLY:  

The Christian attitude toward the law is a little complicated.  The law performs the very vital function of revealing God’s will and his holy nature.  But as Paul illustrates in his Epistles, pure obedience to the law is impossible.

In a sense the unattainable nature of the law is built into it. The tenth commandment — prohibiting covetousness — makes clear that sin is more than mere action.  Sin springs from the heart and the will.

Jesus says as much when he says:

You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’  But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna (Matthew 5:21-22).

And again he says:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28).

None of this suggests that the law is abolished or that it can be ignored (see Matthew 5:17-20).  It does remind us that the law is like a mirror that shows us what is wrong with us, and then drives us to Christ our Savior, who satisfies the law on our behalf.  Only with the help of the Holy Spirit are we empowered to fulfill the outer and inner aspects of the law. As Romans 8:2-4 says:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh; that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

To paraphrase John Wesley: “what God has done for us, he also does in us.”

Furthermore, the law is summed up by the law of love, in which we are commanded to love God and our neighbor (see Matthew 22:36-39 and Romans 13:8-9).  If we love God and our neighbor, it stands to reason we will also fulfill the Ten Commandments — and we will do so through the power of the Holy Spirit.

RESPOND: 

The law reminds me of the very holiness of God, and the very personal nature of my relationship with God and with other people.  If I love God, I will want to worship him alone, worship no other substitutes, honor his name and set aside a day for worship; and if I love other people, then I will obey all of the “horizontal” commandments as well — from my heart.

As 1 John 5:2-3 says:

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.

Lord, how I love your law! And yet how I hate it at the same time! I love the guidance and the boundaries that the law provides. And yet I find myself unable, in my own strength, to perfectly keep it.  I pray that your Holy Spirit will enable me to keep the perfect law of love, in your strength and not in mine.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"The Law Is Like a Mirror" uses this photo:
"Do I Know You?" by Tom Waterhouse is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.

Old Testament for October 8, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Ten Commandments are regarded in Western culture as the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality.  These ten “words” aren’t exhaustive.

The Torah (the first five books of the Bible — Genesis to Deuteronomy) includes over 600 laws, commandments and precepts in the law-giving sections (Exodus to Deuteronomy).

The Ten Commandments are essentially relational, prescribing the duties of humans toward God and one another.

God initially declares his claim on Israel.  He is Yahweh their God, who has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The covenant between Yahweh and his people is predicated on this history.  Before he was their lawgiver, he was their Savior and Liberator.

For a more complete treatment of the Ten Commandments please see:

OLD TESTAMENT FOR MARCH 4, 2018

The first four commandments may be described as “vertical.”  What I mean is that they address the human relationship with God.  First, God commands their absolute allegiance to himself.  No other gods.  The second is an amplification of the first — no worship of images.  The faith of Israel requires strict monotheism and no handmade objects of devotion.  God is the maker of all creation.  It is not creation that is to be worshiped and adored, but God alone. St. Paul repeats this thought in his letter to the Romans when he describes those:

who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. (Romans 1:25)

The lectionary for this week skips the verses that describe God’s character as jealous (verses 5-6).   God is described in very personal terms here — he is jealous of his worship, and punitive toward those who are disloyal; and loving toward those who love him.

Third, they are not to misuse the name of Yahweh.  This isn’t simply oaths or cursing, but the attempt to manipulate the holy name of God for personal gain, or as an incantation.  A name in the Hebrew mind contained in it the very nature and identity of the person.  So, to misuse the name of the Lord is to affront the very nature of God himself.

Fourth, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest for the people and their creatures, commemorating the culmination of creation when God rests from his acts of creating.  Just as God’s name is holy, so is this day to be holy — set apart.

In other words, there are to be boundaries between what is holy and what is not holy, even in our schedules.

These commandments may be summed up in this way — there is but One God who is to have no rivals, a holy name, and a holy day.  This is to remind Israel of the God who has delivered them.

The final six commandments (verses 12-17) might be called “horizontal” laws addressing the relationship between human beings — people are to honor their parents, refrain from murder, adultery, theft, false oaths and covetousness.

The concluding verses of this week’s lectionary passage illustrate the chasm that exists between the holiness and transcendence of God, and the frailties and mortality of the Israelites.

All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance (Exodus 20:18).

This is why they ask Moses to act as an intermediary between themselves and God:

They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Moses comforts the people, but also warns them that all of these paranormal phenomena are intended to evoke their worshipful awe and fear:

Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

Time will tell whether this holy awe persists and prevents the disobedience of Israel. Those who know the rest of the story are aware — the answer is no. All will fall away except for a remnant — those few like Joshua and Caleb who will follow Yahweh all the way to the Promised Land.

APPLY:  

One truth that our lectionary reading emphasizes is that we are not to equate ourselves with God, or diminish God in any way.  He is not “my buddy” — his very presence causes Israel to tremble with fear.  If there is no awe and fear in our worship, it might well be asked if we are worshiping God or worshiping ourselves!

The law reminds me of the very holiness of God, and the very personal nature of my relationship with God and with other people.  If I love God, I will want to worship him alone, worship no other substitutes, honor his name and set aside a day for worship; and if I love other people, then I will obey all of the “horizontal” commandments as well — from my heart.

As 1 John 5:2-3 says:

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.

RESPOND: 

Harold and Jane were not a very religious couple but tried their best; they only went to church once a year. As they were leaving the church, the minister said, “Harold, it sure would be nice to see you and Jane here more than once a year.”

“I know,” replied Harold, “We’re very busy people, leading active lives but at least we keep the Ten Commandments.”

“That’s great,” the minister said. “I’m glad to hear that you keep the Commandments.”

“Yes, we sure do” Harold said proudly, “Jane keeps six of them and I keep the other four”.

Over the past years as I have written this SOAR Blog, I have sometimes been bemused at the selections made by the lectionary editors.  I believe that the lectionary is a wonderful tool for Bible study, for reading in church, and for preaching the Word.

However, the Revised Common Lectionary does not cover the entire Bible in three years.  And from time to time, the verses that are sometimes omitted within certain passages seem to imply a particular theological slant or, at the very least, avoid controversial subjects.

For example, in our passage this week, the lectionary reading deletes the description of God’s jealous character, and the consequences of worshiping any substitute or idol other than God:

I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6).

As difficult as such a passage may be for our modern sensibilities, I think we need to hear the whole story.  This excerpt reminds us that there are consequences when we worship anything other than God.  We become estranged from God, and our infidelity to God has ramifications for the generations that come after us.  More positively, though, the reverse is also true. When we are loyal to God and seek to worship him, there is an even greater and longer blessing for our children and for thousands of generations who come after us.

Lord, your law shapes my understanding of your character and my response to you.  You alone I worship.  I have no other gods beside you. I honor your name. And I worship you each week, all because these commandments have helped to guide me in my relationship with you.  But I am also grateful that my love for you now leads me to fulfill these commandments, not merely because they are a duty but because they are a joy.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Exodus 20” by Tim Green is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for March 7, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 20:1-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Ten Commandments are regarded in Western culture as the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality.  These ten laws aren’t exhaustive.  Altogether in the Torah (which is the first five books of the Bible), especially from Exodus to Deuteronomy, there are over 600 laws, commandments and precepts.

These ten laws are essentially relational, prescribing the duties of humans toward God and one another.

God initially declares his claim on Israel.  He is Yahweh their God, who has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The covenant between Yahweh and his people is predicated on this history.  Before he was their lawgiver he was their Savior and Liberator.

The first four commandments may be described as “vertical.”  What I mean is that they address the human relationship with God.  First, God commands their absolute allegiance to himself.   No other gods.  The second is an amplification of the first — no worship of images.  The faith of Israel requires strict monotheism and no handmade objects of devotion.  God is the maker of all creation.  It is not creation that is to be worshipped and adored, but God alone.

God is described in very personal terms here — he is jealous of his worship, and punitive toward those who are disloyal;  and he is loving toward those who love him.

Third, they are not to misuse the name of the Lord.  This isn’t simply oaths or cursing, but the attempt to manipulate the holy name of God for personal gain, or even purposes of magical  incantation.  A name in the Hebrew mind contained in it the very nature and identity of the person.  So, to misuse the name of the Lord is to affront the very nature of God himself.

Fourth, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest for the people and their creatures, commemorating the culmination of creation on the seventh day when God rests from his acts of creating.  Just as God’s name is holy, so is this day to be holy — set apart.

In other words, there are to be boundaries between what is holy and what is not holy.

• One God
• No rivals
• A holy name
• A holy day

These commands are to remind them of the God who has delivered them.

The last six commandments govern human relationships.  These are the “horizontal” commandments.  But the fifth commandment, like the first, is a demand for reverence and loyalty — in this case, honoring one’s parents.  As with the second commandment, which promises love to a thousand generations of those who love God, the fifth commandment also promises blessings — in this case long life.

It would seem that every “civilized” society holds these five commandments in common:

• Respect for parents
• Respect for life
• Respect for marriage
• Respect for property
• Respect for truth telling

The final commandment, though, crosses the line from mere external obedience into internal motivation.  Covetousness is that sense of greed or craving or envy that begins to penetrate and to corrupt the heart.  It might even be said that the sins of murder, adultery, theft, and even deception begin with covetousness.

Needless to say, these commandments are a cornerstone for a Biblically righteous and harmonious life.

APPLY:  

The Christian attitude toward the law is a little complicated.  The law performs the very vital function of revealing God’s will and his holy nature.  But as Paul illustrates in his Epistles, pure obedience to the law is impossible.

In a sense the unattainable nature of the law is built into it. The tenth commandment — prohibiting covetousness — makes clear that sin is more than mere action.  Sin springs from the heart and the will.

Jesus says as much when he says:

You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’  But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause  will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna (Matthew 5:21-22).

And again he says:

You have heard that it was said,  ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28).

None of this suggests that the law is abolished or that it can be ignored (see Matthew 5:17-20).  It does remind us that the law is like a mirror that shows us what is wrong with us, and then drives us to Christ our Savior, who satisfies the law on our behalf.  Only with the help of the Holy Spirit are we empowered to fulfill the outer and inner aspects of the law. As Romans 8:2-4 says:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh; that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

To paraphrase John Wesley: “what God has done for us, he also does in us.”

Furthermore, the law is summed up by the law of love, in which we are commanded to love God and our neighbor (see Matthew 22:36-39 and Romans 13:8-9).  If we love God and our neighbor, it stands to reason we will also fulfill the Ten Commandments — and we will do so through the power of the Holy Spirit.

RESPOND: 

The law reminds me of the very holiness of God, and the very personal nature of my relationship with God and with other people.  If I love God, I will want to worship him alone, worship no other substitutes, honor his name and set aside a day for worship; and if I love other people, then I will obey all of the “horizontal” commandments as well — from my heart.

As 1 John 5:2-3 says:

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.

Lord, how I love your law! And yet how I hate it at the same time! I love the guidance and the boundaries that the law provides. And yet I find myself unable, in my own strength, to perfectly keep it.  I pray that your Holy Spirit will enable me to keep the perfect law of love, in your strength and not in mine.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
"The Law Is Like a Mirror" uses this photo:
"Do I Know You?" by Tom Waterhouse is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.

Old Testament for October 4, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Ten Commandments are regarded in Western culture as the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality.  These ten “words” aren’t exhaustive.

The Torah (the first five books of the Bible — Genesis to Deuteronomy) includes over 600 laws, commandments and precepts in the law-giving sections (Exodus to Deuteronomy).

The Ten Commandments are essentially relational, prescribing the duties of humans toward God and one another.

God initially declares his claim on Israel.  He is Yahweh their God, who has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The covenant between Yahweh and his people is predicated on this history.  Before he was their lawgiver,  he was their Savior and Liberator.

For a more complete treatment of the Ten Commandments please see:

OLD TESTAMENT FOR MARCH 4, 2018

The first four commandments  may be described as “vertical.”  What I mean is that they address the human relationship with God.  First, God commands their absolute allegiance to himself.   No other gods.  The second is an amplification of the first — no worship of  images.  The faith of Israel requires strict monotheism and no handmade objects of devotion.  God is the maker of all creation.  It is not creation that is to be worshipped and adored, but God alone. St. Paul repeats this thought in his letter to the Romans when he describes those:

who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. (Romans 1:25)

The lectionary for this week skips the verses that describe God’s character as jealous (verses 5-6).   God is described in very personal terms here — he is jealous of his worship, and punitive toward those who are disloyal;  and loving toward those who love him.

Third, they are not to misuse the name of the Yahweh.  This isn’t simply oaths or cursing, but the attempt to manipulate the holy name of God for personal gain, or as an incantation.  A name in the Hebrew mind contained in it the very nature and identity of the person.  So, to misuse the name of the Lord is to affront the very nature of God himself.

Fourth, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest for the people and their creatures, commemorating the culmination of creation when God rests from his acts of creating.  Just as God’s name is holy, so is this day to be holy — set apart.

In other words, there are to be boundaries between what is holy and what is not holy, even in our schedules.

These commandments may be summed up in this way — there is but One God who is to have no rivals, a holy name, and a holy day.  This is to remind Israel of the God who has delivered them.

The final six commandments (verses 12-17) might be called “horizontal” laws addressing the relationship between human beings — people are to honor their parents, refrain from murder, adultery, theft, false oaths and covetousness.

The concluding verses of this week’s lectionary passage illustrate the chasm that exists between the holiness and transcendence of God, and the frailties and mortality of the Israelites.

All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance (Exodus 20:18).

This is why they ask Moses to act as an intermediary between themselves and God:

They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Moses comforts the people, but also warns them that all of these paranormal phenomena are  intended to evoke their worshipful awe and fear:

Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

Time will tell whether this holy awe persists and prevents the disobedience of Israel. Those who know the rest of the story are aware — the answer is no. All will fall away except for a remnant — those few like Joshua and Caleb who will follow Yahweh all the way to the Promised Land.

APPLY:  

One truth that our lectionary reading emphasizes is that we are not to equate ourselves with God, or diminish God in any way.  He is not “my buddy” — his very presence causes Israel to tremble with fear.  If there is no awe and fear in our worship, it might well be asked if we are worshipping God or worshipping ourselves!

The law reminds me of the very holiness of God, and the very personal nature of my relationship with God and with other people.  If I love God, I will want to worship him alone, worship no other substitutes, honor his name and set aside a day for worship; and if I love other people, then I will obey all of the “horizontal” commandments as well — from my heart.

As 1 John 5:2-3 says:

This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.

RESPOND: 

Harold and Jane were not a very religious couple but tried their best; they only went to church once a year. As they were leaving the church, the minister said, “Harold, it sure would be nice to see you and Jane here more than once a year.”

“I know,” replied Harold, “We’re very busy people, leading active lives but at least we keep the Ten Commandments”

“That’s great,” the minister said. “I’m glad to hear that you keep the Commandments.”

“Yes, we sure do” Harold said proudly, “Jane keeps six of them and I keep the other four”.

Over the past years as I have written this SOAR Blog, I have sometimes been bemused at the selections made by the lectionary editors.  I believe that the lectionary is a wonderful tool for Bible study, for reading in church, and for preaching the Word.

However, the Revised Common Lectionary does not cover the entire Bible in three years.  And from time to time, the verses that are sometimes omitted within certain passages seem to imply a particular theological slant or, at the very least, avoid controversial subjects.

For example, in our passage this week, the lectionary reading deletes the description of God’s jealous character, and the consequences of worshipping any substitute or idol other than God:

I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,  and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6).

As difficult as such a passage may be for our modern sensibilities, I think we need to hear the whole story.  This excerpt reminds us that there are consequences when we worship anything other than God.  We become estranged from God, and our infidelity to God has ramifications for the generations that come after us.  More positively, though, the reverse is also true. When we are loyal to God and seek to worship him, there is an even greater and longer blessing for our children and for thousands of generations who come after us.

Lord, your law shapes my understanding of your character and my response to you.  You alone I worship.  I have no other gods beside you. I honor your name. And I worship you each week, all because these commandments have helped to guide me in my relationship with you.  But I am also grateful that my love for you now leads me to fulfill these commandments, not merely because they are a duty but because they are a joy.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Exodus 20” by Tim Green is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for October 8, 2017

Start with Scripture:

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 19-20

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

The Ten Commandments are regarded in Western culture as the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality.  These ten “words” aren’t exhaustive.

The Torah (the first five books of the Bible — Genesis to Deuteronomy) includes over 600 laws, commandments and precepts in the law-giving sections (Exodus to Deuteronomy).

The Ten Commandments are essentially relational, prescribing the duties of humans toward God and one another.

God initially declares his claim on Israel.  He is Yahweh their God, who has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The covenant between Yahweh and his people is predicated on this history.  Before he was their lawgiver,  he was their Savior and Liberator.

The lectionary editors have selected only the first four commandments for consideration in this week’s reading (for a more complete treatment of the Ten Commandments please see:

OLD TESTAMENT FOR MARCH 8, 2015

These first four commandments  may be described as “vertical.”  What I mean is that they address the human relationship with God.  First, God commands their absolute allegiance to himself.   No other gods.  The second is an amplification of the first: no worship of  images.  The faith of Israel requires strict monotheism and no handmade objects of devotion.  God is the maker of all creation.  It is not creation that is to be worshipped and adored, but God alone. St. Paul repeats this thought in his letter to the Romans when he describes those:

who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.(Romans 1:25)

The lectionary for this week skips the verses that describe God’s character as jealous (verses 5-6).   God is described in very personal terms here – he is jealous of his worship, and punitive toward those who are disloyal;  and loving toward those who love him.

Third, they are not to misuse the name of the Yahweh.  This isn’t simply oaths or cursing, but the attempt to manipulate the holy name of God for personal gain, or as an incantation.  A name in the Hebrew mind contained in it the very nature and identity of the person.  So, to misuse the name of the Lord is to affront the very nature of God himself.

Fourth, the Sabbath is to be a day of rest for the people and their creatures, commemorating the culmination of creation when God rests from his acts of creating.  Just as God’s name is holy, so is this day to be holy – set apart.

In other words, there are to be boundaries between what is holy and what is not holy, even in our schedules.

These commandments may be summed up in this way — there is but One God who is to have no rivals, a holy name, and a holy day.  This is to remind Israel of the God who has delivered them.

The final six commandments (verses 12-17) might be called “horizontal” laws addressing the relationship between human beings — people are to honor their parents, refrain from murder, adultery, theft, false oaths and covetousness.

The concluding verses of this week’s lectionary passage illustrate the chasm that exists between the holiness and transcendence of God, and the frailties and mortality of the Israelites.  Again, some of the verses that are not included in our reading this week help provide context:

All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance (Exodus 20:18).

This is why they ask Moses to act as an intermediary between themselves and God:

They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”

Moses comforts the people, but also warns them that all of these paranormal phenomena are  intended to evoke their worshipful awe and fear:

Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.”

Time will tell whether this holy awe persists and prevents the disobedience of Israel. Those who know the rest of the story are aware — the answer is no. All will fall away except for a remnant — those few like Joshua and Caleb who will follow Yahweh all the way to the Promised Land.

APPLY:  

One truth that our lectionary reading emphasizes is that we are not to equate ourselves with God, or diminish God in any way.  He is not “my buddy” — his very presence causes Israel to tremble with fear.  If there is no awe and fear in our worship, it might well be asked if we are worshipping God or worshipping  ourselves!

The law reminds me of the very holiness of God, and the very personal nature of my relationship with God and with other people.  If I love God, I will want to worship him alone, worship no other substitutes, honor his name and set aside a day for worship; and if I love other people, then I will obey all of the “horizontal” commandments as well – from my heart.

As 1 John 5:2-3 says,  This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.

RESPOND: 

Harold and Jane were not a very religious couple but tried their best; they only went to church once a year. As they were leaving the church, the minister said, “Harold, it sure would be nice to see you and Jane here more than once a year” “I know,” replied Harold, “We’re very busy people, leading active lives but at least we keep the Ten Commandments” “That’s great,” the minister said. “I’m glad to hear that you keep the Commandments.” “Yes, we sure do” Harold said proudly, “Jane keeps six of them and I keep the other four”.

I smiled when I read the lectionary readings for this week, and remembered that comic strip.  In this week’s lectionary Old Testament selection, we only read four of the commandments.

Over the past three years as I have written this SOAR Blog, I have sometimes been bemused at the selections made by the lectionary editors.  I believe that the lectionary is a wonderful tool for Bible study, for reading in church, and for preaching the Word.

However, the Revised Common Lectionary does not cover the entire Bible in three years.  And from time to time, the verses that are sometimes omitted within certain passages seem to imply a particular theological slant or, at the very least, avoid controversial subjects.

For example, in our passage this week, the lectionary reading deletes the description of God’s jealous character, and the consequences  of worshipping any substitute or idol other than God:

I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,  and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6).

As difficult as such a passage may be for our  modern sensibilities, I think we need to hear the whole story.  This excerpt reminds us that there are consequences when we worship anything other than God.  We become estranged from God, and our infidelity to God has ramifications for the generations that come after us.  More positively, though, the reverse is also true. When we are loyal to God and seek to worship him, there is an even greater and longer blessing for our children and for thousands of generations who come after us.

Lord, your law shapes my understanding of your character and my response to you.  You alone I worship.  I have no other gods beside you. I honor your name. And I worship you each week, all because these commandments have helped to guide me in my relationship with you.  But I am also grateful that my love for you now leads me to fulfill these commandments, not merely because they are a duty but because they are a joy.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Exodus 20” by Tim Green is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.