Skip to main content

Lent Day 15

 

Scripture Reading

Exodus 19:5-6, 20:1-17


Exodus contains the story of God rescuing his people from slavery and bondage and bringing them out of Egypt into the wilderness to prepare them for their inheritance of the land promised to Abraham. In Exodus 19, God leads Moses up Mount Sinai to have a little chat. God talks to Moses about Israel being his chosen people whom he will bless and who are set out to be holy, different from all the other peoples of the land. 


Exodus 20 is the account of Moses telling the people the Ten Commandments God had given to them as guidelines of their covenant with him. God was establishing Israel as a holy nation. These ten commandments were not intended to be posted in every public place in Israel, rather they were intended to serve as the contract or guidelines of God's covenant treaty with Israel. The Ten Commandments were to remind Israel of who God is and who they were. That's why the beginning focuses on God and his act of saving the people from slavery in Egypt. The stipulation of the covenant falls on God. It was not a covenant that was dependent on Israel's faithfulness. All we have to do to see that, is read the rest of the Old Testament and see that time after time Israel breaks God's Law and is continually unfaithful to God. The incredible thing about God's covenant here in Exodus is that God provides his grace to Israel because he knows that they are not going to be able to stay faithful to all the commandments. The good news for Israel and the good news for us is that God does not withdraw his love for us and commitment to us even when we are unfaithful. That's how BIG his love is!


There is one more important thing to point out about the Ten Commandments. Notice how the first part focuses on the vertical, it deals with our relationship to God as individuals and then the second part focuses on the horizontal, the relationships we have with different people. Do you remember what Jesus said when he was asked what the greatest commandment was? Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”


The Law has always been about loving God and loving others. Can you honestly say that you are trying to live out these two commandments that our whole faith is based on? 


Prayer: Yahweh, thank you for your Law that points out my need for your grace. Jesus satisfied all the requirements of the Law on my behalf so that I might walk in a covenant relationship with you. Thank you for the history of the salvation of your people through the Exodus event and how it reminds me of my own salvation experience. May your name be praised! Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grieving With Hope

This past week has brought a sense of heaviness in my heart. My oldest child graduated from high school. She has achieved all that I could have possibly dreamed she would up to this point in life. To say I'm proud is an understatement. Completion of high school also means that life in our family is shifting. It won't quite be the same because she will experience a new season of life that will bring fresh experiences and countless life lessons. As I've talked to Cyd the last few days we both agree we feel a sense of sadness while simultaneously finding our hearts filled with hope for what is to come for our graduate.  Truthfully, the heaviness I feel is linked to other factors. For starters, this week marks 11 years since my Dad died from pancreatic cancer. I'm not a big death anniversary kind of person, but reaching a milestone with a child makes you miss a parent even more. The interesting thing about grief is that for most people, not a day goes by that you don't ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lent Day 25

                                                                                         Scripture Reading      Ezekiel 34:1-24 Ezekiel was a prophet who lived during the time when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and thousands of Israelites were taken back to Babylon to live in exile as refugees. In addition to the Jews who had been taken into captivity, other Jews had been scattered throughout the Middle East.  This passage is both a critique of the leaders of Israel for their selfishness and poor leadership of the people of God, and a message of hope in the coming restoration of the people of God. The hope of this passage is that God will place a shepherd over them like David (vs.23). This does...
Post a Comment
Read more

Small Town Funerals

Over the last few days Bulloch county has laid to rest some incredible people. While I didn't get a chance to attend all the funerals, I had the privilege to attend one and officiate at another one. As I reflected on those events yesterday evening, it struck me the way people of faith handle funerals in a small town. Death brings with it all sorts of emotions which means that funerals and memorial services are a mixture of tears and sadness and joy and celebration. You will see and hear the flood of tears that grief brings and the laughter and joy that our hope in the resurrection brings all within a span of minutes if not seconds. We hear warnings of not trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior, while hearing shouts of "amen" and "hallelujah" at moments of affirmation for our lives and faith.  I've never lived anywhere but the south, so I can't speak with authority on how other regions of the country handle these type of events, but most of these occasions ...
Post a Comment
Read more