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Exodus 20: ²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. ²³ You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. ²⁴ An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I ^[d]record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. ²⁵ And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. ²⁶ Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’

 

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After GOD spoke to Moses and the children of Israel, the people became terrified of GOD. They asked that GOD speak to Moses and he would speak to them. GOD told Moses to have the children of Israel make an altar of sacrifice to remember HIM.

 

My Observations:

• GOD reiterated that the children of Israel were not supposed to make gold or silver gods.
• GOD gave clear directions for the altar HE wanted.
• GOD promised that if they remembered HIM, HE would come to them and bless them.

 

GOD seemed to be establishing a formal relationship with the children of Israel to address a mindset that was imposed on them by the Egyptians. Gold and silver were precious metals that were remnants of the garden of Eden. GOD did not want HIS gold or silver to be used for manufacturing a god.

 

Another mindset GOD seemed to be addressing was preservation of human life. Some people that the children of Israel would face believed in human sacrifice. GOD wanted an offering of their food source, lamb and their tools, oxen. HE also wanted the sacrifice to remember what HE did for Adam and Eve by covering their nakedness. I believe Abel’s sacrifice acknowledged GOD’s action as righteous, so he mimicked HIM.

 

Burnt offerings and peace offerings would become the norm for the children of Israel for centuries until JESUS would arrive as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. GOD gave this temporary way of confessing sin and worshiping HIM through offering unblemished lambs and strong oxen. GOD was focusing the children of Israel to leave their slave mindset where they would give Pharaoh their best and to remember HIM by sacrificing their best.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS command to provide burnt offerings?
• Has your relationship with GOD gotten a little lackadaisical/?
• What limiting mindset is GOD trying to guide you out of?

 

GOD has come to test you.

 GOD has come to test you.

Exodus 20: ¹⁸ Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. ¹⁹ Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

 

²⁰ And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” ²¹ So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

 

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After hearing the thunder, seeing the lightning, hearing the trumpet blasting louder and louder, the people trembled and moved away from the mountain where GOD stood. Their reaction from hearing GOD was to ask Moses to speak with GOD instead of HIM speaking with them.

 

My Observations:

• The children of Israel were terrified about GOD’s presence and HIS commandments seemed difficult because their mindset was that of an Egyptian slave.
• The children of Israel may have felt that GOD’s commandments were judgments versus protection.
• Moses tried guide the children of Israel by telling them that GOD was testing them, not in a pass-fail way, but in a mindset changing way.

 

When GOD tests you and me, it is not to make us fail; rather, strengthen us. GOD did not put rules in place that our natural inclination to sin causes us to fail. When we voluntarily surrender ourselves to follow what GOD said, HE does amazing things to us and through us.

 

Unfortunately, when we see GOD as a harsh ruler versus a protector, we resent HIS commandments as harsh. GOD had already showed HIS harsh side by placing plagues on the Egyptians. HE was acting very different with HIS children by correcting them versus judging them.

 

Moses guided the children of Israel into healthy fear of the LORD which holds HIM in reverence and sees HIS ways as love and protection. Moses drew near to the scary place where GOD was. We should too.

 

Challenge

• Why did GOD remind Moses about the reaction of the people after HE gave HIS commandments?
• Do you view GOD as the ultimate punisher or the ultimate being who loves you and wants to grow you and protect you?
• Do you react to GOD with surrender or “survival” which causes you to see HIM and HIS servants as harsh?

Tenth Commandment – No Coveting

Tenth Commandment – No Coveting

Exodus 20: ¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

 

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GOD told Moses and the children of Israel not to covet or want the stuff other people have.

 

My Observations:

• GOD seemed to be fortifying the children of Israel against being able to be tempted by the world’s treasures.
• GOD knew that people could easily be bribed or bought to not follow HIM.
• JESUS was tempted by Satan with the world’s treasures because Satan did not want JESUS to die for the sins of mankind.

 

Ten commandments were given to everyone for a different reason than I thought. I used to believe these were harsh rules that seemed impossible to keep, or a checklist of measures to show how good I was. But this is not a list of “Do as I say or else.” The Ten Commandments are a list of protections against the attack of Satan.

 

It took ten plagues to disable the mindset of the Egyptians. Now GOD provided ten commandments that would protect you and me from Satan. This list is all about JESUS. When the HOLY SPIRIT led JESUS into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, worldly treasures were used as an attempt to get JESUS to misuse HIS power.

 

The consequence would have been Satan winning all humans for himself because the scrolls that sentenced Satan would not have been opened. But JESUS overcame the temptation of the world’s treasures. You and I can do the same. When we want more of the world’s finest, we can be tempted away from GOD’s finest, namely JESUS.

 

Having stuff is not bad. Having needs, wants and desires is also not bad. Trading in JESUS to get stuff is bad because you can gain the whole world and lose your soul. I believe GOD recognizes jealousy over a missing need. If I don’t have a need and I see someone who has the need, I am going to ask GOD, “Can I have my need fulfilled?”  GOD will bring the right resource at the right time.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS warning to not covet?
• Have you ever been taken off of GOD’s path because you wanted something that someone else had?
• Can you place your desires, wants and needs before GOD and let HIM sort through how and when HE will deliver you?

Ninth Commandment – No False Witness Against Neighbors

Ninth Commandment – No False Witness Against Neighbors

Exodus 20:  ¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 

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GOD told Moses and the children of Israel not to bear false witness against their neighbors.

 

My Observations:

• GOD seemed to be addressing a mindset of gaining power by lying about someone.
• GOD specifically used “false witness” that counters the “true witness” that is needed.
• JESUS would face false witnesses who would be instrumental in HIS death.

 

The very thing GOD commanded against would be used to kill JESUS. False witness is an untruth about what a person saw or experienced. While it is a lie, it holds a different meaning to GOD. A false witness sentences an innocent person to judgement.

 

If I lied and said “I didn’t break that window” when I broke the window, I am the one who will face the consequence of my lie. BUT GOD was pointing out that a witness to something means there is a situation that needs a judge and the outcome needs witnesses who will provide a testimony that the judge can use for a sentence.

 

A false witness could cause an innocent person to bear judgment. Some powerful people have used false witnesses to bring down a leader so they themselves, can remain in power or gain it. GOD does not like false anything.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS command to not bear false witness?
• Have you lied about what you actually saw or who was actually involved?
• Have you asked yourself if GOD will gain anything by your false witness about something or someone?

Eighth Commandment – No Stealing

Eighth Commandment – No Stealing

Exodus 20:  ¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

 

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GOD told Moses and the children of Israel not to steal. This was HIS eighth commandment.

 

My Observations:

• GOD may have been addressing a mindset of stealing that was adopted from the Egyptians.
• GOD may have seen how powerful people steal to remain in power.
• GOD may have also been addressing the fact that the people may have ignored HIS provision

 

 

Being a god was important to the Egyptian Pharaoh. They would go to great lengths to obtain the status of a god and to keep it. One method they may have used was stealing from those who served them. During the plagues, all of the Egyptian animals were killed by GOD. The Egyptians may have used force to steal some of the living animals from the children of Israel.

 

This mindset was dangerous to the LORD. Thievery is a form of trying to be a god. The thought behind it is “I want what you have and I have decided to take it by force or by sneaky activity.”

 

Stealing reduces GOD’s power and provision. The thief may feel GOD’s timing or current provisions were inadequate. GOD provided manna, turned bitter water sweet and provided water from a rock. HE wants you and me to know HE is the provider. But when wee take matters in our own hands, we become thieves.

 

The result of getting more money or more food or a better living space may not be pleasing to GOD. Undercutting and devaluing may be a form of stealing that also surfaces from the Egyptian mindset. Over valuing a house or under paying for a car could be an example of adjacent thievery that is more complex.

 

GOD was addressing a mindset that keeps a person from asking for something. They take without giving and make decisions for how they treat the people around them as justification for their thievery.

 

GOD is the provider, but when we steal, HE no longer is viewed as the provider. Fortunately, GOD is merciful. JESUS was hung on the cross between two thieves. One thief gave a testimony about JESUS not deserving to be put to death. The thief was forgiven.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS warning to not steal?
• Have you stolen something that should have been provided by GOD?
• Is GOD your provider?

Seventh Commandment – No Adultery

Seventh Commandment – No Adultery

Exodus 20:  ¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

 

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GOD provided the seventh commandment to Moses and the children of Israel. This time HIS focus was on relationships.

 

My Observations:

• GOD was protecting the lineage of JESUS, keeping it pure and traceable.
• GOD symbolically wanted a relationship with people who wanted HIM and HIM alone.
• GOD was addressing their polytheistic mindset through the symbolism of marriage.

 

To keep the lineage of JESUS pure and traceable, GOD needed the children of Israel to remain married. They had been under the influence of Egypt for hundreds of years. Their mindset was that any god will do. This mindset would spill into their relationships. Any woman or man will do, was not enough for GOD.

 

In this commandment, GOD shows HIS commitment that HE would keep HIS promise. “I will never leave you or forsake you.” When humans look at this commandment from a human perspective, they fail miserably by boiling the statement down to sex versus choice.

 

GOD was establishing a lineage that would eventually lead to the birth of CHRIST. Both people needed to follow GOD versus the ways of the people of Canaan. Zipporah had a strange encounter with GOD, who was about to execute Moses if his son was not circumcised.

 

We are not given the context, but I believe Zipporah had to accept the command of circumcision without fighting it as she may have done. GOD wanted harmony between HIM, Adam and Eve. But due to the fall of humans, pain and rules needed to be put in place.

 

I believe the commitment to GOD is what HE is speaking about. I carefully paraphrase this passage by saying, “Children of Israel, choose a mate who will follow ME so that JESUS will come through your people and save all humans from their sins.”

 

It was not about effectiveness. The woman that JESUS spoke to at the well had many “husbands,” yet her testimony saved an entire town. David, the most famous adulterer, was a man after GOD’s heart. Not because of adultery, but because of his relationship with GOD.

 

JESUS said there is no need for marriage in heaven because HE is the GOD of the living. Humans look at themselves when reading this commandment versus looking at GOD. Their choice of a mate needed to point to the arrival of JESUS.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS commandment to not have adultery?
• Have you ever considered leaving GOD and HIS ways, to pursue what?
• GOD said HE would never leave you nor forsake you, so are you willing to stay with GOD no matter what you have done?

Sixth Commandment – No Murder

Sixth Commandment – No Murder

Exodus 20: ¹³ “You shall not murder.

 

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GOD continues with giving the Ten Commandments to Moses and the children of Israel. This time HE addressed murder.

 

My Observations:

• GOD addressed the Egyptian’s negative mindset with ten plagues, but HE addressed the children of Israel’s mindset with Ten Commandments.
• GOD seemed to be addressing a complicated problem of hatred, jealousy, and rage, mixed with the thirst for power.
• GOD could not fulfill HIS prophesy if humans murdered one another.

 

Murder is different than killing someone. While the result is the same, murder has an attitude of trying to be GOD. Life is precious to GOD and taking someone else’s life to get one’s own way was a problem GOD needed to make clear to the children of Israel and to you and me.

 

The root of murder points to a seed of hatred that can be traced back to Cain. His brother Abel tried to mimic GOD by offering an animal. Abel may have done this gesture, because GOD showed kindness to Adam and Eve by killing an animal to provide clothes for them.

 

Cain was so jealous and enraged that GOD did not accept his offering of vegetables. Cain may have tried to recreate the garden of Eden and in his pride, tried to offer the vegetation from his garden. Cains murder was born out of a lust for power, and his own jealousy.

 

GOD may have also seen the defiance of Canaan. The children of Canaan hated GOD and would take land and people as they pleased. They would kill to get their own way. GOD seemed to be putting a stop to people trying to grab power through murder. Getting your own way can lead to aggressive or passive aggressive actions that diminishes a person’s value to eventually justify murdering the person.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD remind Moses about HIS command to not murder?
• Are you trying to get your own way and are resisting hearing GOD?
• Have you examined your recent actions to see if you are on the path of love and peace versus self-protection and getting your way?