The Ten Commandments

  

Exodus 20:1-21

 

September 18, 2024

 

The Ten Commandments

And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.  

I have been guilty of allowing many things in my past to take the place that only God deserves.  Things like my job, Sports, my child, and, in recent times, a political party.  Here is the problem: as a follower of Christ, I do not see these things as little gods that I am putting before my Creator, God.  But anything that you give allegiance to over God is a little god.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

When I hear someone take my Father's name in vain, it hurts me, and I wonder if they understand that God will not hold them guiltless.  Jan and I have stopped watching many TV programs we had enjoyed in the past because of this.  I will not allow my Lord's name to be taken in vain in my home, on something I have control over, like a TV.   It is sad when a person goes by the title of Christian and does this.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

I would say that the Church is very guilty of paying no attention to this Commandment.  For years, we went to Church and came home and worked outside like it was another day. God's Spirit convinced me that I had to stop doing so.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

I've been guilty of adultery, guys and gals. It is not worth it, it disgraces your Lord, and it does great damage to those who love you.   I've learn how to not let my flesh or the enemy have this foothold in my life, pray for the lady, in that it is impossible to lust while you are asking God to bless her.

“You shall not steal.

In my childhood, the neighbor had Rose bushes and grew beautiful Roses.  My mother was always saying how beautiful those roses were, and so one day this four-year-old went and cut some Roses for Mother.  To my surprise, she was not happy with my stealing the neighbor's Roses and made me take them back.  The lady was not very nice and told me I was a thief and to never come into her yard again and grab the Roses.  Wow, I was trying to give my mother a gift.  But I took something that was not mine.  You would have thought I had learned, but as an adult, I took pens and Post-it notes to use at home, justifying it as for use in my office.  The problem was that they were used for personal use, which was once 

more stealing.  It is easy to justify one action till God's spirit convicts you.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

It is a wise person who shows love to their neighbors. Jan and I have had a few that it took time and effort, but we have never had one that we did not care for.  The Scripture gives us this advice: “Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.  Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.”

“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” (Proverbs 27:10)

Now, when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off  and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”  Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”  The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

 

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice