Commandments

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Good morning Chapel family. We are taking the summer of 2021 to walk through the book of Exodus. And today we come to another very well-known scene: the giving of the Ten Commandments. What’s the first thing that comes into your mind when you think about the Ten Commandments? I’m going to guess that for some of you, it stirs up positive emotions—it’s comforting to know that there are objective standards of right and wrong—especially in a culture that seems so lost. For some of you it’s not so positive—it brings memories of a very strict, legalistic church experience you had as a child—so you associate it with feelings of guilt and shame. Some of you probably think about Charlton Heston, in the classic movie, carrying the tablets down the mountain. Maybe for some, it brings visions of political battles over whether the Ten Commandments should be posted in public courthouses and schools. It’s a topic that tends to stir up strong emotions.

But what I’d like to do today is to get beyond some of that emotion, and look at the Ten Commandments in the broader context in which they were given. Remember: the people of Israel were on this epic journey between here and there—between slavery in Egypt and their new home in the Promised Land. And God was using this time to shape them and prepare them for life in this new community they were about to form. So we’ve been saying every week that the story of the Israelites is our story: God is taking each one of us from where we are to the better future he has for us. And part of that process is for us to understand the moral commands of God.

So let’s read our Scripture, and then we’ll talk about it. Exodus 19, verse 1. In invite you now to hear the Word of God…

1 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

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: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 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 will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Now go to chapter 20, verse 1…

1 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 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.

Go to verse 7: 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.

Verse 12: 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.” This is the Word of the Lord.

Now—those are the Ten Commandments. But if you keep reading, God gives a lot of additional commands—in fact, it goes all the way through chapter 23—three more chapters of commands! So let’s start by asking the question: what’s the purpose of God’s commands?

And let’s first talk about what the purpose is not. A lot of people assume that the purpose of the commands is sort of a checklist that qualifies people to be accepted by God. Like, if I do a pretty good job keeping these rules, God will accept me; if I fall beneath a certain level, God won’t. But right at the beginning of this passage, that view gets challenged. In Exodus 19:4, God says ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. In other words, the first thing I want you to remember is how you got here.

Here’s a strange thought: if you had to get from here to New York, and the only transportation available was to ride on the back of a giant eagle (just go with me on this), what would you do? What part would you play in that journey? To hold on. Right? That’s the only thing you would have to do—just grab some feathers, and let yourself be carried. And that’s the image that God uses. He says, “The way you got here—the way you got free, and got into this special relationship with me, is that I carried you. It’s not because of anything you did! You just held on for the ride.”

And here’s the thing: when that happened, not a single command had been given yet. Right? Most people think: I need to obey the rules, and then God will accept me. And God says, “You’ve got it backwards! You get accepted by me, and then we can talk about rules.”

The Bible calls that “grace.” If you don’t grasp grace—if you believe that God’s love and acceptance of you are determined by your obedience to the rules, you will live in fear and insecurity and self-doubt…and you won’t be free. So before we talk about the purpose of God’s commands, let’s be really clear what it’s not: it’s not a list of rules you have to keep in order for God to accept you.

So…what is the purpose? From this passage, I see four purposes of God’s commands.

First: Intimacy with God. In verse 5, God says Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. So you are in this relationship because of my grace—I carried you on eagle’s wings. But if you obey me, the quality of this relationship will be different. You will be my treasured possession. That’s the language of intimacy. It’s the language of love. When we think about God’s commands, God doesn’t want us to view them as this impersonal list of rules. They’re more like an extension of His heart. So here’s the point: when you love someone, you naturally want to find out what pleases that person, and do those things. So it’s not this duty—”Oh, geez—what’s on the list?” There’s an eagerness to please the one you love.

When a couple is getting ready for marriage at the Chapel, we do this little exercise called the “Wish List.” And it’s really simple. The counselor asks each person to take sheet of paper, and list out three things you wish your fiancée would do differently or more often. So you can put deep things, like “I wish you would share your feelings with me more often” (those really freak out some of the guys); or it can be lighter things, like “I wish you would text me more often during the day .” So both people make their list, and then here’s the interesting part: with the counselor watching, they take turns telling their fiancée what their three things are.

And I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about the relationship by the response of the person who’s receiving the requests. So imagine you’re sitting there, and you’re engaged, and your fiancée says to you: “I wish you would text me more often during the day.” Some people respond very logically: “Well, honey, you know that’s impossible because I’m way too busy at work—I’ve told you that.” Some people respond defensively: “What are you talking about? I text you all the time!” But sometimes, the response is receptive and caring and willing. Even if it’s not such an easy solution! There’s an attitude that says, “If this is important to you, I’m going to find a way to do it, because I love you.”

Now, bring that into your spiritual life. In his commands, God is telling us, “Here’s how you can love me better.” What’s your mindset toward his commands? Do they feel like a burden? Or do you find yourself eager to please the One who loves you? The one who poured out his grace and rescued you from slavery and brought him to himself on eagle’s wings. And now you get to say, “What can I do to please you? It’s my joy—it’s my privilege—to walk in your ways.” 2 Corinthians 5:9 says, “We make it our goal to please him.” And the more we have that attitude, the deeper the intimacy of our relationship.

Okay—second purpose of the Law is Community with People. In verse 6, God says “I’m going to make you into a ‘holy nation.’” In other words, these commands will equip you to live in your new land, in a kind of community that’s different than anything the world has ever seen.

Lots of people have pointed out that the first four of the Ten Commandments are about relating to God, which means the last six are all about relating to people: don’t lie to them or steal their possessions or commit adultery with their spouses, etc. So six out of ten—the majority—are about community. And then, when you read all those other commands in Exodus 20 through 23, I would say most of them fit in that same category: they are relational commands.

For example—let me give you three quick examples of this. Exodus 23:4 says 4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it. In other words, “love your enemies.” Choose to actively do good to people who hate you, even when you have an opportunity to get some revenge, or put them in their place, or watch them get the justice you believe they deserve. That’s pretty radical, right? And it’s beautiful. If people really acted like that, wouldn’t that create a very special kind of community?

Here’s another example—Exodus 23:8…8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent. In the ancient world, bribery was extremely common. But God says, “This new community that I’m forming is going to be different. So when you’re in a position of judging a legal dispute, and you’re offered a bribe, don’t accept it.” Because when bribery happens, who wins? The rich! They’re the ones who can afford to pay a bribe. And that will lead to the rich oppressing the poor. So God was giving a vision of a community where the poor are treated just as fairly as the rich. True justice.

And then one more—Exodus 22, verses 21 and 22: 21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt. 22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.” In other words, pay special attention to the weak and the socially disadvantaged and the outsider. The natural thing is for the strong to exploit the weak. Right? But God says, “Not in this new community that I’m building. You of all people should understand how it feels to be an outsider—because you were foreigners in Egypt! So when you find yourself as the insiders, let that always remind you to show compassion and justice for the weaker members of society.”

This is a beautiful vision, isn’t it?

Back when I was in college, I was spiritually searching. I just didn’t know what I believed. And I made a lot of dumb decisions, but one really good decision was to get connected with a Christian student group on campus. From the start, I started noticing how they treated one another. It was different from what I saw in the dorm and the fraternity. In the dorm and the frat I saw lots of mocking and belittling and gossip and backstabbing. But this campus ministry was a group of people from all kinds of backgrounds, and they included one another; they supported one another; they dealt with conflicts graciously. I’m not saying they were perfect, but they were different. I was witnessing biblical community, and I was drawn to it.

Jesus said in John 13, “This is how people will know you’re my disciples: (you know what he said?) By how you love one another.” And as the people were getting ready to enter the Promised Land, God said, “Here are the Laws that will help you to love one another in this new community.” Think about that: God’s commands make our relationships better and more joyful.

Okay: here’s the third purpose of God’s commands, and specifically the Ten Commandments: they give you Insight into Yourself. Here’s what I mean. It’s pretty clear that when you read the Ten Commandments, the most important one comes first. What’s Commandment number one? “You shall have no other gods before me.” And in many ways, that’s the glue that holds all the other commandments together. Martin Luther said that when the first commandment is observed, all the others follow. Isn’t that interesting?

So here’s what that means: when I find myself breaking one of the other commandments, if I look deeply into myself to see what’s driving that, it’s because I’m putting some other thing in the place of God. And if that’s true, it kind of simplifies things, right? Because it means that every problem—in your life—in my life—in my family—every problem we have is, at its root, an idolatry issue. And if we can understand what that idol is, then, with God’s help, we can shatter that idol and deal with that problem.

Let me give you two quick examples. Let’s say I have a problem with truth-telling. So when I’m talking with people, I don’t even really plan to do it, but I find myself saying things that are not really aligned with the truth. For example, maybe I tell you, “Every morning, I get up at 5:00, and spend two hours in prayer.” Which is not true—I usually get up more like 6 or 6:30, and I rarely spend two solid hours in prayer. But I read about people like Billy Graham and Martin Luther praying like that, so I just stretch the truth. And you say, “Pastor Dave—that’s lying! You are breaking the ninth commandment, and that’s bad—especially for a pastor. You should stop doing that.” Okay, you’re right! But you telling me that is never going to change me! Right? That’s not how humans work.

Because here’s the deeper question: what’s driving me to lie? And more specifically, when I’m lying, what false god—what idol—am I worshiping? Well, I’m stretching the truth because I want you to think I’m a super-spiritual pastor who prays constantly. I care too much about your opinion. So in that case, I’m worshiping the idol of human approval. I’m actually putting that ahead of the true God.

So if I have a lying problem, I don’t need someone to tell me to stop breaking commandment number 9! I need someone to show me that in the gospel, my approval and my acceptance are totally settled because of Christ…so I can repent of that idol. So now, when I’m talking with you, my approval is not at stake—so I don’t need to look for it in you. So I’m free to just be…honest! “Some mornings, I oversleep and I only pray for 5 minutes.” How freeing.

One more example: let’s say I have a problem with buying things. I’m in this constant cycle of upgrading my cars, or improving my wardrobe, or I’m always shopping online for cool tech gadgets. And I’m running up debt, because I’m never content. And you say, “Pastor Dave, you’re breaking the tenth commandment. Stop coveting all that stuff you don’t have—just knock it off.” Well, okay…but the question is, why am I doing it? What idol am I putting before God? And it could be several things. It could be the idol of significance. So there’s a part of me that believes if I could just have that thing, I would be respected and important. Or it could be the idol of comfort and pleasure. Or the idol of security: having a nicer car makes me feel secure and wealthy.

So if I have a coveting problem, I don’t need someone to show me the list and tell me to stop breaking number 10! I need to deeply believe that in the gospel, my significance and my deepest joy and my security are totally provided in Christ. And now, when I see that new thing being advertised, I can see it for what it is. It’s nice…but I just don’t need it.

So do you see the point? Because the first commandment tells me to have no other gods besides God, it gives me insight into my own heart, and helps me understand what my idols are. And that’s a huge step toward becoming the person God wants me to be. We are our best selves—our God-intended selves—when the throne of our heart is occupied by the one true God. Amen?

So…what’s the purpose of God’s commands? They bring intimacy with God, they create community with people, and they give me insight into my own heart.

So Moses has been up on the mountain receiving God’s commands. In chapter 24, he comes down from the mountain, he writes down everything God has told him; the next morning he gets up and builds an altar at the foot of the mountain, and they offer sacrifices on the altar. And here’s what happens next—Exodus 24, verse 7: 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” 8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

So the people hear all the commands, and they say, “Absolutely! We’ll do it!” And then Moses does this strange thing: he takes blood from the sacrifices, and he sprinkles it on the people. Why? Because despite the people’s good intentions, Moses knew—and God knew—they would never be able to obey all the commands. They just couldn’t do it. Which was a huge problem, because God is perfectly holy and pure, and by his very nature he has to judge imperfection and sin. At the same time, God deeply loved these people, and he wanted to live in covenant relationship with them. So what did God do? He came up with a way to be perfectly just, and perfectly loving at the same time. He provided a substitute to be judged in place of the people. So that sprinkled blood was a reminder that even though God knew they would mess up, they would be okay—because they were covered by the blood of the sacrifice.

And that leads to the final purpose of God’s commands: Dependence on Christ. We’re really no different from that group of Israelites at the bottom of Mt. Sinai 1,400 years ago. We have good intentions of living good lives, right? We want to be people who don’t lie or steal or covet our neighbor’s stuff…but inevitably, we wind up doing it.

Do you remember how Paul described his struggle with this? Romans 7: 18b For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Can you relate to that? Of course! The sins we struggle with can be very deep seated, and hard to conquer. And you can either let that drive you crazy, or you can let it drive you to Christ. So let me tell you three things you’ll find if you let the Law drive you to Christ.

First, you’ll find perfection. In Matthew chapter 5:17, Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” In other words, “Don’t you dare dismiss the moral laws of God! I have not come to abolish the Law…I’ve come to fulfill it!” And he did. Jesus actually lived out the Commandments! So if you want to get the clearest picture of what it looks like to follow God’s law, look at Jesus! He’s the only person in history who ever pulled that off. Perfection!

Secondly, in Christ you’ll find pardon. One of the greatest verses in the Bible—Romans 8, verse 1: Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation! See, that blood that was sprinkled on the people at the bottom of Mt. Sinai—and the blood from countless other sacrifices over the next 1,400 years, all culminated in the final sacrifice of Jesus. Because of what he did on the cross, we are pardoned of all our failures to live up to God’s law. Let me ask you: do you beat yourself up for your failures? God doesn’t. He hates the sin, just like you do! But he loves you, deeply and personally, because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So stop living in guilt. Get up and move forward.

And then third, when you come to Christ, you’re going to find power. In John 15, Jesus said, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” See, if you don’t have Christ, the commandments of God are depressing and frustrating and completely unrealistic. But as you cultivate your walk with Christ, you’ll find yourself with the power to do what you couldn’t do before—because the resurrection life of Christ will be flowing through you. Would you allow yourself to get excited about that? Think about those besetting sins that you’ve struggled with—maybe it is lying or buying too much stuff. Maybe it’s anxiety or porn or overeating or anger. Jesus says, “As you remain in me—just like a plug stays plugged into the outlet—my life will flow through you, and you’re going to have power to resist that temptation, and actually keep the commands of God.” As you remain in Christ, you’re going to find yourself rising above those things that used to enslave you, and walking in freedom. One victory at a time. Not by your own power; by the power of Christ. So lean into him. Take him up on his offer.

Let me close with this. Psalm 119:32 says I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. Isn’t that an awesome thought? God had set the people of Israel free! And through Christ, he’s set us free—he’s brought us to himself on eagle’s wings. So as freed people, let’s run in the path of his commands. You know, sometimes people make it seem like obeying God is a boring way to live. “Loosen up! Live a little! You don’t have to be so good all the time!” But I’m going to tell you something: obeying God…doing what’s right…choosing light over darkness…is the most freeing, enjoyable, happy way you can possibly live. His commands are beautiful. So run in the path of God’s commands! Not because you have to! But because you love him so much, and you can’t think of anything more awesome than pleasing him.