Lesson 6: 10 Commandments

Scripture

Exodus: 20:1-17

Quick Summary

Moses went up Mt. Sinai and brought down 10 rules written on stone by the finger of God. Here are God’s rules for the Hebrews/Israelites to live by:

1. God is 1^st
2. No idols
3. Honor God’s Name
4. Remember to Rest (Sabbath)
5. Honor Mom and Dad
6. No Murdering
7. No cheating on people (Adultery)
8. No Stealing
9. No Lying (False Testimony against neighbor)
10. No being jealous of others’ stuff (coveting)

The Point

God’s gives us rules to live by.

Questions for Family Time

1.     Have your kid show you the 10 commandment motions.

2.     Which is the easiest Commandment to follow? Which is the hardest?

Deeper

            It started with just 10 commandments in the desert. Few enough for God to put everything on stone tablets that could easily be carried around. But as the Hebrews became the Israelite and settled in the Promised Land, the rules expanded. Then those rules expanded. By the time the Old Testament was done being written there were 613 rules to live by. By the time Jesus came along, the religious leaders had added to the written laws an entire verbal tradition known as the Tradition of the Elders.
            When I was growing up, we had cattle, and around their pasture was an electric fence. That fence was not to hurt them, but to protect them from the dangers that lay beyond the fence. It protected them from the busy roads and kept them from getting lost. That fence was a boundary for their own good. Much like that, God’s 10 commandments acted as a fence to protect his people from getting lost without God, and from endangering themselves and others. Out of respect for God’s laws, the religious leaders added more laws to make sure they didn’t break God’s laws. It was like adding a second fence to keep people from touching the first. However, many of these laws missed the whole point of God’s original commandments, which was to love God and love others. That is why so often in the New Testament we find Jesus breaking the Tradition of the Elders. Jesus saw how unrealistic these rules were for the average Jew to follow perfectly and that some missed the point completely.
            Maybe you have noticed some modern day churches that have fallen in the same trap. Rules that aren’t realistic or in the Bible for that matter become mandatory for those who want to be part of the community. It’s often because of these rules that Christians are labeled as judgmental. That description usually isn’t placed on us because we believe murder is a bad idea. If that has been your experience with church, I hope this helps explain how we get into that trap, and I ask that you would have grace with us as well. I also want to let you know, that at LUMC we do our best to follow the two rules that Jesus summed all the other rules up with: Love God and Love others. Those two are enough work for us to focus on, and we can’t be judgmental and do them well. So I encourage you to put those two rules as the ones you give priority to over all others.
           

Personal Reflection

1.     What are the traditional rules that you follow that keep you from Loving God and Loving others?