START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
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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:
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.
SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 