Exodus 19:3-7 (ESV)
while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: [4] You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. [5] Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; [6] and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." [7] So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.
Exodus 20:1-17 (ESV)
And God spoke all these words, saying, [2] "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [3] "You shall have no other gods before me. [4] "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [5] You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, [6] but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. [7] "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. [8] "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10] but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [11] For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. [12] "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. [13] "You shall not murder. [14] "You shall not commit adultery. [15] "You shall not steal. [16] "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. [17] "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
Questions for Reflection
- How do you feel when you tell someone something and he or she completely ignores what you say?
- Why do governments establish laws and policies?
- What are things our society tends to worship?
- How did God describe Himself? (20:2)
- What are we commanded not to put before God? (20:3)
- What did God tell us not to make? (20:4)
- What is the consequence of bowing before false gods? (20:5)
- To whom does God express His love? (20:6)
- How are we to consider using the name of the Lord? (20:7)
- How do you think God feels when we worship things other than Him?
- Why does God not want us to commit sins against Him and others?
- What people, things, and other loyalties sometimes captivate your attention more than God?
