2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery..." Exodus20:1-2
We come now to the giving of the Ten Commandments. Moses has had the people prepare themselves. Sinai is rattling and smoking like a volcano and the people can hear God's voice like thunder. Moses has headed up the mountain and the people are waiting in anticipation...
Many people see the ten commandments as the ten-rung step-ladder into heaven. They think that the commandments were given as a way of proving our worthiness for heaven.
The Pharisees of Jesus' day had turned the Ten Commandments into an entire system of piety. They elaborated on the rules, adapted the rules for changing circumstances, in some areas they made the rules more manageable and in other places they turned one commandment into multiple boxes to be ticked.
But they missed the point! The ten commandments are not a "Save-yourself-plan" but a picture of what our God is like.
In Isaiah 6 we read that the angels around the throne describe God as "Holy Holy Holy." The Ten Commandments give us some idea of what the angels mean...
When we look at the Ten Commandments from the perspective of the character and nature of God rather than a list of do's and don'ts there is a lot that we can learn. The ten commandments show us what God likes and doesn't like. They give us an insight into the things that are issues for Him. The Ten Commandments are like a timeless CV for the Almighty.
Notice too, those who think that Commandments are about saving yourself, that God introduces Himself: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." He is the God who saves - we don't save ourselves.
Join me as we start with the first command tomorrow...
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
