Exodus 19-20

Readings:

Exodus 19
Exodus 20
Psalm 31
Psalm 32

Comments:

I have not kept up with my readings on a daily basis, and it’s obvious I have not kept up taking notes each day. It’s easy to do that. And once it happens, it’s easy to get discouraged. But I’m not going to bother with discouragement. I’ll just pick back up and keep going.

God delivers the people from their slavery in Egypt. Once free, the people of God begin to complain and grumble. But God provides for them in the desert. Food. Water. God is with them. And because this is a community of people, they have to learn to live together. Additional leadership is needed. And we all need rules and guidelines to live by.

Exodus 20 contains the “ten commandments.” The first four have to do with our relationship with God. The last five with our interaction with other people. The fifth commands, the only one with a promise attached, deals with how we treat our parents. The ten commandments are often seen as the basis for our society and how we govern ourselves. However, there were more than just ten commandments that God gave this people. As we will see in the rest of Exodus and in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, there are over 600 laws given to the people.

Some people feel that laws inhibit what we can do. Laws are restrictive. But in reality, laws help provide order and also help us avoid chaos. Laws are also meant to protect us.

Some people might think of God as a “killjoy.” What about you? How do you view the ten commandments? Can you name all of them without looking? Which ones are easy for us to follow? Are these ancient commandments still relevant for us today?