The Man Moses #9

The Lord said to me,.."I will test my people with a plumbline. Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

The Man Moses #9

Clayt Sheridan, 2nd

We have attempted to emphases the character, integrity and faith of this leader that God raised up to deliver His people from bandage and slavery! As we continue our study we find Moses on Mount Sinai receiving the God’s Covenant with the Children of Israel.

The fourth commandment (20:8-11) A day of solemn worship of God should be kept weekly. Keeping the Sabbath Day... holy means to separate it, the seventh day, from the other six as a special day to the Lord. People are to work in six days and worship on the seventh. This contrasted with the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt when, presumably, they had no break in their daily routine. The basis for this commandment is God’s creating the universe in six days and resting on the seventh (Gen. 2:2-3; Ex. 16:23). This was not to be a day of slothful inactivity but of spiritual service through religious observances. For the violation of this command God imposed on Israel the death penalty (Ex. 31:15; Num. 15:32-36). In the present Church Age the day of worship has been changed from Saturday to Sunday because of Jesus’ resurrection on the first day of the week (cf. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).

The fifth commandment (20:12) Commandments 5-10, the second portion of the Law (vv. 12-17), deal with one’s relationships to others. All the commandments include a negative except the fourth (the last in the first group) and the fifth (the first in the second group). The fifth commandment enjoins respect (honor) of parents. It implies obedience and submission to them (cf. Eph. 6:1-2). The promise of longevity that accompanies the command (live long) refers to duration as a nation in covenant relationship with God (in the land the Lord your God is giving you) rather than a lengthened lifespan for each obedient individual. Cursing one’s parents, tantamount to repudiating their authority, was a capital offense (Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Prov. 20:20).

The sixth commandment (20:13) To help preserve society and because people are made in God’s image (Gen. 9:6), the Israelites were commanded not to take another person’s life by murder .

The seventh commandment (20:14) This commandment is directed toward protecting the sanctity of the home (Heb. 13:4; see comments on Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:1-12), the fundamental building block of society. The marital vow is a holy commitment that should not be violated by sexual unfaithfulness under any circumstances. Adultery refers to infidelity on the part of either men or women (Lev. 20:10).

The eighth commandment (20:15) This command was given to encourage the respect of others’ property. This too is an important element in a stable society. It is closely related to the 10th commandment.

The ninth commandment (20:16) This command concerns bearing false testimony against someone that would cause him unjustified injury. Keeping this law helps maintain stability in a society by protecting individuals’ reputations.

The 10th commandment (20:17) This is a general safeguard against many other sins, particularly commandments six through nine. Israelites were not to long for, desire earnestly, or lust after what legitimately belonged to others.

These commandments are the fundamental statements of a good and wholesome society as ordered by the holy and righteous God. Though believers today are not under the Law (Rom. 6:15), they are under obligation to abide by the holy standards represented in the Ten Commandments. Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament with added stipulations that are even higher than those in Exodus 20:3-17. The one not repeated is the command to keep the Sabbath; yet the first day of the week is to be set aside for worship in commemoration of the Savior’s resurrection.

Romans 6:15 (NKJV) What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!  Believers today are not under the Law (Rom. 6:15), they are however, under obligation to abide by the holy standards represented in the Ten Commandments.