God's Top Ten List from Exodus 20:1-21

Today I am commenting on Exodus 20:1-21, which, of course, gives us the Ten Commandments.

One of the popular recent comedy gags is to have a funny list of some kind. Jeff Foxworthy is famous for his list that helps you decide if you are a red neck or not. Late night host David Letterman included a top ten list in each of his shows.  I saw one the other day that was called:

Top Ten Indicators You Drink Too Much Coffee:

10. Juan Valdez names his donkey after you.

9. You get a speeding ticket even when you're parked.

8. You watch videos in fast-forward.

7. The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.

6. Your lips are permanently stuck in the sipping position.

5. You can jump-start your car without cables.

4. You've worn out the handle on your favorite coffee mug.

3. Starbuck's owns the mortgage on your house.

2. You're so wired you pick up FM radio.

1. Instant coffee takes too long.

God has His top ten list too, and God gave this list to Moses to pass on to Israel.  Though times have changed, God never does, and His top ten list stands today.  We need to know it, honor it, and live it.

GOD’S LIST TELLS US HOW TO LIVE WITH HIM IN VERSES 1-8: 

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.

God’s two main concerns are His Name and His creation, and both are addressed in this list. His name takes priority and comes first in the list. His creation comes next, “last but not least.”

Before God gave His list, He reminded them Who He is.  He is the God who delivered them and the God who was to be their Lord and their God. These same factors hold true for us today. God has not changed and  neither has His love and although our world is very different today in many superficial ways, God’s care for His people has not changed

God’s basic assertion here is that He is a monopoly. Although we believe in economics that the free market is the best design, God accepts no competition. God wants to be our only God and our only Lord. He wants to have our full attention. As Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Matthew also tells us in Chapter 10:31-33, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

Make no mistake, God is calling us to make Him our first priority! The only way we can live in harmony with Him is to make Him our first priority!

GOD’S LIST TELLS US HOW TO LIVE WITH PEOPLE IN VERSES 9-17:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

God loves His creation and He wants to protect it. After He created each thing, He said that it was good, and after He created people, He said it was very good. The horror of having His creation ruined by sin was unspeakable.

 When I was a company commander in the Army, one of my unit’s cooks was a young soldier who had just completed his training. During a field exercise he baked a beautiful cake for dessert which was ruined when a folding table he had placed it on collapsed. He was upset, but he went one to bake a second cake. When that one was accidentally knocked to the ground by a clumsy colleague, he was absolutely crushed to the point he almost burst into tears, yet the disappointment he felt was nothing compared to that of God when His creation was ruined by sin.

God’s list reminds us that when we sin against another person we sin against God. Jesus told us this when the prodigal son said he had sinned against God and his father. The person we offend is God’s creation and  that person is loved by God.  And, remember, Jesus died for the person we offend.

God’s list tells us how to live with:

• Our families.

• Our neighbors.

• Our employers.

• The rest of humanity

If we make God our first priority, that will affect all of our lives, including how we treat people, God’s greatest creation.

GOD’S LIST IS IMPOSSIBLE AS SEEN IN VERSES 18-21:

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 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” 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.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

The Israelites reacted to God’s list with fear. They were afraid of what they saw, and they were afraid of what they heard. They wanted to turn around and run.

We too, often want to run and hide, the way Adam and Eve did in the Garden. We know that we get distracted from our walk with God. We see how hard it is to live with family and neighbors and we can’t be honest with each other. As one lady used to say, “I told the truth as I knew it at the time.”

The Bible also confirms what we know instinctively: We are unable keep the Law of God. As Paul confessed in Romans 7:21-23, 

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

The Law does not save us, but it is valuable because does it show our weakness. It is like a mirror; it only reflects our life, and we get so frustrated with it we give up trying. In our own power there is no way to please God! The fault is not the law, which is good and right, but in our own character, which is weak, and frail, and limited.

GOD’S LIST IS FULFILLED IN CHRIST JESUS AS SEEN IN MATTHEW 5:17-20:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

God knows we can’t keep the Law, so He had two choices, either destroy us or help us. In righteousness He could have destroyed us, but in love He decided to help us. 

Jesus came to save us and fulfill the Law. He was totally righteous and fulfilled the Law completely. His dying paid the price for our failure to keep the law and His rising from the grave defeated the power of sin and so He gave us the power to keep the law.

Yet, God still expects us to respect His Law. God still expects us to be righteous and He still expects us to do things His way. He expects us to try to do the right thing. Paul said in Romans 6:14-18,

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.  What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Jesus fulfilled the law, not so we could ignore it, but so He could help us live it in His power.

CONCLUSION:

How are we doing with God’s Top Ten List? He expects us to pass the test, and He gives help to do that. Are we making the grade? If not, if we will repent, He will help!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt