Verse for the Day, 11 August 2014.

Exodus 20:1-17  And God spoke all these words, saying,  (2)  "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  (3)  "You shall have no other gods before me.  (4)  "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.  (5)  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,  (6)  but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.  (7)  "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.  (8)  "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  (9)  Six days you shall labour, and do all your work,  (10)  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.  (11)  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.  (12)  "Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.  (13)  "You shall not murder.  (14)  "You shall not commit adultery.  (15)  "You shall not steal.  (16)  "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.  (17)  "You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour's."

These verses from Exodus 20 are some of the most widely known and most often quoted verses from the book Exodus. As children we were taught them in Sunday School, possible even in school. But the great question that needs to be asked is, as well known as these verses may be, have we understood what it is that lies at the very heart of the Ten Commandments, and have we communicated this when we have taught, or quoted the Ten Commandments?

When many think about the Ten Commandments, it is seen as a set of restrictive rules designed to limit, control and direct our lives in a very specific and narrow direction. Numerous people believe that they remove all joy and happiness from life, they presume that obedience to God’s commands will lead to a miserable, unhappy, joyless life. So then, is God being harsh and unkind, is God a kill-joy who only wants us to be miserable, is God being overly restrictive?

If we take a careful look at the Ten Commandments, reading through them thoughtful, whilst keeping Genesis 1-3 in mind, we will come to see what it is that lies at the heart of the Ten Commandments and at the heart of each of the Ten Commandments. Ultimately the Ten Commandments are commandments of love and life. Think back to Genesis 1 and 2, in these two chapters God gave to Adam and Eve commandments, and we need to remember that at this point Adam and Eve were perfect and sinless. Why then if they were perfect did God give them commandments, particularly the commandment not to eat from the tree of knowledge? God gave them these commandments because He loved Adam and Eve, they were created in His image and given a special and unique place in all of creation. God also desired for Adam and Eve to have life, life to the highest and greatest measure. Adam and Eve would know and continue to know the great love of God, as they showed their love for God through their obedience and would enjoy the fullest measure of life as long as they walked in obedience. The moment they sinned against God, their lives changed, it went from fullness to emptiness, and they went from being objects of God’s love, to becoming recipients of God’s wrath. Whilst God still loved them, they no longer loved God in the manner in which mankind was created to love God. The result is that the lives we now live, lives lived in sin and in love for ourselves rather than in love for God, are in fact joyless, miserable and unsatisfactory. Lasting happiness, contentment, joy and peace seem illusive and therefore there is this constant chasing after it but never actually gaining it.

This is where the Ten Commandments come in, God desires for Israel and for all mankind, to know His love, to love Him in return and to have life as we were created to have it, which is only found through love for Him and obedience of Him. This what lies at the heart of the Ten Commandments, their primary purpose is to help us to love God first and foremost and to then know life in the manner that God designed and desires is us to know and live life. These commandments are designed not only to teach us the blessing, importance and benefits of loving and obeying God, they are also designed to teach us the blessing, importance and benefits of loving one another, upholding the glory of God and upholding the sanctity of life.

If Israel walked in love for and obedience of God, they would serve as a model to all the nations around them of the rich blessings, the fullness of life and the great joy and contentment that is found when we love and obey God and His commands. They are commands of love and life, and they still are commands of love and life, which is why they are still relevant to us today, especially as Christians. We now are the ones who are to serve as a model to the world of the rich blessings, the fullness of life and the great joy and contentment that is found when we love and obey God and His commands, by first taking hold of salvation through Christ and then living in obedience to God and love for Him.

Father of love and life, we thank You today that Your created purposes for us have not changed, they have remained the same through all the ages, even when generation after generation walks in sin. Thank You that You created us to know life in the highest and fullest extent, and to know Your love in a truly unique manner, whilst expressing our love for you in an equally unique manner. We pray that You would help us not to see Your laws, such as the Ten Commandments as restrictive, but rather to understand what lies at the heart of them and therefore seek with renewed effort of uphold them and teach them. May we demonstrate our love for You today by means of our obedience. Amen.