(Exodus Exodus 20:1-26) Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “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 belongs to your neighbor.”
18 All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 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.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. 24 You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
One might think that the very last verse is over the top, but consider this, that in British law, no one should ever turn their backs on the king or queen.
One might think that using any form of God's name as an exclamation (positive or negative) isn't that big of a deal, but consider this, that God hears and knows everything. How tiresome would it be to hear your name being used by everyone around you, but no one was actually talking to you, or talking positively about you?
There seems to be several different ways to fear God.
- one is where someone just outright hates God, and so, fears and fights against Him
- another is where someone realizes that they are not worthy to approach God, and so, fears and avoids Him
- and then there is the healthy fear, where someone realizes they are not worthy to approach God, but God provides the way, and so, they decide to accept and respectfully embrace Him and worship Him, and put Him first in their lives
We should fear God in a healthy way. The Lord deserves our respect for so many reasons!
- the Lord is the Judge and has full rights to punish those who break His laws.
- the Lord is also the Redeemer. He has accomplished His work on the cross in order to pay for our sins because He loves everyone and desire that all should be saved and come to Him.
- and the Lord is the Heavenly Father. As we obey and respect Him - He wants to bless and reward us!!!
Why would we not want to fear and respect God?
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