Thursday's reading comes from Exodus 20 vs 1-17
We call them the 10 commandments, but I have to admit that it took me a couple of goes reading through the passage to find all ten!
The last 6 commandments are pretty much a list, but the first 4 are a little more interesting. It could have read:
1. Don't worship any other gods than Me.
2. Don't make idols.
3. Don't mis-use the name of the Lord.
4. Keep the Sabbath
That would have been easier to read, but I'm wondering it we are suppose to read verses 1 to 11 as a list of commandments. To me it is more a description of who God is, and what our response should be to who God is. God is so brilliant that you must not have any god but Him. You can't substitute Him with a block of wood, He is so Holy that even His name is to be respected. And He did such a brilliant job of making everything so perfectly that we should put aside a day a week to remember how great He is.
So to me, the essence of the first 4 commandments is: "Never forget who God is, and respond accordingly".
Yes, they are commandments, but they are commandments that if we were only to appreciate who God is, we would have no trouble in keeping!
Tim
PS - just a reminder, if you're following these reading, we are using the plan that you can find here
