Tag: God’s character

Morning Musing: Exodus 21:18-19, 33-34

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“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or his fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed, if he can later get up and walk around outside leaning on his staff, then the one who struck him will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time and provide for his complete recovery. . .When a man uncovers a pit or digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must give compensation; he must pay to its owner, but the dead animal will become his.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We live in a world of cause and effect. When one thing happens, something else happens because of it. Sometimes there is a clear and direct line from the one to the other such that the cause of a particular effect is obvious. Other times, a given effect has such a complex tapestry of causes that no one could possibly trace it back to a single event. One of the perils of sin is that it seeks to convince us that we can disconnect effects from their causes, that our actions will not eventually have consequences. What we see in this next law is that God wanted to help the people resist this particular temptation. Let’s talk about how this command helps with that goal.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 20:22-26

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“Then the Lord told Moses, ‘This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from have. Do not make gods of silver to rival me; do not make gods of gold for yourselves. Make an earthen altar for me, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your flocks and herds. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause my name to be remembered. If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it. Do not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

While listening to a podcast segment in the car about the ongoing border crisis with our youngest the other day, we wound up in a conversation about national boundaries and how you knew which side of the line you were on. It was a good conversation from an astutely inquisitive mind. Rivers make easy natural boundaries, but when you have long stretches with no rivers, things are a bit trickier. With the Ten Commandments, God gave the people the big picture boundaries of a relationship with Him. He knew, though, that we live our lives in the small picture. As a result, once those were in place, He started giving them a whole bunch of signposts that were intended to help them know which side of the boundary they were on. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at a whole bunch of these signposts. Some are fairly easy to understand, but some are a lot stranger to us. Let’s talk today about why this mattered and what these particular boundaries were for.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 20:16

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“Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I told one big lie to my parents when I was growing up. I don’t mean this was the only lie I told, I’m sure there were many more of those, but this was the big one. They had told me not to throw dirt clods from our freshly tilled garden bed at the shed sitting at the end of the garden because they didn’t want me to accidentally hit and break the window that faced that direction. The trouble was, I was an eight- or nine-year-old boy, and those dirt clods exploded so satisfyingly when they hit the wall. So, I threw them anyway…and I broke the window. But on that particular day, my cousin was there throwing with me. I told my parents he broke the window. Year…I paid for that, and rightly so. Here’s my question: Did I violate this commandment then? Let’s talk about this penultimate of the Ten Commandments and just what it means.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 20:14

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“Do not commit adultery.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Humans have a complicated relationship with sex. God created it and made it really good and powerful. It is unquestionably a gift from Him. And when we enjoy this gift, it feels really good. If it doesn’t, you’re probably not doing it right. But God also made it to be enjoyed in a single set of circumstances. It is a gift for marriage. But marriage is hard. And in any given moment, sex feels good whether it happens in a marriage or not. It feels good no matter who your partner is even if you happened to be married. Because of all this, and because of a sinful nature in each of us that is profoundly selfish at its core, adultery is a thing that we do. But it’s not a good thing. At all. So, God made clear that it isn’t a thing we should do. Let’s talk about why this was a significant enough thing for us not to do that God included it in the foundational list.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 20:7

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“Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone punished who misuses his name.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I’ve never been a big fan of nicknames that weren’t mere terms of endearment. On the last day of a spring break trip in college, after playing on the beach for several hours with lots of sunscreen everywhere but on the top of my feet, I burnt them to a crisp. They were bright red and I couldn’t wear shoes for days. It was a good thing most people were used to my going barefoot around campus. Some friends tried to give me the nickname “Chief Red Foot” as a joke. I gently, but sincerely spoiled their fun. As a credit to their own character, they accepted that I really didn’t want a nickname and stopped their efforts immediately. I like my name. I’m proud of it. I didn’t want to be known by any other appellation. God feels the same way, but even more passionately. He’s so passionate about it that He made getting it right part of His foundational commands to Israel.e Let’s talk about what He means here and why this mattered so much.

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