Today’s Old Testament Scripture reading takes us to passage where Moses is given the Ten Commandments. There are people today who believe that the Ten Commandments are old and obsolete, and really have little relevance in today’s modern world. Even some professing Christians think that many of the commandments are just being legalistic, exclusive, and judgmental of others. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we know that they are God’s laws. Let’s see how they can fit into our lives today.
The First Commandment - You shall have no other gods before Me (vs. 3). Yahweh is the only God we are to worship. He is to be the only one, not Jesus and Buddha, or Jesus and a Hindu deity, or any other type of false god. Besides false gods, what other things do we put in God’s place? There can be money, family, friends, our appearance, various entertainment, belongs. What or who is receiving the glory in our life today? What is most important? Who do we seek to please? We need to be committed to Jesus. He is our priority.
The Second Commandment - You shall not make for yourself a carved image (vs. 4-6). Having carved idols of other false gods of wood or stone in one’s home is a violation of this commandment of God, even if they are just decoration. For most of us that isn’t a temptation. How else can this commandment relate today? Anything, including things that may be good, if it comes before God, is an idol. Having something in a physical form to bow down to diminishes faith.
The Third Commandment - You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain (vs. 7). This commandment is not just about profanity, which is wrong. Do we treat His Name honorably? Do we give it glory and praise, or treat it lightly? We should not use God’s Name flippently or irreverently. We shouldn’t attach His Name to our own ideas, just to make them seem right. That is misusing His Name.
The Fourth Commandment - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (vs. 8-11). By the time of Jesus’ day, this command had become just a set of man-made regulations, a list of do’s and don’ts. The Sabbath was to meet the needs of the people, not the people meeting the requirements of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). Today we’ve gone to the opposite extreme. We need to make time to rest, slow down, and listen to God. We need to spend a day reading His Word and praying. Let God refresh us.
The Fifth Commandment - Honor your father and mother (vs. 12). Honor means to regard someone with great respect. We should love our family the way God loves us. This honor should be an overflow of our love for Jesus. For those whose parents who truly don’t deserve honor because of abuse, we should forgive and pray for them, desiring them to know Jesus.
The Sixth Commandment - You shall not murder (vs. 13). Most of us have never murdered anyone. Jesus, though, took this a step further, having to do with our attitudes towards others (Matthew 5:21-22). Life is sacred to God. We should not destroy anyone with words, treatment, even thoughts. Do our words and treatment of others bring life, uplift and bring joy, or death, tearing down and destroying their spirit?
The Seventh Commandment - You shall not commit adultery (vs. 14). This is another commandment Jesus took a step further (Matthew 5:27-28). God looks into our heart. Those married may not have actually committed the act, but lustful thoughts and looks are the same in His eyes. God wants us to keep our thoughts pure (Philippians 4:8).
The Eighth Commandment - You shall not steal (vs. 15). Do we twist dishonesty and theft to justify getting what we want? Do we help ourselves to small items at work because “the boss owes me for the extra hours I put in”? Or if a boss, do we withhold the pay for the extra hours or withhold earned time off or vacations? Do we keep the extra change the checkout woman gave us? Or borrow an item from a neighbor with no effort to return it? All of these are types of stealing, and wrong in God’s eyes.
The Ninth Commandment - You shall not bear false witness (vs. 16). We have so many words that we use instead of “lie” to try and make it seem not so harsh - fib, tall tale, half-truth, white lie. A lie is a lie. God does not like dishonesty (Proverbs 12:22). God is truth, and there is no untruth in Him (John 14:6). We need to always set a guard over our mouth (Psalm 141:3).
The Tenth Commandment - You shall not covet (vs. 17). This is wanting something that doesn’t belong to us. When someone gets something that we didn’t get, but that we wanted, do we rejoice or grumble bitterly? Are we so desiring of possessions, wanting more and more, filled with desire? Instead, we should be wanting more of God.
As we can see, the Ten Commandments are still quite relevant for us today, and as Christians, should still be guideposts for our Christian walk. As an archer strives to hit the bullseye with each arrow, may we strive to do our best to follow the Lord each day.
Our world today seems to have drifted far from these precepts. I think your analysis of these is very timely. I watch as our world disregards them, fights and demeans their neighbors and our leaders. Praying for them all and forgiving more is so much better. Thank you for the inspiration you are to so many.
ReplyDelete