Ten
Read Exodus 20:1-21.
Most of us have seen the movie—or movies. There are several that depict this scene, the most famous one starring Charlton Heston is shown on television every year around Passover or Easter. Many of us learned these famous ten commandments (known as the "Decalogue," the "Ten Words") when we were very young. Perhaps we won a prize in Sunday School class for reciting the Ten. We hear ongoing controversies (like this one) any time someone attempts to post the Ten Commandments in a public place. These Ten Words are well-known and well-ignored, even among people who claim them as part of their faith.
They are, you may remember, largely the summation of life and how it ought to be lived. These Ten are not all that could be said about this, or else there would not be the many other laws that follow these Ten written in the Scriptures. But these Ten cover the foundation of life. The first four deal with our relationship with God: don't have any other gods, don't worship idols, don't misuse God's name, and keep the Sabbath. (Isn't it interesting that the longest explanations of any of the laws come with rejecting idolatry and keeping the Sabbath? Are these the two we are most likely to claim to misunderstand or are they the ones we are most likely to break?)
The next six have to do with our relationships with others: honor your parents, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie about your neighbor, don't covet what your neighbor has. Now, we could spend a whole lot of time on each of these, and it's fascinating to think what life might be like if we just kept these Ten laws. (Would we need all of our other laws if we kept these Ten?)
But even more interesting to me is the reaction of the people. They're fine listening to God—until they hear what he actually requires. After that, we're told they stay at a distance. They tell Moses, "You go ahead into the thunder and the smoke and talk to God. We'll just listen to what you say. We're afraid if God speaks directly to us, we will die." And even though Moses tries to reassure them, they still, according to Exodus, "stay at a distance."
It seems we've kept ourselves at a distance ever since. There is this underlying fear that if we get too close, we'll discover that God was serious about us keeping these Ten. If we hear only the voice of a human being, we can dispute it. So let's do that, and keep God at a distance. So it seems. We may sing songs about "drawing me closer," but in reality, is that what we really want? Our actions seem to speak otherwise. Like our forebears, we make choices that keep God just close enough so that we can be in relationship but far enough away that we don't really have to listen to him. We substitute the warm feelings we get from music or inspirational writings with actually being close to God. "You, Pastor, you tell me what God says, but don't ask me to listen directly. Don't ask me to pray...or study Scripture...or serve...I might die."
Jesus came so that we would no longer have to live at a distance from his heavenly Father. At his death, the veil of the Temple was torn so that we would have direct access to God. But we still stand at a distance. We watch from afar. What will it take for us to truly draw near, so that God in Christ is a part of our every moment, every second?
Most of us have seen the movie—or movies. There are several that depict this scene, the most famous one starring Charlton Heston is shown on television every year around Passover or Easter. Many of us learned these famous ten commandments (known as the "Decalogue," the "Ten Words") when we were very young. Perhaps we won a prize in Sunday School class for reciting the Ten. We hear ongoing controversies (like this one) any time someone attempts to post the Ten Commandments in a public place. These Ten Words are well-known and well-ignored, even among people who claim them as part of their faith.
They are, you may remember, largely the summation of life and how it ought to be lived. These Ten are not all that could be said about this, or else there would not be the many other laws that follow these Ten written in the Scriptures. But these Ten cover the foundation of life. The first four deal with our relationship with God: don't have any other gods, don't worship idols, don't misuse God's name, and keep the Sabbath. (Isn't it interesting that the longest explanations of any of the laws come with rejecting idolatry and keeping the Sabbath? Are these the two we are most likely to claim to misunderstand or are they the ones we are most likely to break?)
The next six have to do with our relationships with others: honor your parents, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie about your neighbor, don't covet what your neighbor has. Now, we could spend a whole lot of time on each of these, and it's fascinating to think what life might be like if we just kept these Ten laws. (Would we need all of our other laws if we kept these Ten?)
But even more interesting to me is the reaction of the people. They're fine listening to God—until they hear what he actually requires. After that, we're told they stay at a distance. They tell Moses, "You go ahead into the thunder and the smoke and talk to God. We'll just listen to what you say. We're afraid if God speaks directly to us, we will die." And even though Moses tries to reassure them, they still, according to Exodus, "stay at a distance."
It seems we've kept ourselves at a distance ever since. There is this underlying fear that if we get too close, we'll discover that God was serious about us keeping these Ten. If we hear only the voice of a human being, we can dispute it. So let's do that, and keep God at a distance. So it seems. We may sing songs about "drawing me closer," but in reality, is that what we really want? Our actions seem to speak otherwise. Like our forebears, we make choices that keep God just close enough so that we can be in relationship but far enough away that we don't really have to listen to him. We substitute the warm feelings we get from music or inspirational writings with actually being close to God. "You, Pastor, you tell me what God says, but don't ask me to listen directly. Don't ask me to pray...or study Scripture...or serve...I might die."
Jesus came so that we would no longer have to live at a distance from his heavenly Father. At his death, the veil of the Temple was torn so that we would have direct access to God. But we still stand at a distance. We watch from afar. What will it take for us to truly draw near, so that God in Christ is a part of our every moment, every second?
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