The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 4: 2

(V. 2) You shall not add to the Word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

God has given us everything we need to know in order to live our lives in a godly manner (II Timothy 3:16). Anything we would add to it would only distort it. And anything we would take away from it would leave an opening for wrong to fill the gap. Both has been done.

"The Jews," the Jewish leadership in Jesus' day, had added so much to God's Law that Jesus accused them of being "whitewashed sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27) for adding to the Law all kinds of extra rules that would benefit themselves, at the expense of the people they were supposed to lead. 

And the Christian church in the Middle Ages subtracted the Second Commandment by combining it with the First so they could introduce idolatry by putting statues in the church buildings to be prayed to instead of God. This and other atrocities ("doctrines of demons") precipitated the Reformation.

Let's see what these 10 Commandments are:

Deuteronomy 5: 6-21

[Since] I am the Lord your God . . .

(1st) You shall have no other gods before (or besides) Me.

(2nd) You shall not make for yourself an idol (statue) in the form of anything (anywhere) . . .

(3rd) You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God (use for no purpose, like an expletive) . . .

(4th) Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy . . .

(5th) Honor your father and your mother . . .

(6th) You shall not murder.

(7th) You shall not commit adultery.

(8th) You shall not steal.

(9th) You shall not give false testimony (lie) against your neighbor.

and,

(10) You shall not covet (anything that belongs to your neighbor).

We cannot "break" these laws, we only break ourselves over them when we disobey them. 

I can give you many examples of how we are breaking our society over these Laws by disobeying the principles underlying them, but I'll only give one for each.

(1) We have priorities above or in addition to wanting to please God.

(2) There are statues in churches that the people are encouraged to pray to and light candles in front of, elevating these "saints" and "angels" into the position of God. 

(3) People all over, and even children, say, "O my God!" when it means nothing because it is not meant to be taken as a serious oath. 

(4) How many people work every day, not taking off a day each 7 in order to maintain their own good health and well-being or acknowledging God at all? Very common.

(5) People seem to have little respect for the elderly, instead devaluing them as past their ability to "contribute" to the society in which they live. 

(6) What about all the pre-born babies that are discarded as being inconvenient, or not "perfect"?

(7) Many marriages are destroyed by disobeying this one.

(8) We say, "Let the buyer beware" and "Finders keepers, losers weepers" and consider anything not against the civil laws to be okay, not considering the morality of the "business proposition."

(9) How many stories have I heard about people being paid to say what the payer wants them to say?

(10) So much of the adultery and legal stealing is the result of disobeying this commandment to not covet. Very prevalent all over.

I am sure you can think of many more examples of how our societies all over the World are disregarding these principles of righteousness, this moral path that God designed this Creation to operate by. It is the cause of every problem we have, every injustice and cruelty that is perpetrated against vulnerable people everywhere.

Let us "be careful" to know, remember, and live according to these guidelines. We cannot "break" these laws any more than we can "break" the Law of gravity--we only break ourselves and destroy our societies over them. 

O my Father, please help us: Help Your children in every family, every language, every tribe, every region, every society to follow Your path, even in the face of strong opposition. Protect Your children who are in the public eye as they proclaim Your righteousness: May all the weapons forged against them fail. 

Strengthen us to be courageous and not fear the opposition as we live our lives according to Your good ways, the path You have set each of our feet upon. Help us, O Lord, to continue to know Your Word and Your ways; and to go forth into the World scattering, broadcasting, the seed of Your Gospel, Your Good News for all people everywhere. To release the captives, heal the broken, and rescue the perishing. 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

That It May Go Well With You

Deuteronomy 4

(Vs. 7 & 8) No other Nation has a god like God Who is near to be called upon, or has laws so just and righteous as this Law.

(Vs. 15 & 23) Watch yourselves, it will be easy to be enticed from this path and wander.

(V. 24) For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

When we understand how holy, how separate, God is from anything He created, and how powerful He is, and how dangerous He is to our persons, then we will have that reverential respect that is called "the fear of the Lord." And then we will also perceive how He will not "share His glory" with anything else, He will not permit any created thing to steal the worship only He deserves. 

Jealousy is what we feel when we are about to lose something that is ours. Envy is coveting what belongs to another. A big difference. People tend to call envy, jealousy, not realizing what these words actually mean. God is precise in the words He had His writers use when recording His concepts. 

(V. 40) You shall keep His statutes and His commands which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you and that you may live long on the Land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.

When we understand how God's rules allow us to cooperate with how He made this World to work, then life will go more smoothly, and we'll know what is right to do about the troubles and problems that come up in life, and things will go well for us.

Since the principle underlying all these regulations is the foundation of Love, so when we love God and love our neighbor, we will be following all the statutes and commands and laws and rules He gave us. 

To do this we need to know them, and appreciate how they work out, and implement them into the way we live our lives.

Then, "things will go well for us," and, "we will live a long time."

God will enjoy seeing us enjoying what He does in the workings of this life, just like any parent enjoys seeing their children enjoying their lives. And since He planned it, He will get the credit, the glory, that He deserves. It's a win-win.

O my Father, You are so good, so great, so wise, so understanding; You love us so much, to lay out for us everything we need to do to please You by obeying what You gave us to do, and we will get all the benefits! Thank you, Father, that You are God, and we are not. No other god, no other intelligence, no other thing, that is created by You is worthy to direct us, or tell us what to do; but will be wrong in some point, and deceptive in convincing us to do it.

Help me to "be careful" to understand and live according to the whole body of the Law and the Prophets that You have given us to learn from. Teach me how to love You, and how to love my neighbor as I love myself. Teach me what True Love looks like, so I will not be deceived by any other affection. 

I want to "pay attention" to what You say, Father, and to how You love me. Then I will be living according to Your ways, not mine, and speaking Your words, not mine, from thinking Your thoughts, not mine.

Then You will be pleased to see me enjoying all Your good blessings in my life and in my family and in all my relationships. And You will get the credit, because that's how You planned it all out and designed it to work.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Be Strong, Don't Fear

Deuteronomy 31: 7-8

Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel,

God was not going to let Moses be the one to lead the people into the Promised Land. Moses wanted to make sure that the people would not be like sheep without a shepherd without him, and God told him to commission Joshua to lead them in his place.

So Moses gathered all the people together to witness this "passing of the baton" so they would know to listen to Joshua, and follow his lead. This was important.

So what did Moses say to him?

"Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the Land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.

And the Lord is the One Who goes ahead of you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

We tend to fear what we don't understand. They knew that the people who were already in this land were strong Nations with fortified cities, and that little Israel would not be able to stand against them alone. This is very concerting. Without outside help, this little Semite Nation would be obliterated by these "giants" who already had this place. Very scary.

That's why Moses kept telling Joshua not to fear, because the same God Who defeated Egypt would be going ahead of them to also defeat these people for them. It is God Who is giving them this Land, and He will fight for them, if they would only follow God's leading through Joshua. 

So Moses commissioned Joshua in the full sight of all Israel so there would be no doubt that he would be their commander. 

Everything is being set up for success for the family of Jacob to inherit the property that God chose for them, and everybody can live "happily ever after."

But this is no fairy tale, and human beings still have that "sin-nature," the "original sin" that we all inherit from Adam, which makes us vulnerable to be deceived by all the baubles and bangles and shiny things of this world. All the ideas and mind-sets that put money or things in first place in our priorities. These are the false gods all around us that entice us away from God. 

And all the beautiful women and handsome men of these peoples in the land were a very attractive enticement to these Children of Israel. That's why God told them not to pay any attention to them, but to keep their own God on the throne of their hearts. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, but did the people take to heart these warnings?

Do we take to heart these warnings? Our God does not change, and our enemy has never changed his tactics, either. Lucifer is still Satan, who entices each one of us with whatever would hook us into slavery to our own passions or desires or pleasures, looking for the "good life" this World offers. Instead of looking to God and learning His ways, the ways He designed this World to work on this Earth. 

So often it looks like the easy way will turn out just as good as the more difficult thing that we know is right. But when we do that, things just don't end up like we thought. We were deceived. If only we would trust God enough to just believe that His way is the only good way, even in the face of extenuating circumstances, even when they look like they will be impossible to take; that's when He will go before us and defeat our enemies for us, so we can take that good "land" He has given us. 

So, "Be strong and courageous; do not fear or be dismayed."

Always consider that the Maker of this whole Universe loves what He made, and enjoys seeing us enjoy what He does. So determine in your own heart to get to know this Creator, to trust Him to always do for us what is good for us, even when it seems painful at the moment. Understand that it will all turn out for your benefit, and for His glory in the end.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Don't Be Enslaved

Leviticus 26: 13

I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect, so you should not be their slaves.

God goes to every length to do everything He can (and only He can) to put His people into the most favorable position to choose to worship Him. That's how much He loves us. 

His people Israel saw His great and wonderful power against all the gods that were worshiped in Egypt, then saw Him destroy the entire army in the Red Sea. They will never need to worry that Pharaoh will ever come after them again.  

And He told them to demolish all the altars and shrines in this new land they will be going into, that God was giving them, and to be aware of their enticements, so they wouldn't be trapped by them. God doesn't want any of His people to be enslaved by anything, but to be free to do right and make the choices that will benefit them, to be for their own good. That's why God gave them all his rules, so that they would know what the best choices would be. 

And when we pay attention to the bigger picture of how all this works out in our lives, then we can understand that God wants to bless us, to give us all the good things He has provided in this life, and to be with Him forever.

He likes us. He loves us. He wants to spend time with us. And He wants us to spend eternity with Him. Relationship is the center of His program for us, that's why all His Law is based on Love.

He is God, there is no other. And He is in relationship with Himself: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is Love (I John 4:16). 

To know how to love Him, and to know how to love one another, we need to get to know Him, and get to know one another. You get to know someone by spending time with them, communicating with them, and being vulnerable to being known by them. That's how you form a connection. 

People do this all the time, because we are made to be social beings. People have Best Friends, they fall in love and get married. 

And God loves us already; He knows us intimately, and is in love with us passionately, as a newlywed husband is enamored with his new bride.

He called Israel His wife. And the Church today is the Bride of Christ. These terms were not thrown out there carelessly, but describe the precise relationship He wants us to want to have with Him. 

That's why He's so adamant about any other altar, or shrine, or idea of anything being more important to us than Himself. Anything that comes between us and God is an idol, a false god that will trap us. And it is like adultery against our Husband. He is the only One Who is worthy of our attention and devotion. He alone is God. 

And that's why I love to study His love-letter to me. No matter how deeply I delve into its mysteries, I feel that I've only barely scraped the surface. 

God delivered me from the yoke of slavery to relationships when He showed me that His relationship with me was what I was really looking for. He is my espoused Husband, and I need no other. 

Then God gave me my husband for 30 years, then He took him away. If He brings me another husband before Jesus returns, that would be a wonderful blessing to me. 

But I refuse to be trapped into any kind of romantic relationship with anyone who may not be my Father's choice for me, so I have put a guard on my heart. I love to meet new people, and if God's choice for me comes across my path, then I will depend on my Father to make it known to me that this would be the one for me. 

Meanwhile, I will continue to do what lies before me to accomplish, always looking to see what wonder my Father has in store for me "today." And looking for the return of my forever Husband, my Lord and my King.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Approaching God

Exodus 40

This chapter describes the setting up of the Tabernacle for the first time.

Moses set up everything in order, in the order God told him to. He had made everything just like God had showed him in the Pattern (the Original in Heaven), now he set it all up. And now the Cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the Glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. This sanctified (set apart) the Tabernacle, and the Ark with its Mercy Seat, where God sat in the Cloud between the cherubim. 

This made the Ark too dangerous to be close to, so was shielded by the veil, the Tent over the Tabernacle and the covering over it, as well as the Levites camping around it, between the Tabernacle and the other Tribes. 

Our God is a Consuming Fire--much too dangerous to approach lightly.

That's why there are so many rules and regulations about the Priesthood and the Levitical Order, so these men will be safe when they take care of all the Tabernacle business.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The Peoples And Their Lands

Deuteronomy 2: 17-19

The Lord said to me, "Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot." 

Verses 20-23 give three examples of how God is the One Who determines which Nations will live in which lands: The Ammonites who drove the Rephaites out and settled in their place; the descendents of Esau who destroyed the Horites in Seir and lived in their place; and the Caphtorites destroying the Avvites and settled in their place. 

God says He determined that these peoples would live in these lands, even when they declared war on the inhabitants and destroyed them all.

God has determined that Israel will have all the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The people who want little Israel to give up even the land they acquired in the miraculous "6-Day War" are deceived by the enemy, who hates all of God's people.

I pray for "the peace of Jerusalem" every day, especially since our president has declared it to be Israel's capital. Almost every president since 1947-48 has said he would, but only President Trump has had the intestinal fortitude to actually do it. Another sign that we are in the end of the end times. Jesus is coming soon.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The Great Shama

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is One!

This is "the Great Shama," that every Israelite is to recite every day. Shama' is the first word of this verse, meaning, "to hear intelligently, to listen carefully to obey." Israel is to understand that our God is the only One Who is God, and is not any of the other gods that are worshiped among the other peoples.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

God is to be so precious to His people that they are to love Him back with all they are: their emotions, their thinking processes, and their physical strength in all they do. 

And these words that I am commanding you today shall be on your heart; 

We are to consider His Law to be the best and most valuable and most useful and profitable system of living in this World, over every other lifestyle. If we do love God like we say we do, then we want to do what He tells us to do, we will want to please Him.

And you shall teach them diligently to your sons [and daughters] and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

We are to teach our children continually how God's ways will bring the best good to us in our lives at every opportunity, from breakfast time through doing the daily chores and marketing to sitting at dinner and going to bed again. All day long, at home or away, whatever we're doing, in the company of whoever we are doing business with, and alone on the road or in the living room. Every part of every day relates to how God is good to us in showing us His ways to cooperate with how He designed this World to operate, and it will work well for us for our good as we apply it in our lives.

And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

This is like saying, "Tie a string around your finger," to be constantly reminded to apply God's system of Law to every part of every day life. To be aware of how practical God's ways are to our living every day. 

And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

And make known to everyone who approaches your property and your dwelling that you follow God's ways.

God is God, there is no other, none other is anything like our God at all. He is our Maker, our Creator, Who designed everything to work in an orderly fashion, so that everything would progress in the most pleasant and fun way for us, who He loves more than we can imagine.

Do you have children? Do you want your children to live good lives? Lives that are pleasant, fulfilling, and fun? Do you want your children's lives to be meaningful and happy? Of course you do. And you would do whatever you think would help them to do that, won't you?

God has done the same for us. He has made this Earth for us, made us of it, and placed us here. Then He chose one family to give His rules for living to, and if they would follow it, then all the other families would see how wonderful it worked out for them and want to have wonderful lives too, and worship God, instead of all the false gods out there.

Now that Jesus has fulfilled over 400 of the "pictures" God gave us of Messiah, and His Death fulfilled all the sacrificial laws, His Resurrection guarantees a new life for each of us who belong to Him. Now His Holy Spirit of Truth lives in each of us to teach us His ways, and strengthen us to follow it. 

And we are to teach our children every day how good God is and how good He is to us to show us how to live our lives every moment of every day. Then He will bless us with the consequences of our cooperating with how He designed it all to work. 

And also teach them how Jesus is our Lamb of God, the sacrificial offering that was given for each of us individually to atone for our sins and our sinfulness that we were born into. God saves each of us individually, one by one, so that is how Jesus fulfilled that first sacrifice (in Leviticus chapter 1), to save us. 

He also fulfilled the corporate sacrifice that the High Priest was to offer for the whole Nation each year on the Day of Atonement to purchase the whole Earth. That makes Him our Owner by both Creation and by purchase, which gives Him the authority to judge us. 

So if you consider yourself one of many He died for, then you are still under judgment. We all deserve death, and when God calls you to Himself He will give you the gift of faith to believe that Jesus took Your place in death. That's His grace to us, His goodness that we don't deserve. But He considers us worth it.

That's how much God loves us; more extensively than we can ever imagine. No strings attached. It's all of God, for our benefit and His glory.

Even so, come. Lord Jesus!