Ten Commandments

To see the highest mountain of the world is impressive.  To fly over a near endless ocean makes you feel small. To peer into the universe of billions of stars is dazzling. Yet, far more inspiring is it to see the glory of Him Who not only made these things out of nothing but also set all in motion according to His divine laws!

From our earliest childhood days, we resist someone else’s will when it counters ours.  This internal attitude doesn’t change by getting older for we don’t like to be subject to the laws of God and men and neither can be.   Do you still feel this way?  Do you still look at the law as the lists of things you are forbidden or commanded, hindering your freedom to soar or explore?

No words can picture the beauty and joy Adam and Eve experienced in Paradise. But likewise, no words can describe the destruction caused by the rebellion of Adam and Eve against God. It has ruptured the core of our being and distorted every view of God and ourselves as well as of God’s law.

Jesus said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.  This weighty statement of the Lord is an important key in our understanding of the intention as well as the beauty of God’s eternal law.

Since our fall, we have lost every ability in ourselves to obey the law of God.  But not all people are seeing that reality.  As a matter of fact, none of us see this reality until grace awakens.  Only then we learn to see that we are all included in Paul’s statement, There is none righteous, no not one.

None are more blessed than those who are called saints of God.  Saved by grace, kept by grace, guided by grace and finally transferred from the realm of grace to the realm of glory.  Such in short is the definition of the Gospel of God’s grace.

Unforgettable and deeply moving was the scene at Mt. Sinai when God proclaimed His eternal Law to the people of Israel.  Young and old, including all the leaders of Israel, stood trembling and drew back in holy awe.   Never before and never since has God spoken like He did at Mt. Sinai.

And God spake all these words, saying … and then follows the Ten. No God is greater than the Creator of heaven and earth and no law is better than the Ten Commandments.  Moses reminded the people of Israel of that when in his parting message he said, And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments, so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

Every direction in life begins the same way.  It always begins with one step or one choice.  They may seem small and insignificant.  Yet the result of the first step will not be known till we have reached the end of our journey. By that time, it is usually too late to reverse our course.  Our caring Creator, however, knows the end from the beginning.

Often God speaks in His Word about that He does things for His holy Name sake.  That means He exalts the glory of His character or Being by His own doings or works.  None has as much right to exalt His own Name as God. After all, there is none Who can even be remotely compared to Him.

“Lest we forget …“ Those words refer to the lives of fallen soldiers but also apply to God’s law. Particularly this applies to the one commandment many omit to honor. It is the command that doesn’t open with “Thou shalt not …”.  Instead it emphasizes us to “Remember!”  The gift of the weekly Sabbath is given for our benefit and blessing. Honoring this day brings multiple blessings.

God gave us power when He designed the earth to be ruled through His representatives.  These authority structures God established are for our good.  They are intended to keep our living space orderly and thereby happy.  Since our fall power has become dangerous.  Possessing it often leads to abusing it. Facing it often tempts us to resist it.

Generally all people value their life.   It is because we were created to live forever and ever.  Life was once so beautiful that it was the greatest joy to live.  There were no threats, there was no aging, there were no sicknesses.  Sadly, that all changed when sin entered into the world and by sin death.  Still, despite that sad reality, we still will fight to protect or defend our life because it is precious.

Solomon wrote that it is better to live in the corner of a housetop than with a brawling partner in big palace.  The reason for this is simple.  Nothing is so satisfying as a harmonious relationship.  A beautiful house is no compensation for a broken and betrayed heart. For the most beautiful relationship God designed is between a married man and woman.

The love of money is the root of all evil.  Though Scripture supports this truth with so many examples, yet mankind doesn’t learn.  Greed causes us to lay hands on that which isn’t given to us.  It is very unsettling to find your home robbed and precious possessions taken away.

Witness bearing is a huge responsibility.  It can make the difference of a life or death.  It has saved nations from destruction and individuals from unjust sentences. It may prevent accidents and clear up crimes.  But It may also lead people astray from the right path, and even from God.  Therefore, God directs us to watch how we bear witness or share information.

Young Saul was religious.  He was zealous for God.  He was one of those who thought he kept God’s law perfectly.  He claimed to be blameless in obedience.  That is until God enrolled him in the divine law school.  Then God made him face the 10^th commandment.

And God spake all these words, saying … That’s how the Ten Commandments begin as recorded by Moses.  After the majestic proclamation, from the top of a smoking mountain, God wrote the TEN Himself upon two stone tablets. Though the stone tablets today are lost, the significance better not be lost on us.  They were meant to be permanent.