PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Exodus 19-20
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“So that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” (Exodus 20:20)
God is training a slave nation whose views of God were formed over 400 years in Egypt.
God loves them as a “treasured possession”, and has a bold vision for them.
What will set them apart is that they are loved, and that they are loving.
Love God, love people, and don’t do anything that hates or hurts others.
The message is love, but the medium seems to be shock and awe.
Is God frightening them into obedience, or is God re-forming their hearts and minds.
For 400 years in Egypt, hate, hurt, abuse, lying, stealing, killing was the law.
And the gods supported this unloving system of cruelty and injustice.
No more, says God; you must hate unloving behaviour, for it is evil.
Do we see unloving thoughts, words and deeds as evil – to be feared, resisted, hated?
Have we become careless about our unloving ways, accommodating to an unloving world?
God takes lack of love seriously, and wants to impress on us how bad it really is.
So seriously that God will suffer and die to break its grip and set us free from it.
God is saving me from the hell of loveless living, and inviting me into the goodness of love.
PRAYER
Lord, your law is love, and you also hate unloving thoughts, words and deeds. Impress this message deep in my soul, to keep me from sinning too!
“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.” God is Holy and everything He instructs the people to do – are for them to observe that God is not just like anyone else. God is approachable but it must respect who He is. Adam and Eve had a simple marker of obedience – God wanted the Israelites to be special but it had conditions they had to observe: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” We are special too – we come God’s children through Jesus – Lord help me to be obedient and devoted to you as your ‘treasured possession’!
God speaks to His people. ‘Do this and live. Live and do this.’
He has given His Word to us on how we should live. He needs to be first in our lives. All for Jesus. His will be done. I need to talk with the Lord in all things and His Way must be my desire to keep me from sinning. Today I need to walk in His SonShine – walking and talking with my Lord.
Walking And Talking With Jesus Smoothes The Rugged Way.
Walking And Talking With Jesus Brings The Light Of Day;
Walking And Talking With Jesus Fills The Heart With Love;
Walking And Talking With Jesus Is Like Heaven Above.