The Lord said to
Jeremiah, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: "'I remember
the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved Me and followed Me through
the desert, through a land not sown” (Jer. 2:2).
For many of us,
the holidays tend to be a season that we spend a significant amount of time
with our closest friends and family members. Sometimes this can be challenging
because of the pain of missing those who have passed away or strained
relationships. And strained relationships tend to happen for a variety of reasons,
yet some of the most common are betrayal, jealousy, and tough love that has not
come to maturity resulting in the positive effects that we are longing for.
As parents we
give our kids rules not to ruin their fun but to protect them, motivated by love.
This is similar to that of a marriage relationship. In marriage, we make vows
in order to protect our relationship, again motivated by love. Our relationship
with the Lord is likewise very similar to this. God’s Word contains numerous
commandments to do just that, as if to say, “Avoid these things and life will
go much better for you. This is clearly the case with the Ten Commandments.
Before God ever
gave His people the Ten Commandments, we can see His motivation for giving
them. In Exodus 20:2, God says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Thus, God was reminding them up front, “I
am the One who delivered you out of your slavery. My actions show that I have
your best interest at heart.” Then God
gives them the terms of His covenant of love to them. This is the basis of what
is known as the Mosaic Covenant. It is called this since God gave it directly
to Moses, then Moses passed it on to His people.
Over the past
several months, we have considered some of the covenants that God made with His
people. The Mosaic covenant differs from the covenants that God made with Noah,
Abraham, and David in the sense that it is conditional: based upon obedience,
has its own priesthood and law associated with it. Thus, upon careful
examination of the Bible it is similar to the covenant that God made with Adam,
and the New Covenant that God made with all believers since the time of the
cross. Thus, in the Bible we find three covenants that standout, and are
sometimes referred to as the Three Great Ages (for more information on the
Three Great Ages see http://eugenechristian
church.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20to%20Understand%20the%20Bible).
Therefore, let us
consider God’s covenant of love that He wrote on tablets of stone, namely the
Ten Commandments. The first commandment states that we are not to have any
other god but the Lord. Love is loyal. God wants to protect us from
having a misdirected life's purpose, frustration, emotional and physical pain,
and ultimately death to those who worship any but Him. Thus, the first
commandment is about God protecting us from false gods
The Life
Application Bible Commentary said, “Today we can allow many things to become
gods to us. Money, fame, work, or pleasure can become gods when we concentrate
too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security. No one sets out
with the intention of worshiping these things. But by the amount of time we
devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts
and energies. Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these
things from turning into gods.”
The second
commandment is very similar, seeking to protect us from false worship by making
idols, like the things mentioned above. In this we see that love is faithful.
Third, love is
reverent; “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God.” God’s name
is special because it carries His personal identity. And God’s name is very
unique in the sense that He is given numerous names all seeking to reveal different
aspects of who He is.
Fourth, love
is intimate; “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” In
this we see God seeking to protect our relationship with Him, rejuvenating us
through helping us to have a period of rest, and a remembrance of His creation.
At the same time, since we currently live in the Christian/Church Age, we are
not bound to the Sabbath as were those living in the Mosaic Age. We come to
this conclusion based on passages like Heb. 7:12; 8:13-9:4; Col. 2:16-17 (see
also
http://eugenechristianchurch.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-to-understand-bible-101-lesson-4a.html).
Fifth, “Honor
your father and mother.” Here we see that love is respectful. One writer
said, “Where parents are not honored, a flaw lies at the base, and the
stability of the entire social fabric is endangered; as well, those who will
not honor their parents will not honor God.”
Sixth, love is
harmless; “You shall not murder.” Love seeks to protect life. It is
important to understand that this commandment is explicitly meaning in the
Hebrew text to: slay by premeditation, to assassinate, or to commit
manslaughter. It does NOT refer to taking someone’s life as an act of LEGAL justification
meaning an execution after due process, or moral justification; that is killing
in defense.
Seventh, love
is pure; "You shall not commit adultery." Marriage is a sacred
union in the eyes of the Lord, that is why He seeks to protect it. Love is pure
just as God desires us, the Church, who is the bride of Christ to be pure.
Jesus said, “Blessed is the pure in heart” (Matt. 5:8). May we keep a strong
commitment to the purity of our household.
Eighth, love
is unselfish; “You shall not steal.” God sees the value of property and He
desires it to be protected. Ultimately, all of it is His, and we are to be good
stewards of all that He has given us by taking care of it. This means that we
are not to be selfish about these things, but rather, we should give to
others. In addition to this, we must
recognize the fact that this commandment is not limiting stealing to just our
fellow man, but it also applies to stealing from God (see Mal. 3:8-10).
Ninth, love is
truthful; “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” In this
God seeks to protect the truth. So this commandment can be violated by both
lying and by not saying anything at all. Thus, may our conversations be
seasoned with both grace and truth.
And tenth, love
is content; “You shall not covet. This is really about protecting our
hearts. Jesus states it this way, “Guard [yourself] against every kind of
greed" (Luke 12:15). Hebrews 13:5 says it like this, “Make sure that your
character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for
He Himself has said, "I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.”
Thus, the
foundation of the Mosaic Covenant, the Ten Commandments are a covenant of a
loving God seeking to protect His children. So may we view them as that, and
seek to honor Him who knows best.
In His service,
Matt
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