Read Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Idols and Altars
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’
Go Deeper
Exodus 20 demonstrates God’s desire to initiate relationships with His creation. Before the events of this chapter, the Lord approached Moses, drew His people out of slavery, and reminded them of His promises and plans. God desires to dwell in intimacy with His people and set them apart as His own. To do this, He gives them the Law: The Ten Commandments.
Reading through the list of Commandments, it is easy for us to get discouraged. No matter how hard we try, how nice we are, or how often we attend church, we are bound to break them. We are all broken in our own way. We can’t follow the guidelines. We gossip about our coworkers without even thinking about it. We covet the opportunities and possessions of our peers. We envy the remodeled kitchen of our neighbor. We get jealous of our roommate when they are in a God-honoring relationship, and we are not. We break these Commandments time after time. Does this mean we have no hope? Why even try? Now what?
God created these laws knowing that we wouldn’t be able to uphold them. He gave us this law so that we could understand sin. He uses these Commandments to build upon the foundation of His grand plan. To fill the gap of our inadequacy and brokenness, He gave us His son, Jesus, who lived, died, and rose again so we could walk with the Lord in righteousness and freedom that we don’t deserve. These Commandments remind us of our inability to earn or work for our salvation, but thankfully, that is not the end of our story. We have a God who shows steadfast love for His people.
Unlike pagan gods, our God isn’t basing our value on perfection, feelings, or performance. Instead, He forgives us for the ways we fall short of His expectations.
Praise God we don’t have to be separated from God because of our mistakes; rather, we can follow Moses’ example in verse 20 and draw near to God in the midst of darkness.
Questions
What are ways you have fallen to sin and away from God’s best? Take some time to pray and repent.
What are some ways you can encourage your people today by showing them God’s love and kindness?
Have you gossiped about or resented someone recently that you need to go to and ask for forgiveness? What is one step you will take today to move toward that person?
Watch This
The laws that we’re introduced to in this chapter make up some of the 600+ laws found the Old Testament. What are we to make of all these laws? Why are there so many? Which ones should we follow today? Check out this short video about the Law from The Bible Project!
4 thoughts on “Exodus 20”
Wow! Chapters 19-20 are so powerful yet I overlook them. God is coming down to be with his people. He desires a relationship with his people and wants to bless them. How I take that for granted.
V6: a thousand generations means that God is only 10% through his blessings for Abraham’s offspring. Wow!!!
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.”
Exodus 20:20-21 NASB
Scared of God or the Fear of the Lord?
Back to that fear of God. Do we fear Him.? Yes? maybe? we are afraid of His wrath or think of fear in terms of what He can and will DO to us. “How close can we get to the line of sin but not fall in?” But this fear that Moses is referrinng to is about being a person who has nothing to hide but that you are so terrified of being away from God because You want to be with Him so that you might not sin. God wants to be close and intimate with you. Holy fear is good, it enhances our interaction with God. We are in a constant state of learning about “holy fear” throughout eternity. It is a drawing, a wooing that God has placed in all of us. Holy fear is a gift from our Creator, who longs and cares deeply for us. We are to have reverence, a profound adoring awed respect for in our fear of God. To fear Him is esteem, respect, honor, venerate, and adore Him above anyone or anything else. We take His heart when we fear Him. We hate what He hates.. (Pg 17-19 in the Awe of God book by John Bevere.) Hebrews 12:28-29 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
God teach me how to fear You greater! May I love You and take pleasure in Your Holy fear. Impart Your ways in me. Thank You that the words I am reading from Your scripture be transformative in my life. God do not let what I read just be informational but that there is an obvious transformation with fruit hanging from me. God my words and mediations of my heart be pleasing to You today in these minutes of this day. I desire to follow after You, God. I want with all that I am to do right things in these minutes of my life, and to make right choices that glorify and honor You in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw this phrase the other day(not sure where)
Idolatry is trusting anyone or anything to be and do what God can be and do.
1 John5 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Very familiar chapter, but always great to go back and reexamine. This commandment about honoring our parents is such a curious one. It is not framed negatively (“thou shalt not”), it comes with a positive consequence, etc. God seems to have wanted to bring special attention to this one. I need to take that to heart!