crumbs57

 

Crumbs from the Master ‘s Table 57

Moses

Scripture Exodus 19:3 NIV

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel

Exodus 20:1-17NIV

20 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Crumbs

The work God did on Moses resulted in the moral compass that has been used by billions. Volumes have been written. I shall make three basic observations .

1. Unity The Law is not like an old fashioned school examination in which you can chose the bits you attempt. If you break one bit you have broken it all. ( James 2: 10) It may be convenient to think of the first five commandments as about our relationship with God and the others about our relationship with our neighbours. But the prodigal in Luke 15 realised that a sin against his earthly father was a sin against heaven. In Matthew 22: 37-39 our Lord shows how the Law’s demands to love God are inter-related the love we should have for our neighbour. Indeed the Law forms the basis of all divine revelation,

2. Eternity In Matthew 5 : 17-19 Jesus explains that the Law stands through out His dealings with us. The Law is always there. There is no mitigation. In His teaching He deepens the law to our very thought lives. ( Matthew 5:28 New King James Version  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.)

3, Remedy
New King James Version Galatians 3:24 " Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." We have all sinned. The Law lies broken at our feet, Only when we are broken by the Law will God’s grace come in to save us. By this I mean when the Law has opened our eyes to our sin then the grace of Christ saves us through faith.

Questions

1. If the Law does not save us, what use is it? 2. Do the ten commandments apply only to individuals ? 3. What part does the Law play in our salvation ?