SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 5
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14] At Mount Sinai, the Word (message) of God came as blazing fire, cloud, deep darkness and stone tablets. But with Jesus, God’s Word becomes flesh – human, personal. Moses was the human messenger through whom God spoke then; Jesus is the ultimate human messenger, God Himself personally revealing Himself in the flesh, full of grace and truth: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” [John 1:17-18].
The glory of God revealed through Moses was frightening; the glory of God revealed through Jesus was inviting. The message of the Law was the magnitude of sin; the message of Jesus was the greater magnitude of grace. These two messages do not oppose each other, the former precedes the latter in a necessary way. We need to know the seriousness of sin in order to appreciate and seek the wonder of grace. God uses the history of humanity and Israel prior to Jesus coming to make the point: there is something seriously wrong in us, and we need God’s help to fix it.
God is still holy. His will is still right and necessary. We should honour and respect God as God, and not treat Him as less than this. And yet, we should not forget that this holy God, frightening to imagine in the fullness of His glory, has chosen to reveal Himself primarily through the person of Jesus. He could choose fire and cloud and deep darkness as His primary mode of appearance, but then love would not be the mode of relating to Him. We would cower, we would look away, we would respond with fright. God, Who is holy, does not want this. He desires us to love Him. To relate personally to Him according to the truth. Grace and truth.
We no longer approach God at a mountain of fire. We approach God in dusty sandals and a beard. We relate to God personally, as followers, as friends, as much-loved children. We love and obey Him not primarily because He says so, but primarily because He loves us and we love Him. We can have a personal, life-changing relationship with the Almighty God. Amazing grace!
PRAYER:
Lord, I fear You with deep, tender fear. I approach You boldly not because I am good, but because You are good! I choose to obey because I love You!
Stop! Look. Listen. This was an early rule we teach our children. I must continue to apply that rule to my own life still today.
It is a mighty God whom I serve, but all too often I am so busy doing my own thing that I need to stop in my busyness. Where am I? What am I doing?
I need to look and see God. My mighty God did reveal Himself in awesome ways – fire, cloud, bush, soft voice, angels, etc. Where is He in my life. How will I serve Him this day? How will I walk in His Light this day? All made a reality through the blood of Christ.
As I work in His vineyard this day I need to hear His voice in all I do and say. Follow Me He tells me and you will have real Life. It is by obeying I need not fear the law. It is by grace I have found happiness. It is in His presence I serve. It is in His power I can do all things. It is by obeying His rules I am strong and more than a conquerer. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Trust and obey. That’s the only way that I can live from day to day. help me this day Lord to put You first so I may have life indeed as You have promised.
Savior, teach me day by day
Love’s sweet lesson to obey,
Sweeter lesson cannot be,
Loving Him Who first loved me.
With a child’s glad heart of love
At Thy bidding may I move,
Prompt to serve and follow Thee,
Loving Him Who first loved me.
Teach me thus Thy steps to trace,
Strong to follow in Thy grace,
Learning how to love from Thee,
Loving Him Who first loved me.
Love in loving finds employ,
In obedience all her joy;
Ever new that joy will be,
Loving Him Who first loved me.
Thus may I rejoice to show
That I feel the love I owe;
Singing, till Thy face I see,
Of His love Who first loved me.
aaaaaah rules! Sometimes we like them, sometimes we hate them. Rules are great because you know exactly where you are. Relationships (as other people have said) are messy. They have to be worked at. Nothing is clear cut.
Rules though are hard to keep; if you are like me, you want to break them just because they are there. Relationship then is easier because you can negotiate. I will do this and not that and the same for you….
However, if you talk about God and His rules and relationships you have to think about Who you are dealing with; Master, Creator, King of the world, Being who loves us more than we can ever imagine.
You would think that I would love to obey any of His rules and relish being in a relationship with Him… and I do! I am so thankful! But recently I dislike some of the rules… the ones that are personal for me, the ones that mean I have to behave a certain way for my health, so I cannot do what I want, when and where I want. They are for my own personal health, I should be thankful that I can know how to be healthier, but I am not! Why can’t You just heal me God?
So I crank and kick and disobey and confess and apologize. I try again and ask for help. And the Giant God, fearsome God of the fiery mountain, and the tender, loving, Savior God, Who treasures me, keeps on patiently caring and teaching and forgiving me -and working on our relationship.
I need that Immovable Wall that says this is the way it is, It makes me safe, It is the same Rock that will never let me go. And I am glad that God is both, the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. He knows what is Good, I do not.