Day 24, or January the 24th. The Ten Commandments
are a great start. Our thought today is rooted
in Exodus chapter 19, verses 7 and 8. So Moses
went back and summoned the elders of the people,
and said before them all the words the Lord had
commanded him to speak. The people all responded
together, We will do everything the Lord has
said. Now the big picture surrounding these verses.
This is one of the most important parts of the
whole Bible. All the people are at the foot of
Mount Sinai, and are instructed to cleanse themselves
as preparation to receive what their holy God
has to give them through his servant Moses. They
are then given a basic legal framework in the
form of the Ten Commandments, which is a series
of laws that are the foundation of many legal
systems in the world today. At this time, Moses
gives the commandments verbally. He simply declares
them, and people listen. It's at a later time
that they are written by God himself on two tablets
of stone. This is a truly momentous occasion,
and marks mankind's history forever. And now,
our action step for today. Many think the Ten
Commandments are all negative and restrictive.
But personally, I like the concept of restricting
murder, stealing, and not bearing false witness,
to name but three. These are qualities that make
our world a better place to live in. God knew
what He was doing when He gave them to us. They
are designed to encourage us to be better people.
Having said that, they are impossible to keep
simply by being determined or strong -willed.
If we could keep them by our own willpower, thus
making ourselves acceptable before God, then
Jesus needn't have died. It's what is produced
in our lives when we live by them that may be
equated to Paul's idea of the fruit of the Spirit
in Galatians chapter 5. They are a permanent
reminder that we need God's Spirit every day
if we are ever to have a truly civilized and
godly society.