Deuteronomy 5:7 says, Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Moses then started listing the ten commandments, beginning once more with the fact that the people of Israel were to have no gods before God, their God and the only real God there is. This always has and always will be true for God's people. Verse eight adds, Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Moses then repeated the second commandment, warning the people not to create any graven images, or idols to worship. We need to be careful that we don't allow idols into our lives today, and they don't have to be graven images. Verse nine continues, Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, Moses said that God had said this was true because God was a jealous God. Our sins may only affect us individually spiritually, but they can have effects on the next generation as well. Still, we alone bear the punishment for our sins, unless we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. Verse ten concludes, And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Just as God punishes those who do not believe in or put their faith in Him, He shows mercy to any and all who do. God does not limit the number of people who can be saved. Verse eleven states, Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. This does not refer to profanity, but to using God's name without any real faith in Him or any real calling out to Him by faith. Verse twelve adds, Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. We now as followers of Christ set Sunday, the Lord’s Day, aside to worship God, but we too often let other things get in the way. Verse thirteen continues, Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: We have really reduced this to five days laboring, but still often do not have time to set aside the one day to worship God. Verse fourteen continues, But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. Moses reminded them that no one was to work on the Sabbath, the day set aside to worship Him, which for us is the Lord’s Day. We may pride ourselves on not working on the Lord’s Day, but at the same time expect others to do so. Verse fifteen concludes, And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. Moses reminded them of the fact that God by His power had brought them out of bondage in Egypt and if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, God has brought us out of spiritual slavery today. For this reason, we are to set one day aside to worship Him. Verse sixteen says, Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. The people of Israel were reminded to honor their father and mother, so that their days might be prolonged. This does not say we are to do so if we think they are worth honoring. Verse seventeen adds, Thou shalt not kill. This really means that we should not commit murder. Verse eighteen continues, Neither shalt thou commit adultery. Right after not killing we have the command to not commit adultery. Verse nineteen continues, Neither shalt thou steal. Anytime we attempt to take what belongs to others without their approval, we are guilty of stealing from them, and I believe that anytime we do not use our time under God's guidance we are guilty of stealing from Him. Verse twenty states, Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. There is a lot of this going on in the world today, but we as Christians should never be guilty of doing so. Verse twenty-one adds, Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s. We have God's commandment to not covet anything that belongs to another. As long as we are content with what God provides for us, we should never have a problem with coveting what belongs to someone else.
No comments:
Post a Comment