”Then God gave the people all these instructions: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You must not murder. “You must not commit adultery. “You must not steal. “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”“
Exodus 20:1-20 NLT
The giving of the Ten Commandments are a unique moment in history. They lay out the way in which mankind can live in covenant with God. This is often a missed context, but it must be noted that it happens directly after God calls them his people. A decent amount of time has been spent dissecting the commands as to how they can easily be digested. Jesus himself did so by reducing them to only two. He classified them as rules about loving God and loving man. However, the most interesting thing in this passage is the response to such edicts. The people were not relieved at the presence of the commandments. They were, in fact, bothered by them. They immediately called for a separation from God the with Moses as the intermediary. This could’ve been in response to their own lack of holiness, but a plain reading of the passage indicates that it was a fearful response to the nature of God and his holiness. In this way, the Hebrews begin their affair with the law. They love to hate it and refuse to see it for what it is. They would rather cling to an intermediary than allow the law to bring them directly to God. When we encounter God’s law, do we do the same. Do we make Pastor’s, church and the Bible a way of avoiding God’s direction in our lives? God set Moses as a leader to direct people to him. It seems evident that the people wanted Moses as a leader to keep God from them.
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