The Mediator

DEVOTION

EXODUS

THE MEDIATOR

Ex 20:18-21

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.

NIV

It is a little uncertain as to the exact timeline of this particular narrative. It is possible this thunder and lighting and the sound of the trumpet happened as God struck out each command upon the stones. As we have already seen, some of this was to show the people the power and might of God along with the fact that he speaks to Moses, showing them Moses is his representative to the people. Here the people ask Moses for just that, to speak to them instead of God speaking to them directly. Their fear of God was firmly established by all the thunder and lighting and the trembling of the mountain upon which God had come down to. Moses tells them they should not be afraid of God, but that he came to test them so the fear of God would keep them from sinning. Is that even possible? No matter how much they feared God, they still sinned. The proof of this comes to us later when Moses spends those forty days and nights with the Lord getting all the directions for the tabernacle, the ark, and all the garments of Aaron and how all that should happen. They make a golden calf to worship. So much for the fear of God keeping them from sinning. So much for the fear of God that keeps us from sinning. Are we to fear God, to be afraid of him? We have been told that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. This word fear has been also intended to mean reverence or respect rather than being afraid, to have terror. Although we might have become guilty of becoming too comfortable with God, too casual in our relationship with him, we may not have to have terror of him or being in terror of him, but we certainly need to hold him in the highest esteem, the highest reverence possible. He is holy, holy, holy and we are not. However, we can approach God.

Eph 3:9-13

 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

NIV

The people selected Moses, which of course, God already selected, to be their mediator between them and God. This shows us the need for Jesus to be our mediator between us and God. We cannot approach the throne of God alone, on our merit, for surely we would die. Just as the people would be struck dead if they even touched the foot of the mountain while God was on it. But now, through our faith in Jesus we many approach God with freedom and confidence, we will not be struck down dead. This whole narrative shows us our need for Jesus. No good deed is enough. No right living our whole life is enough. There is simply nothing we can do that qualifies us to approach God without being struck down dead. But we have Jesus, our high priest.

Heb 4:14-16

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

NIV

Unlike the Israelites, we live in the age of grace, through Christ Jesus. We can approach God. But if we have any wisdom at all, it will be with reverent fear, yet also with confidence because of his grace. Without Jesus to be our mediator we are in deep trouble for no one can fulfill all the law that God set out before the people. This narrative shows, us through Moses being their mediator, we need Jesus to be ours. We no longer need to remain at a distance. 

No Coveting

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO COVETING

Ex 20:17

17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

NIV

We certainly could see murder, or killing and we sure would be able to witness most types of stealing, and maybe even adultery, but no one can see our coveting heart. This is something only we know for within our own being. In a sort of general way, this commandment deals with a couple of internal issues. The first is greed. To covet or as the original language means, to delight in, is to be greedy. We want what someone else has. Our eyes see his things and we would like to have those things also. Now that does not mean we would steal them, or take them for ourselves, except in the case of adultery. Jesus spoke about greed several different ways. One of them is:

Luke 12:15

15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 

NIV

When we covet, when we delight in someone’s things, it is surely a form of greed. But also it is not being content with what we have, we want more, we want what our neighbor has. Maybe we don’t actually want his, but we want the same as his. We are bombarded at every turn, in every form of media to want. They tantalize our eyes with pictures that make us want what they are selling. They want us to be discontent with what we have.  Discontentment leads to all sorts of problems. Greed is just one. We need to understand that contentment is a learning process because our hearts are naturally greedy or coveting. This requires hearing from the Spirit in order to learn.

Phil 4:10-13

 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

NIV

This teaching goes right to the heart of not coveting what our neighbor has. But there is also another aspect to this coveting. It can go beyond the physical realm of stuff and enter the realm of positions. What that looks like is when we are jealous of another person’s position in our work place, or in the church, the body of Christ, even in simply a social setting. Wanting to belong to the group, to be with the in people, is a form of coveting. Wanting to be seen as spiritual as someone else, or as knowledgeable in the scriptures may be interpreted as having a covetousness heart. Any form of jealously stems from coveting. If we are truly believers then we should rejoice when someone is blessed, either in goods, or by having a great spouse and marriage, or by being recognized for some special skill, talent, or position in the body, being content with God has done for us, in us and through us. If we can also be thankful for his continued work in our lives, and his provisions for our lives, and his working through our lives, then we have no need to covet anything.

The whole truth

DEVOTION

EXODUS

THE WHOLE TRUTH

Ex 20:16

16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

NIV

There is certainly more here than meets the eye. At first we would simply say that if asked to testify in a court of law that we would have to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help us God. But what about gossip? Now if that which we spread around about another, if it is the truth, would that be a false witness? However the point about gossip is that it is difficult to discern if it is true or not. For the most part gossip is not a first-hand telling of the facts, it has been told and retold and retold again to a point that each telling may have moved slightly from the first supposed facts. If whatever we hear about another person would harm them in some way and we continue this narrative about them to others, it is none other than gossip that qualifies as a false witness. The opposite of this could also apply as a false witness. That is if we know the truth and suppress it we have acted against the spirit of this law. If we know something that would help a person not be defamed or defrauded of his possessions and remain silent we are bearing a false witness. Could this also apply to our relationship with God? Could we possibly be guilty of giving a false witness about God? If we teach or simply share something that is not correctly aligned with the truth have we committed an act against this law? Here is where we run into the trouble with denominationalism as each has a slightly different take or interpretation of what the truth is. One of them, if not all of them could very well be giving a false witness about God. So what are we to do? First, it would be wise not to ascribe to what someone else believes, including a whole denomination which could be bearing a false witness about the truth. Second, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to be our teacher regarding the truth about God. He will lead us into all the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, because he is God. Some denominations suppress certain aspects of the truth, some openly oppose some of the truth, and still others misrepresent, either willingly or unknowingly, the truth. So again, we are left with making sure we tell the whole truth, never mispresenting any information about a person or about God. 

No stealing

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO STEALING

Ex 20:15

15 "You shall not steal.

NIV

Well, here’s a no brainer. What believer would ever steal anything? It is just completely inconceivable any of us would walk into a gas station with a gun and rob the place. But is there any other ways we might actually steal? Things done in any clandestine way might be considered stealing. What if we sold something for more than it is worth? Again that is unlikely any believer would do that. What about saying something injurious to a person’s character? Would we be guilty of stealing their reputation? What about stealing from the government in the misrepresenting of some facts on our tax returns? There is another level of this word used for stealing. The Hebrew word also carries the implied meaning of being deceptive, to buy or sell something with stealth. But this being deceptive could be seen all sorts of ways. But in the sense this command was given it still can only apply to the taking of something wrongly. That could apply to our accepting the praise of men for our actions, when it is God who should be given the praise. Do we steal the praise from God? When others preach a good sermon, who do we give the praise to? When a choir sings a great song, who do we give the applause to?  Do they accept our praise? Do we accept praise for a job well done? Do we think more highly of ourselves then we ought to? Is that a form of theft? Although this seems to apply to the interactions between people, it would be wise for us to consider not stealing from God what is due him. Whenever we do anything that others would give us credit, we should be quick to inform them, it is because of the Spirit of God who lives within us that we are able to do such things. Any of our “Good deeds” are not ours, but his who lives within us. If we think we can do “Good deeds” then we are in fact robbing God. Speaking of robbing God, we have to run to Malachi.

Mal 3:8-12

8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

NIV

Here is where there seems to be a bit of confusion. Do we tithe or give a tenth of our gross or our net? Does that really matter? Is it in the spirit of our offering to God a tenth of our income that counts? This tenth does not matter on whether we think we can afford it or not, as in all reality we cannot afford to rob, or steal from God. Certainly he will give us more then what we are giving to him. At least that is what he says and we have to believe him, for who else can we actually trust to be always truthful? So let us simply not steal. 

Adultery

DEVOTION

EXODUS

ADULTERY

Ex 20:14

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

NIV

Once again this is very straight forward regarding our relationships out of the bond of marriage. We simply are not to have any sexual relationship with anyone other than our spouse. It would seem this does not apply to people who are not married although God lays down some other laws concerning that issue at a later time. This particular command deals with only the physical affections of other than a spouse. However, Jesus added something to this command.

Matt 5:27-29

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'   28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

NIV

This takes life to a whole new level. We men cannot even look at a woman and have the least among of lust in our heart otherwise we might as well have the deed. Now in this culture of ours it would seem many woman lust after men. It would be wise for the Christian woman not to allow that lust to enter her heart. We all are continuely bombarded with the opportunity to lust after the beautiful people. Their pictures, their lives are always thrust before us in a multitude of media. It is not just their looks, although that is the main attraction, but it is also their fame and fortune, the lifestyle of the rich and famous, that attracts some to have a lustful heart. We simply cannot afford to allow this adulterous mindset any room in our heart and mind. But there is also another level to this concept of adultery. Although there is not a specific one scripture that says we are the bride of Christ, there are many scriptures which give us that picture, that truth.

Rev 19:6-9

"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."  (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."

NIV

Christ is also referred to as the bridegroom in other verses thus we, the church, are his bride. Thus if we are having an affair with the world we are committing adultery against Christ. If we even look at the world with lust we are committing the deed. That is to say if we want all the things of this world, if we spend all our energy trying to attain the things of this world, then who is it we are in love with? We are admonished to seek first the kingdom of God. We would have to include the whole of chapter six of Matthew if we were to give the full view of how we are to live as the bride of Christ in regard to the world. But it is needed to see most of it as it defines what adultery with the world looks like, and how we are enticed.

Matt 6:19-34

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

NIV

Are we a faithful bride or do we lust for this world Jesus defines? Now, if we have committed this sin in the flesh, we can have forgiveness, if we repent and seek his forgiveness. If we have only lusted with our eyes and allowed them to bring that lust into our heart and mind, we too can repent and have forgiveness. If we are having an affair with the world, or even just lustfully looking at it, we too can repent and seek forgiveness. The whole of this is repent. Turn from our wicked ways. There can be no room of others in our life. No room for anyone other than our spouse, no room for anything other than our bridegroom, Christ. 

Give no room

DEVOTION

EXODUS

GIVE NO ROOM

Ex 20:13

13 "You shall not murder.

NIV

That seems easy enough, just don’t kill anyone. Alright then, on to the next commandment, but wait something is missing. Jesus spoke about this, but sort of added something, or rather defined it to the fullest extent.

Matt 5:21-24

21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. 3 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

NIV

Jesus compared killing someone as the same as being angry with someone. This anger can be manifested both actively and passively. When we provoke or enrage our brother that is actively, but when we become exasperated we have anger passively. At least that is what the definition of the Greek word used here for angry. Jesus also included an attitude of judgement about others, thinking them a fool. The word “Raca” means “O empty one or thou worthless one”, This type of attitude is only answerable to the law, but calling or thinking someone a fool is in danger of the fire of hell. That is pretty harsh. If we are exasperated with our brother, which would certainly include our spouse, it would be very wise to settle the matter within ourselves before even thinking about going to church, or for that matter praying about anything. The person who does the killing is the guilty one, and thus the person who is either provoking another or is exasperated with another is the guilty one. Now it is possible both parties could be guilty in this case. The one doing the provoking and the other getting exasperated because of the provoking. But both are in danger of the fires of hell if the matter is not settled. In other words there is no excuse for being exasperated or angry with our brother, spouse, no matter their actions. We are only responsible for our own thoughts and behaviors. Well, at least most people, we men, husbands are actually accountable for the behaviors and thus the attitudes of our spouses. We have also been commanded not to provoke our children. There are several different Greek words used in several different texts that tell us fathers not to provoke our children. The one that sticks out is not to stimulate them to anger, not to cause them to be enraged actively or exasperated passively. It would seem this should apply to everyone regarding everyone else, as Jesus points out. Sure murder is out of the question, but this attitude of anger seems to be somewhat acceptable, especially the passive type which no one would really know we harbor within, unless we unleash it into activity. So what is the answer? We have to live in the constant state of forgiveness. This means we cannot even say, give me a little while, I have to work through this before I can forgive you. Forgiveness requires immediate response, otherwise we are in danger of the fires of hell, hanging on for any length of time to our exasperation. Again, do we just ignore how Jesus taught us to pray, forgive us our debts or transgressions as we forgive those who transgress against us? Jesus taught that if we forgive others God will forgive us, but if we do not forgive, then what? So how can we stall in our forgiveness? There is just no room for anger in any form. 

Honor and live long

DEVOTION

EXODUS

Honor and live long

Ex 20:12

12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

NIV

It is interesting these Ten Commandments are repeated in Deuteronomy, but this one is also repeated in the letter to the Ephesians with somewhat of a commentary.

Eph 6:1-3

6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother"-which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."  

NIV

Here Paul tells the Ephesians this is the first of the Commandments that has a promise. This is also the first of the last six which deal with the relationships between people, rather than as the first four dealing with our relationship with God. We also note that these commandments in one form or another have been repeated, reinforced in the New Testament. This should give us some reason not to disregard the Old Testament as for those days and those people, but it is the word of God, and as such is God-breathed and good for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. That would mean we need to see the truths for our life throughout all of scripture, including all the Old Testament. This particular one is repeated word for word three times in scripture and thus it would appear to have a great deal of importance to God that we learn this one well. There is a promise associated with this action of our honoring our father and mother. That would also mean that if we do not honor them we will not live a long in this land God has given us. So how do we honor them? Some of us has been reared in households that were not a positive setting. Some of us have been reared my parents that did not believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In light of some of those non positive settings, as believers how then do we fulfill this commandment and enjoy a long life in this land? Some of us are old enough that our parents have already passed on and we have none to honor at this point in our lives. Yet the point still remains as we discuss their lives with our children and grandchildren we should remain respectful of our parents, giving a Christ-like example for our descendants to follow. For those of us who still have parents to honor, we should indeed do just that for it is a command of God. Sometimes children need to see that we parents, even in our old age, still feel our lives have relevance and value. We might have some limitations and inabilities and children should not mock us because of that.  We should all remember, not matter what type of parent we had or are, children should understand the parent provided for them in their infancy and their dependency for every aspect of life. Some might have been a little rough around the edges, some even cruel to a point, yet we managed to live through all circumstances due to their provisions. We did not starve to death, nor were without shelter and clothing. There is a point in all our lives that we have to admit our parents gave us the needs of life and thus are due our respect. Some may not have been the best parents in the world, some may have been uneducated and/or poor, but they may have made their best efforts. We also need to examine our lives as parents. Have we been parents that are due the respect of our children? If they are believers they are obligated, by God, to show us honor and respect, but in our self-examination are we rightfully due that respect? We live both lives, as children and as parents. It would be wise as children, even of parents that have passed on, never to speak ill of them. We set the bar for how our children look upon us and therefor how they will live an example for their children. If we are the first of believers in our family structure, then it is even more important for us to set the right example. No matter what, we are to honor our father and mother for this is God’s will concerning our lives. Then we can live long and prosper. 

Six and one

DEVOTION

EXODUS

SIX AND ONE

Ex 20:8-11

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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 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.

NIV

How is it that we just do not keep this commandment at all? Heck we don’t even work six days, much less not work on the seventh day. Do we think we are doing alright just because we go to church on Sunday morning, thinking that is keeping the Sabbath holy? What about going out for breakfast after church? Are we making some people breaking this command, expecting them to be working so we can eat? Well, they may not Christians, so it doesn’t matter, but then why do some of us leave a tract, or witness to the waitress? Bad witness. We just blew this commandment all to heck. How do we keep it holy? It surely seems it would be pretty straight forward. Do nothing on the seventh day, but that also means do something, do all our work on six days. Perhaps we could make a case that we should occupy our jobs Monday through Friday, do all the chores around the house on Saturday and then Sunday do nothing. But then we live in a 7 day week, 24 hour a day society. Some of us have jobs that work on Saturdays and Sundays, so how do we justify that? Do we make some seventh day a personal Sabbath? It would seem God did not specify which six days of the week we should work and which day should be the seventh. That looks very much like a man made idea about Sunday being the Sabbath. The Jews used Saturday as the Seventh, counting the beginning of the week on Sunday. Well actually it was sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, mainly because they did not have watches to let them know when it was midnight and the beginning of the next day. So for them the Sabbath was sort of a rolling time thing because of the seasons and the length of daylight. But for us, we people chose to use the day the Lord rose from the grave, Sunday as our Sabbath. Still this is a man chosen day, not necessarily a God chosen day. So we are left with the simple fact, we are to work six, rest from all our work on the seventh. Thinking on that seventh as the day God rested from all his work. He may not have just sat down and done nothing at all, but he rested, or settled down from his work of creating all he created. Our best effort should be to first work six then rest one. The question is, how does that look like in our lives?  Then we have to deal with the age thing. Do we stop doing this when we reach a certain age? Somehow, it doesn't seem this have any basis in the scripture. So then what do we do? How do we do this six and one? 

Misuse

DEVOTION

EXODUS

MISUSE

Ex 20:7

7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

NIV

It would seem right to think about a person who takes the witness stand, at least in years past, when asked to swear or affirm. The current oath of a witness has certain modifications depending on the court, or the persons taking the oath. Some religious groups refuse to swear by the name of God, the Quakers being one of them.  “Do you solemnly (swear/affirm) that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, (so help you God/under pains and penalties of perjury)? Do you solemnly (swear/affirm) that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, (so help you God/under pains and penalties of perjury)?” So the word affirm can be used, and under pains and penalties of perjury instead of so help you God. The point is that if a person swear by “so help you God” and lies they have taken the Lord’s name in vain. But that certainly has little to no bearing on our daily lives. So how would we misuse his name? It would also seem right that any response to something that included, “OH my God” would as misuse. Even the variation of, “Oh my gosh” is an attempt to say the first without using the name of God. We certainly make every effort to refrain from either phrase which implies the name of God casually or misuse. But is it possible that once we have told people we are Christians, that is followers of Christ, and we are representing God to the world, that when we do not tell the truth, we are misusing his name. Some people say they are Christians, but have no personal relationship with the Lord, or they are not actually born again, but simply attain a mainline denomination which neither preaches a person needs to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, or anything else completely truthful about the scriptures. But as far as our own lives, when we tell of our faith in God, when we profess our Christ following, then we need to tell them the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God. So what is this truth? The gospel of course. That said, then would we be misusing his name if we do not tell everyone the truth of the gospel? Calling ourselves by his name but not living by his name might be another form of misuse. If we call ourselves Christian but live as an unbeliever is certainly misuse. What type of behaviors would fit as living as an unbeliever? We cannot include sin as even as believers we still sin. So then are there other behaviors that would imply a misuse of his name, of identifying ourselves by his name? Would not trusting him for every aspect of our lives qualify as unbelief and thus misuse? This sends our mind into a spin as to how many different ways we could not be trusting him. It is not about creating a list of do’s and don’ts, but rather living as a believer in Christ, completely. This is not even about being a faithful church attender, but living a daily life trusting in him for our whole being, everything we are, everything we have and we do. That includes telling the truth, the gospel message to all. Perhaps we cannot actually verbalize it in every setting, but we can live the truth in such a way we are not misusing his name. 

No Idols

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO IDOLS

Ex 20:4-6

4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol 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 fathers 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.

NIV

Although some translations use the word craven image to describe idol, the original language simply says idol. In defense of saying graven image, something carved out of wood or stone, there is another Hebrew word very close to this one which means idol. Either way, any idol is not permissible. The challenge in seeing this as an idol carved from wood or stone is where do we find such material in heaven or in the waters? We could find it on the earth beneath but that is all. So in order to be comprehensive in any idol in the form of anything, we would have to include everything. This would imply anything we idolize could be our idol. Now the question is what do we idolize? What do we place of great importance in our lives? Is it recognition? It is success? Is it money itself? Is it anything material, such as a car, a boat, an RV, a home, a hobby item, or some other thing? Do we place importance on people, such as a spouse, a child, a parent, or other relative? Do we place importance on people such as a sports team or star player? How about a particular pastor, or Christian author? There are so many objects whether inanimate or animate that we could be in danger of making them into some form of an idol in our lives.  We certainly have to be careful not to get so involved with stuff or people that we put them before God. Yes, we are to love our neighbor, even as ourselves. But that is out of our obedience to God. We are supposed to love others as Christ loved us. Everything we do should be centered on our relationship with Christ. If we are believers than we do not have a life outside of Christ. Nothing can occupy a place in our hearts and minds that does not include Christ. This is the true meaning of not having any idols in any form. Now here is another rub. About idols from heaven, could that include spiritual gifts? Could we make an idol out of a gift from God? Could we make, saying speaking in tongues an idol? Could we make prophesy an idol? Could we make a certain form of worship an idol? We have to be so careful why we think or do anything so nothing becomes an idol in our lives. This could come down to, what are we willing to forsake for Christ? If it is not everything, then we might well be in trouble of having an idol. So, simply said, no idols. 

No other

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO OTHER

Ex 20:1-3

20:1 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

NIV

We have arrived at the Ten Commandments and it would be wise of us to spend time with each one of them, however before we delve into this which is the first of ten it would be good to consider an overview. We know these ten were set in stone by none other than the finger of God. There were two stones which Moses carried down from the mountain to give to the people. We also know he threw down the first set and God had to make another set. These two stone tablets were written on both the front and the back by the finger of God. It has been determined or at least considered by some the first tablet contained commands one, two, three and four, the second contained five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten. This division is due to the content of the Ten Commandments. The first four contain the whole system of theology, what we should form regarding the divine nature, the reverence we owe, and the service we should render to God. The Second tablet contains the system of ethics or moral duties we owe to our fellow man. It is said the performance of these moral duties are what form a society of order, peace and happiness. Actually this type of society depends on the performance of them. What we also can see in these two tablets, this division of commands told to us by Jesus.

Matt 22:37-40

37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'   38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'   40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." 

NIV

If this isn’t a repeat of the two tablets written with the finger of God, nothing is. All ten of the commandments are summed up for us in these words of Jesus. Nevertheless it would be wise for us to take a look at each of them out of respect, especially since they were written by God himself. So we should have no other gods before him. What does that look like, to have another god before God? Looking forward he tells us not to make any graven image, which is the second command. Therefor the first is not about graven images but rather about other gods. Although it is true in those days many people had multiply gods, such as Jethro, the relative of Moses, who was the priest of Midian. We also had Laban, the father of Rachel, who have household gods, which she had stolen. So it would not be out of context to think God was talking about these types of other gods. But in the whole of the context of all of scripture, other gods could be many different things. The Hebrew word used for gods also applies to any magistrate, rulers or judges. It has been used to describe God as well, the name Elohiym. However, God is not saying not to have another supreme God like him, but not to have anyone or anything to rule over our lives other than him. That could apply to so many things in our lives. Do we have any habits, either good or bad? Do we allow a habit to rule us? Do we allow our appearance to rule over us? Are we forever on a diet, or searching some way to improve our appearance? Do we continually concern ourselves about money? Do we hoard it up, just to have it, or use it when we get old? Is that a form of god? Do we idealize a sports team, or a particular player? If we spend more time and energy on knowing every detail of their lives, or stats, then about God, have we put another god before him? So many habits we can form that could be a form of another God. This is not to say God did not intent for us to live without all we need. He even said the he would supply all our needs according to his riches in heaven. He desires us to be happy, content, fulfilled, satisfied which are all wrapped up in the word blessed. He gave us life and surely intents for us to enjoy it. When he formed Adam from the dust of the earth he placed him in a beautiful place and allowed him to enjoy everything in it, except for one thing. But still the whole reason for Adam was so God could have fellowship with him, in the midst of that garden. God has to be first, middle and last in our lives. If then we are to love the Lord our God with some of our heart, some of our soul and some of our mind, then all those other things would be alright. But that is not the way it should be. If we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind, then is there any room for anything else? Have we put other gods before him? Yes, we can enjoy all that he has given us, but let us not put those things above the giver of them. Let us always be about an attitude of thanksgiving. 

No Forcing

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO FORCING

Ex 19:20-25

20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them." 23 Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, 'Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.'" 24 The LORD replied, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

NIV

We are getting ready to receive the Ten Commandments, which are the next verses right after these, but first we should find our truth for today. Why would the LORD call Moses up to the mountain just to tell him to go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD? Even after Moses repeats the words of the LORD about him putting limits on the people and their proximity to the mountain, that even they are not permitted to even touch the foot or base of it, then repeats his command that they should not force their way through to come up to the LORD. Moses was told to bring Aaron, but no one else. Aaron was going to be able to come up to the LORD. He was going to be the high priest, the first high priest. But this not forcing their way up to the LORD has something for us today as well. It is possible we could get in a trap of forcing our way up to the LORD. What that might look like is quite different than those people trying to climb up the mountain. We could mistakenly think being spiritual is being close to the LORD, in fact that might be considered as forcing our way. It is possible that when we put our own limits on ourselves as with that list of don’ts, like not smoking or drinking or dancing or whatever else each of us considers a don’t, we are trying to force our way up to the LORD. It is also possible that we try to force our way up to the LORD with our “Good deeds”. We cannot even wash ourselves in the blood of the Lamb, for it is up to the LORD to wash us. We can accept the cleansing, but we cannot cleanse ourselves in an effort to come to the LORD. It is possible that when we sing those words on the screen or in the hymnal we think we are entering the presence of the LORD but we might just be trying to force our way up with our mouth and not our heart.

Isa 29:13

 "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.  

NIV

 This might just be the key here, our heart. Our relationship with our Lord is a heart issue. Have we allowed our Father to circumcise our heart? Have we allowed him to cut alway the outer layer so the most sensitive portion of our heart is exposed to him? We are told to come near to the Lord, not force our way up to him, but just come near;

James 4:7-10

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

NIV

There is certainly some preparations we need to do, as the LORD instructed Moses to consecrate the people, we are to consecrate ourselves, which is set ourselves apart from the world. This again is not in the physical sense, with that list is don’ts, but it is in the sense of being unequally yoked, not being in partnership with the world. It means not ascribing to the world’s ideologies, it methods of operating. If we are truly aliens here, then we do not even speak the same language as the world does. We are set apart, different from them in our thinking. It still comes down to our heart, allowing God access rather than forcing our way up to him. He is the one who does the work in us.

Phil 1:6

6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

NIV

Let us not force, but rather submit. 

Prepared

DEVOTION

EXODUS

PREPARED

Ex 19:14-19

14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations." 16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.  

NIV

The people needed to consecrate themselves before meeting with the LORD, although they were not actually going to meet him, just hear him speaking to Moses. They could not even come close enough to the foot of the mountain, much less touch it or they would be stuck dead by the LORD. Yet even at this distance from him they needed to be consecrated, or sanctified or set apart. Their preparation was to wash their clothes and abstain of any sexual relations. It seems clear about the engaging in a physical union with another person would impede their setting themselves apart to meet with God. The washing of their clothes could only be of a symbolic nature, a point of the need to be cleansed before the LORD. It must have taken the three days just to dry out their clothes, and what did they wear in the meantime, how many outfits did they have? That would have used up a lot of water as well, washing over two million outfits. Things like this are not explicitly detailed for us because they have no real significance in showing either the character of God or our relationship with him. We cannot be sure why all this pomp and ceremony about God speaking to Moses when he has spoken to him on more than one occasion before unless it was simply the angel of the LORD, except looking at the Hebrew when God spoke to him from the burning bush the word Yahweh was used, denoting the LORD himself was speaking to Moses, even though it was said an angel appeared to him in the burning bush. Here Yahweh is actually going to come down and be upon the mountain. We do not know the form in which he came down as the mountain was covered with billowing smoke. It does say he descended upon the mountain in fire. Yet even though the people were not allowed to touch the mountain upon which the LORD had descended upon, they were still in need of being consecrated just to stand and observe from a distance the presence of God, however they were going to be able to hear his voice. Perhaps that is our lesson. If we ever expect to be in the presence of the LORD should we not be consecrated? Should we not be set apart? What makes us set apart? How do we set ourselves apart? How do we consecrate ourselves today? Is abstaining from sexual relations and washing our clothes enough? Surely that is not the case. Jesus talked about the Pharisees being like white washed tombs, clean on the outside, but dead and stinky on the inside.

Matt 23:27-28

27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs , which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

NIV

Surely our consecration cannot be in our good deeds, or for that matter in our apparent good behavior. Our consecration in preparing to be in the presence of the LORD has everything to do with be clean on the inside, cleansed in the blood of the Lamb. We cannot even cleanse ourselves sufficiently to stand at a distance of his presence. We are in desperate need being washed in the blood of the Lamb. This is the only way we can be consecrated, set apart to God. There could be a lesson in the abstaining from sexual relations, when it comes to our relationship with the world. We should abstain from having any union with the world. No partnership with it. We cannot even embrace it. How can we be set apart to God if we are having an affair with the world? Maybe in some sense certain sects of Quakers or Amish might have the right idea about being separate. Yet we have been called to be ambassadors to this land. As aliens here, being citizens of the kingdom of God, we must serve our Sovereign, speaking for him to the people of this world. We cannot do that if we physically separate ourselves from them, however that does not preclude us spiritually or mentally separating ourselves. We cannot conform to the ideologies of this world. But we are to be in it enough in order to speak the truth about God. Being consecrated, we take our stand prepared to be in his presence.   

Everything

DEVOTION

EXODUS

EVERYTHING

Ex 19:7-13

7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD. 9 The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said. 10 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."

NIV

“We will do everything the LORD has said”. No they would not, for it has already been recorded how disobedient they were after making such a statement. Why did they make such promises that they could not keep? Do we do that too? At least they didn’t swear they would do everything he said, but still their word should be their bond. Granted the way God presents himself to the people, using a pillar of smoke to lead them, then this mountain, and all the thunder and rumbling going on, why wouldn’t they said they would do everything he said? This command about not even touching the foot of the mountain when he descends upon it would be enough to make anyone shake in their boots. God is showing them just how majestic he is. They have seen his power against the hands of the Egyptians. They have seen his command of the elements, holding back the waters so they could cross on dry land. They have seen his hand of provision with the water, first bitter water becoming sweet, then water coming forth from a rock just because Moses strikes it with the staff of God. Then the manna and the quail. Now they are going to witness his majesty. They are going to witness his confirming Moses as his representative, if that wasn’t already known. Yet our lesson here today is in this statement of the people. How often have we said something similar? How often have we said we would follow Jesus? How often have we proclaimed our faith and said we would be true and faithful to his commands? Sure, we might make a list of the things we should not do and check it off every once in a while thinking we are in good shape. But what about the list of things we are supposed to do? First off for the most part we cannot even check off the list of things we are not supposed to do. Oh sure, murder, stealing, adultery, drinking, smoking, dancing, going to movies, roller rinks, bars, and years past, mixed bathing are things we would never do. Well maybe adultery, that is against God. If we are having an affair with the world, we are in fact committing adultery against God, as we are the bride of Christ. But even if we don’t do that, what about envy, jealously, anger, hatred, unforgiveness and bitterness? What about lust or greed? When he tells us not to store up things on this earth, we store it up. How many times when we fail, do we say we won’t do that again, then turn around and do it again? They could not keep their word, nor can we. It just is not in our nature, we are flawed, imperfect and that is why we need Jesus. All throughout the Old Testament God was showing the people their imperfection and their need for a Messiah, a Savior, Jesus. All the law was to show them they could not keep their word, they needed Jesus. We are no different, we cannot keep our word with God, we will fail, over and over again, but the worst part is when we try to justify our failure. All we can do is try our best to live a life pleasing to him, yet in reality what is pleasing to him is that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. In this one act we are redeemed, we are justified, we are sanctified and saved. This is the one righteous act we can do. Trusting in his provision for our salvation. Now should we just go on sinning so that his grace can abound? God forbid. But let’s face the facts, we are not as righteous as we think we are, or that we want others to think we are. The only everything the Lord has said that we can do, is to believe and accept Jesus. If we can do that, some day we will be able to go up on the mountain of God, the new city of Jerusalem. Then we will do everything the Lord has said, everything. 

Treasured Possession

DEVOTION

EXODUS

TREASURED POSSESSION

Ex 19:1-6

19:1 In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt — on the very day — they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

NIV

The Israelites traveled for three months with the pillar of smoke by day leading them and the pillar of fire at night giving them light. Now they arrived at Mt. Sinai, often referred to as the mountain of God. Here is where Moses went up to speak to God or rather where God spoke to Moses. How exactly that conversation was carried on we can only imagine. God had to have spoken to Moses in an audible voice, not just impressing Moses within himself of the words he wanted him to hear. What an experience that must have been to hear the voice of God, which we will certainly be able to do some day. What God said to Moses carries us right into the New Testament. He told them if they obeyed him fully and kept his covenant, out of all the nations they would be his treasured possession. He told them they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It would certainly seem the nation of Israel today does not fit that description, in fact many Israelis are very secular and may not actually be Jews. The difference being is Israelis define a nation, Jewish defines a religion. We may mistakenly think Israel is God’s chosen nation when it is the people who are defined by his covenant who are his most treasured possession. Who can obey him fully? Certainly it was not the children of Israel. The one and only one who can obey him fully is in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the new covenant in which we live. We already know that the true Jew is one who is not circumcised in the flesh, but rather of the heart.

Rom 2:28-29

28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

NIV

Therefore being the nation of royal priests is not about the physical nation of Israel, but about the people who are within the covenant of God. Jesus is that covenant and because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we have become that nation of royal priests, a holy nation, set apart for God.

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

NIV

Peter was writing to the gentiles, to us. We can never be an Israeli, although we could convert to Judaism, but that too would not make us this holy nation, or royal priests belonging to God. No it all stems on accepting Jesus. We can never ever fully obey God. We can never be perfect, but only in Christ. God has in fact carried us on eagles’ wings right to Jesus. Jesus sent the Spirit to carry us there, to convict us of our need to repent, and accept Jesus.  So here we are, God’s treasured possession.