Hi. Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host of the daily challenges. Today is Tuesday, the day we study the Bible together. This week we’re going to study the early days of Israel’s identity as an independent nation.
And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:1-17 ESV)
That’s it in a slightly abbreviated bullet form – there are extra explanations on a couple of these you can read in a Bible in Exodus 20.
Now, what are these? Are they the price of salvation? I think it’s important to notice these come after God saves the Israelites from the Egyptians, after he has promised to bring them to their own land, and after he has performed a great miracle to make it all possible.
The commandments are not how they became God’s people, but the way Israel will act as God’s people. It’s their way to say thanks to God for his love and care.
Christians believe the same thing about Law – Christianity isn’t a bunch of rules to follow to buy your ticket to salvation, or the kingdom of heaven. The Law is how Christians, who have already experienced God’s saving love, symbolized by the waters of baptism rather than the waters of the Red Sea, to say thanks to God and live in his way.
Question: Go through the list of commandments. How does each one honour God’s gift of new life to his people? To you?
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