Monday, February 17, 2020
Then God gave the people all these instructions: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You must not murder. “You must not commit adultery. “You must not steal. “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!” As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.
The young Israelite nation of
former slaves in Egypt were blushing and trembling in the presence of God, awed
by God’s majesty and power. This was the
God who swallowed-up Egypt’s armies in a moment after Moses led them through
the Red Sea on dry land, fed them in the wilderness with manna every morning,
and brought water from a rock. This God
of power, righteousness and providence now spoke words of warning about what it
would be like to live as His flock. The
message was stark…do this and live; do that and perish.
The people blushed in abject
understanding of how fragile human existence is to the might of God. Truly, history records how untold millions
have tested this, only to find that the blushing of Israel, trembling with
reverence at even the thought of seeing God face to face was, and is, the only
right response of man to his Creator.
Here, in the 21st century
we have gone back well-before the Exodus; we have returned to the 10th
generation after Adam, the days of Noah:
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. Genesis 6:5
Compared to the way Israel trembled
in the presence of God, the current trend is what Noah saw in his day. Our culture claims for itself spirituality
yet sinks further and deeper into wickedly disregarding God’s commandments.
For
You Today
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