Exodus 20:1-22:15
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on Bible Gateway ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture with The ESV Bible ~
Exodus chapter 20 brings us the Ten Commandments! A great overview and commentary on the Ten Commandments is online at bible.org at this link. I think this image below is helpful in that it shows the first 4 commandments are about our relationship with God and the next 6 about our relationship with people:
Verse 19 in this chapter is intriguing as the Israelites speak to Moses: ""You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don't let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!"" The NIV Study Bible commentary suggests that this is the first time that people asked for a "mediator" between them and God. And that mediator is initially fulfilled in Moses, then in the Aaronic / Levitical priests, then in the prophets, and then finally in Jesus Christ - our final mediator. Powerful for each of us to consider... Who is the mediator between you and God?
I liked reading and considering the simplicity of God's instructions on the proper use of altars in verses 24 & 25: ""The altars you make for me must be simple altars of earth.... Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there. If you build altars from stone, use only uncut stones. Do not chip or shape the stones with a tool, for that would make them unfit for holy use." For some reason the simplicity of these altars stood in stark contrast to the religiosity Jesus goes after in our Matthew readings today. Maybe God likes us to keep things simple? This is an interesting thing to consider. The gospel message is not complicated. It's simple. Sometimes I think we do a pretty good job of complicating it for ourselves or others though. When maybe instead we should just be sharing with others our simple altars to God....
Exodus chapter 21 dives into some regulations surrounding slavery. I know this brings up some questions. The One Year Bible Companion today covers this topic at a high level: "The Hebrews, though freed from slavery, had slaves themselves. A person could become a slave because of poverty, debt, or even crime. But Hebrew slaves were treated as humans, not property, and were allowed to work their way to freedom. The Bible acknowledges the existence of slavery but never encourages it." For further study on this topic - Bible.org has commentary on slavery in the Bible at this link, and at this link, and at this link.
Today in Exodus chapter 21 we read the very well-known verses 24 & 25: "If an eye is injured, injure the eye of the person who did it. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the person who did it. Similarly, the payment must be hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." What you may not realize about this "law of retaliation" is that it actually was meant to limit the punishment to fit the crime, which prevented cruel and barbaric punishments that were seen in many ancient cultures. Meaning - before this law it might have been seen as "acceptable" for someone to kill someone in return for knocking out an eye - whereas this law limited the retaliation to fit the crime. Jesus of course invokes the higher law of love in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 verses 38 through 42: "You have heard that the law of Moses says, `If an eye is injured, injure the eye of the person who did it. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the person who did it.' But I say, don't resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too. If you are ordered to court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow." Do you see how Jesus exemplified this higher law of love for us through his ministry, life, death and resurrection? Bible.org has a great article titled "Jesus and the Law of Retaliation (Lex Talionis)" at this link.
I find it very fascinating to read all of the laws in these chapters today. I think what is incredible is to remember is that these laws are coming directly from God to the Hebrews. I find it very encouraging that God is so interested in the minutiae details that are discussed in these laws! God is not an impersonal God who just sets up the universe like a clock and lets it tick. God is engaged and concerned with our behavior - back then and today! Do you believe that God is engaged and concerned with your behavior today?
Worship Video: Today's readings in Exodus about the Ten Commandments reminds me of Nichole Nordeman's song "Holy:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6a80TfszMU
Do you want to be Holy? Click here for Holiness!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. " Exodus 20:2-3 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you have no other gods before the LORD your God. Pray that you worship the LORD only. Pray that you would repent of any idols in your heart - seen or unseen. Pray that the deep idols would be rooted out and redeemed in Jesus' blood.
Comments from You and Questions of the Day: Since we've arrived at the Ten Commandments in our readings today, now is an appropriate time to ask - are the Ten Commandments important to you? Why? Have they always been important to you? I will confess that there was a time early in my Christian walk where the Ten Commandments didn't really matter to me. All that mattered at that time was my faith in Jesus. But, then, I personally felt that I was not moving forward as a disciple of Jesus' without meditating upon and considering and, yes, applying the Ten Commandments to my life. Am I perfect when it comes to the Ten Commandments? Of course not, this side of heaven. But meditating upon the Ten Commandments and meditating upon my actions - in relationship with Jesus and inviting Jesus into this process - has changed my heart and my actions. Do you think that we should meditate upon the Ten Commandments and our actions? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Chronological Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 - Download a schedule of our Chronological Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
p.s. #3 - I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Chronological Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Personally, I have never cared for the Message Bible or very many others that paraphrase scriptures, I prefer to stay with translations that hold tightly to the original meaning, such as NKJV and CSB. In addition, several years ago Eugene Peterson expressed some unbiblical beliefs on certain issues, such as homosexuality.
https://albertmohler.com/2017/07/17/eugene-petersonutm_campaign=buffer&utm_content=buffer0542e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=sbtstwitter
Posted by: Chad B | February 07, 2024 at 10:19 AM
Here's the correct link about Eugene Peterson:
https://albertmohler.com/2017/07/17/eugene-peterson?utm_campaign=buffer&utm_content=buffer0542e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=sbtstwitter
Posted by: Chad B | February 07, 2024 at 10:22 AM