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Exodus 20 – The 10 Commandments in Christ (1st-4th)
The first 4 of the 10 Commandments provide a paradigm that is still followed in the covenant of Christ: 1) God wants first place, not only over other gods; but most importantly over ourselves. The way we treat God impacts God. God has feelings and emotions too. The way we treat God impacts how He treats us. That’s why justification comes due to our trusting God. 2) An image makes God a prisoner of our own imaginations and artistic expressions. Worshiping God through things He created includes creating our own ways of worshiping – because God created us. God does not want us to worship Him in a manner that brings Him down to our level. We must rise above the cult of culture. We must also raise ourselves so that we can raise our children to be worshipers of God. 3) God wants reverence in our language and worship. Empty words and worship defile God’s name thereby defiling God. God is not a thing to be used by us to further our projects. 4) God wants our time. After ourselves, the biggest threat in idolatry is the god of time. Time is not about just stopping, it is about resting. Resting is about reflecting on God’s blessed interference of the world in our lives. Reflection is about examining the Prime Cause and effect. In the new covenant, the Sabbath is our rest in Jesus. This means our lives become God’s time. These times are shared with others as we bless them as God has blessed us. The first four are first because how we treat God is the paradigm for determining how we treat others. Get the first four right, and the last six should follow.
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