January 18 - Exodus 20 - 23
Every time I read the Ten Commandments I am amazed that God could say so much in ten short statements. God is not only precise; He is concise, too. Each command is easy to understand and direct. Each command is true and the very wisdom and love of God stands behind each one. However, we want to argue with Him about these commands and the other laws in His word. Why? They are either absolute truth from the One True and Living God who created us and all that is or they are a man-made set of rules. There is no alternative that is viable, so we either decide to obey them completely or not. I urge you to bow to the Supreme Lawmaker of the Universe and say, "Yes, Lord."
As I read through all of these laws, I don't understand the full meaning and implications of each one. I know I need to take as much time as possible to meditate on them. I need to store them in the back of my mind, so that when a specific instance occurs in my life, I can refer back to the appropriate passage. However, I can't bring myself to say, "That's dumb" or "God, you should not have said that." To me that is the height of arrogance. I am the creature. I need to listen to the Creator when He speaks about slavery, violence, or property rights. He knows us better than we know ourselves and each law is based on His perfect knowledge and love.
There are several themes that jump out at me, too. The theme of the Sabbath rest each week and every seven years is important to God, and it should be important to me. It is hard for a task oriented, result-driven society like ours to talk about taking a day or a year off to focus on the Lord, but in God's economy it is right and good. The themes of responsibility and restitution come up time and again. I am responsible for my actions as they effect my neighbor and his property. I must pay the proper penalty and make the proper restitution if I bring harm. Even the ideas of negligence and intent keep coming up in God's laws. I can see the wisdom of our forefathers and how they built our government by God's design of making laws and having judges. God is a God of order, and we need to follow His order.
Then, I see the severity of God's judgment upon disobedience. He is not hesitant to declare the death penalty for a variety of offenses. It seems that God's laws are based on the realization that sin leads to death anyway, so we need to eliminate as much sin as possible and steer people away from sin by strong deterrents. God knows that we need some fear of punishment or we will disdain His laws and go our own way. Often, God does act in mercy, so that He does not allow the full force of His punishment to fall on us all at once, but make no mistake, He does not let any of our sins go unpunished, because He loves us. He does not want us to destroy our lives. We must not test the judgment or mercy of God, but just take Him at His word.
Then, in chapter 23 there is the mention of the angel of the Lord sent to lead the Israelites. Here we see the direct leadership of God. Even in the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit did not indwell every believer as He does today, God was leading His people in a clearly personal way. He not only gave them written laws to follow. He not only appeared to them in a cloud of His glory. He sent His angel to lead them. If they would follow him, God would be there to lead them and to fight for them. Thank you Lord for caring for us so much. You are there for us each step of the way.
As I read through all of these laws, I don't understand the full meaning and implications of each one. I know I need to take as much time as possible to meditate on them. I need to store them in the back of my mind, so that when a specific instance occurs in my life, I can refer back to the appropriate passage. However, I can't bring myself to say, "That's dumb" or "God, you should not have said that." To me that is the height of arrogance. I am the creature. I need to listen to the Creator when He speaks about slavery, violence, or property rights. He knows us better than we know ourselves and each law is based on His perfect knowledge and love.
There are several themes that jump out at me, too. The theme of the Sabbath rest each week and every seven years is important to God, and it should be important to me. It is hard for a task oriented, result-driven society like ours to talk about taking a day or a year off to focus on the Lord, but in God's economy it is right and good. The themes of responsibility and restitution come up time and again. I am responsible for my actions as they effect my neighbor and his property. I must pay the proper penalty and make the proper restitution if I bring harm. Even the ideas of negligence and intent keep coming up in God's laws. I can see the wisdom of our forefathers and how they built our government by God's design of making laws and having judges. God is a God of order, and we need to follow His order.
Then, I see the severity of God's judgment upon disobedience. He is not hesitant to declare the death penalty for a variety of offenses. It seems that God's laws are based on the realization that sin leads to death anyway, so we need to eliminate as much sin as possible and steer people away from sin by strong deterrents. God knows that we need some fear of punishment or we will disdain His laws and go our own way. Often, God does act in mercy, so that He does not allow the full force of His punishment to fall on us all at once, but make no mistake, He does not let any of our sins go unpunished, because He loves us. He does not want us to destroy our lives. We must not test the judgment or mercy of God, but just take Him at His word.
Then, in chapter 23 there is the mention of the angel of the Lord sent to lead the Israelites. Here we see the direct leadership of God. Even in the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit did not indwell every believer as He does today, God was leading His people in a clearly personal way. He not only gave them written laws to follow. He not only appeared to them in a cloud of His glory. He sent His angel to lead them. If they would follow him, God would be there to lead them and to fight for them. Thank you Lord for caring for us so much. You are there for us each step of the way.