“”I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”
Into the Text
The Ten Commandments are more than simply rules to follow. They show us how to have right relationships with both God and those around us.
Notice that the commandments start with understanding our place before God and our worship of Him. God is the One True God. There is no other.
As such, He deserves our undivided, loyal love and worship. By placing anything in our lives to the level of God or sharing space in our heart with God, we create an idol. Idols prevent us from truly loving, worshiping, and following God. The Ten Commandments call us to live in humble submission to God, knowing that He is worthy of our lives.
By doing these things, we are then able to rightly see and treat our relationships with others in a God-honoring way. We are to love and respect our parents, maintain the dignity of our fellow humans, and preserve life.
For the Israelites, these commandments were the beginning of the Law, or the rules and regulations that mark what a holy people should look like.
Left to ourselves, we cannot fully obey the Law. Romans tells us that the Law was meant to reveal our sinfulness and need for a Savior (Romans 3:20).
For us today, we don’t have to live under the Law because of the gift of Jesus Christ. Jesus came and fulfilled the Law for us, obeying its every demand and living it out perfectly. He also showed us the intent of the Law, which is love for God and love for our neighbor.
As it happens, if we love God and others, we will keep the commands of Exodus 20, not just externally but from our hearts. And it’s all because of Jesus.
Prayer
God, thank you for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Help me to grow in my love for you and for those you’ve placed around me. Amen.