God Gave the Ten Commandments (6/18/23)
Exodus 19-20
Session Notes:
As the rescued people of Israel traveled toward the promised land, God met with Moses at Mount Sinai and made a covenant with the Israelites. We refer to this covenant as the Mosaic covenant. God promised five things in this covenant: 1) Israel will be God’s own possession; 2) Israel will be God’s kingdom of priests; 3) Israel will be a holy nation; 4) God will defend Israel from her enemies; and 5) God will be gracious, merciful, and forgiving to Israel.
Unlike His covenant with Abraham, God’s covenant with Israel was conditional: “Carefully follow every command I am giving you” (Deut. 8:1). “Be careful that you don’t forget the Lord your God by failing to keep his commands” (Deut. 8:11). “If you ever forget the Lord your God ... you will certainly perish.” (Deut. 8:19). Isn’t it interesting how remembering God and obeying Him are so closely linked? You spend the most time thinking about that which you most care about. What occupies the most space in your mind? If we aren’t thinking about God, we aren’t loving Him. And if we aren’t loving Him, we aren’t obeying Him.
We can group the Ten Commandments into two categories: The first four deal with a person’s relationship with God (love God), and the last six deal with a person’s relationship with others (love others). These laws encompassed every part of the Israelites’ lives and showed what righteous living looks like.
Some people think of the Ten Commandments as a burden, but God’s rules are good and are meant to help us. The Bible is clear that we are all sinful and fall short of God’s standard for holiness. Why should we seek to obey God? Consider Jesus’ words: “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15).
Read the Ten Commandments with Jesus in mind. Our obedience cannot earn us God’s favor, and our disobedience does not separate us from Him. God is pleased with us because He looks at Jesus, who never sinned.
Because of Christ, we have a right relationship with God. He gives us power through the Holy Spirit to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37,39).
BIG IDEAS
CHRIST CONNECTION:
God gave us rules to show that He is holy. Sin keeps us away from God, but Jesus came to bring us back to Him. Jesus never sinned. We can trust Him to forgive our sin.
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BIG PICTURE QUESTION:
What is worship? Worship is celebrating the greatness of God.