God's Pattern: Grace First, Then Commandments
Daily Scripture
Exodus 20:1-2, Deuteronomy 5:1-6
Exodus 20
1 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Deuteronomy 5
1 Moses called out to all Israel, saying to them: “Israel! Listen to the regulations and the case laws that I’m recounting in your hearing right now. Learn them and carefully do them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Horeb. 3 The Lord didn’t make this covenant with our ancestors but with us—all of us who are here and alive right now. 4 The Lord spoke with you face-to-face on the mountain from the very fire itself. 5 At that time, I was standing between the Lord and you, declaring to you the Lord’s word, because you were terrified of the fire and didn’t go up on the mountain.”
The Lord said:
6 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Sir Bobby Robson: “The first ninety minutes are the most important.”
Could it be that, like Robson’s “first ninety minutes,” the Ten Commandments’ first words were the most important? Before any specific commands, God reminded Israel that God alone had freed them from slavery. The commandments weren’t a way to earn God’s favor: “The giving of law presumes that mutual love and loyalty have been established between Israel and her divine suzerain.” * Love came first—God freed them. The commandments ordered their lives in response to that love. In a beautiful, well-ordered life, love leads the way.
- Deuteronomy’s name comes from two Greek words meaning “second law.” As Israel entered the Promised Land, they revisited the Ten Commandments—again hearing that God delivered them before giving the commandments. The commandments don’t earn God’s love and mercy; they teach how to live as God’s grateful, accepted child. How can God’s guidance shape your life when you receive it as the gift of a God who has already freed you, not as rules to earn God’s favor?
- The wording in Deuteronomy 5 differed slightly from Exodus 20. The tablets sat in the Most Holy Place—the writer(s) couldn’t check the exact words! This suggests the Commandments’ timeless value rests in their divine principles more than in their precise wording. Which Commandment most challenges you to live by its principle right now?
Prayer
Holy God, thank you for loving and freeing me before asking anything of me. Inscribe the principles of your law on my heart, so my obedience flows from gratitude, not from trying to earn what you’ve already given. Amen.
GPS Insights
Aiden Steenkamp
Aidan Steenkamp, who is serving as an IT intern at Resurrection this summer, wrote today’s insights. He is going into his junior year at Kansas State University, studying Computer Engineering. Aidan enjoys physical activities, whether it is hiking, going on road trips, golfing, or working out. Aidan is excited to be a part of Resurrection this summer and aims to learn all sorts of new things, whether about his internship or his faith!
Today’s verses highlight the most important lesson from the entire Bible–that being that God has forgiven us. It doesn’t matter if it’s something in the past or something we haven’t even done yet. It’s an unbreakable vow that God has promised us and will never change. I like to imagine God’s grace as an unsinkable ship that can cross any wave. But how do we know our destination? How do we not get lost at sea? That is where the Commandments come into play. The Commandments are like a compass, keeping us steadfast in our direction, making sure we do not lose our way.
However, many non-Christians and even some Christians believe that we must live our life by a set of rules, and that then God will love us. That’s what causes many people to spiral, forgetting the whole point of Christianity. That being that God ALREADY loved us and forgave us. Our debt has already been paid. With that in mind, the only thing left to do is to spread the grace he gave us and the joy that comes with it, using the 10 commandments as a way we can do that.
Sometimes though, we find ourselves struggling with upholding some of these commandments. I believe one of the hardest commandments to uphold these days is to not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor. With everyone on social media, we constantly see only the perfect side of people’s lives, and we start to play the comparison game and wonder, “Why can’t my life be like that?” We then start to imitate something we aren’t, trying to also keep up a “perfect life” and criticize ourselves more when things don’t turn out like what we want. What God wants us to do is focus on our own lives and faith. Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you. When we grow in our faith with the confidence that God will give us his grace when we fail as well as when we succeed, we start to realize that God is giving us the things we need, even if we didn’t know we needed it. Then we start living our own lives, not reflections of all the comparisons we make around us. So, use God’s grace as your ship, and the commandments as your compass, and you will be free of doubt, never getting lost at sea.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Article “Law” in Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, general editors, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 491.
