Sunday Message: Just beyond the Ten Commandments

I woke up this morning with the Ten Commandments on my mind.  I thought about a post that would put them up against the political leanings and actions of both sides here in America; but on putting actual thought to it, I saw it as an act of self-justification, and the only one who can justify me is Christ.  So I left that in God's hands and went down to read my Bible chapters for today.  One of them was Exodus 20.


That's right.  The chapter where God gives Moses the Ten Commandments.  I know when I'm being hit over the head.

But there was something that came right afterwards that really caught me today:


Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunders, and the lightnings, and the sound of the ram's horn, and the smoking mountain. And the people looked, and they trembled, and they stood from a distance. 
Exo 20:19  And they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear. And let us not speak with God, that we not die. 
Exo 20:20  And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid, for God has come in order to test you, and so that His fear may be on your faces, that you may not sin. 
Exo 20:21  And the people stood from a distance, and Moses went near the thick darkness where God was. 

Four things happened here.  First, the people got a glimpse- just a glimpse- of what God was like.  And they got scared.  But I want to note that, this fear did NOT stop them from serving other gods, either long after nor forty days later, while Moses was on the mountain.  In the next few weeks, my Wednesday Bible Study will be working on the concept of Fear of the Lord.  Fear meaning reverence due for the Power He shows.  It begins a progression that leads to wisdom and hope, among many other gifts.  But this is plain fear, because they have NO relation to God at this point.  And because that fear overwhelmed them, they did the second thing...

...which is telling Moses to speak and listen to God FOR them.  Learning about the God who had just saved them physically from both Egypt and dying of thirst was not as important to them as their own miserable hides.  Too afraid to come to God, too afraid of the consequences to do anything about it, so they foisted the job of "knowing God" on someone else.

So Moses, while recognizing that the people in their fear had judged rightly about physically approaching God, knew that they were not getting the picture on what they SHOULD do.  He explained to them the four things that they needed to progress with God.  First, they had to put aside that fear.  After all, hadn't God done all these things for them?  Then, they needed to understand that this great manifestation of their God was there to test their hearts, to prove them on whether they would love, worship, and follow Him.   Thirdly, they had to have "His fear on their faces"- they had to be willing to act on the reverence God was due.  And finally, they would have to be obedient- they would need to NOT SIN.

And in the fourth verse, we see that they did NONE of these things.  They just stood at a distance in their fear.  And they watched as Moses, who was growing closer to God, disappeared into the "thick darkness from their perspective.

And people haven't changed in four thousand years.

" I don't want to get involved."

"I'll listen to what the preacher says, even if I don't understand it."

"Read the Bible?  Who has the time?"

"You Christians just want to take away my right to do as I please."

Let me point out the negative progression of Exodus.

Starting point:  God has rescued them.  Some liked that, some didn't.

The Promise:  God promised that if they did the four things that Moses explained, and lived their lives based on those Ten Commandments, they would become a Royal Priesthood on Earth.  They would serve God, and humanity would serve them.

Their response:  "Leave me alone!  I want to go back to Egypt!  Leave me in my sin and suffering.  Leave me IN WHAT I AM USED TO."

Result:  Every one of them DIED IN THE DESERT.

The progression hasn't changed in four thousand years, either.  Think on it.