Devotional - November, 22, 2023

Scripture: Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words.   

So there you have it.  A brief, hopefully thoughtful, stroll through the Ten Commandments (Decalogue).  One final thought that I wanted to mention deals with symmetry of the commandments.  If you list them in two columns, one through five and six through ten, you will see some interesting things.  There is a symmetry to the laws themselves in how one and six relate and so forth.  One and six go together because every human being is created in the image of God, so to kill someone is an affront to God; well ...more than just an affront.  Two and seven are continually referred to in the Old Testament as being an issue between God and his people.  To worship or serve other gods was an act of adultery toward the LORD.  The relationship between three and eight is not as easy to understand.  To steal is an affront to God because it said, among other things, God has not given me the ability to do for myself, so I have to take from others.  The relationship between four and nine is a little difficult to understand for those not raised in the Jewish tradition.  To keep the Sabbath is a way of saying, God created the world and we follow his commands of creation by resting on the Sabbath.  To not keep the Sabbath says the testimonies about God, as Creator, are false.  The last two, honoring parents and coveting, are progressive in nature.  For parents to raise a child in such a way that they always want what is not theirs, which the parents model through their behavior, brings much discontent for all.  I briefly mention these issues because we often look at the Ten Commandments as being ten separate commands, but in the Judaism they function as a unit.  God used ten utterances to create the universe.  God plagued Egypt with ten plagues.  The number ten, in Judaism, represents holiness and sanctification.  They need ten Jewish men to have a worship service.  So to pick and choose between the laws thinking, I do this one, but not that one, is not appropriate.  And remember, when they thought about the law, they thought about all six hundred and thirteen which are rooted in these ten.  And yes, if you break one, it relates to others, so in the end to break one is to break them all (James 2:10).  Jesus points us away from focussing on the laws toward loving one another and God (Matt 22: 37-40).  When you do so, you do the right thing.  You do not need to look them up (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26, Jeremiah 31:33, 2 Cor. 3:3, and Hebrews 8:10).  As you make ready for Thanksgiving, know that God rejoices over you (Zephaniah 3:17 and John 3:16).  Receive it and be thankful.

Pray with me, ...Holy God, we truly are blessed by Your love for us.  It is our salvation.  Receive our praise and thanksgiving for all You have done.  Be with all who are travelling and bless our families wherever they may be.  Bless them in accordance with their needs.  Lord, hear our word of thanks for our church and all who worship there, in Jesus name, Amen.    

God's peace,

Pastor Brian