This historical account should cause a chain reaction in you. Yes that is a bit of an audacious statement but the everlasting covenant that the LORD GOD set in place at Mt Sinai are still in effect today. So the question that I ponder is this: Am I measuring my personal conduct by the standards that Moses stated here?? Quite frankly I am a total failure at several of them!!
Christine Miller, the creator of much of the art that is featured on Psalms Cast, pondered with a friend back in 2008 the paradox of the Ten Commandments: "The paradox is, you can learn them in less than ten minutes fairly easily, however, you spend the rest of your life learning how to IMPLEMENT them in your daily life."
What is a paradox ... it is an enigma. It is a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which, when investigated, may prove to be well-founded or true!!! Our sons learned the Ten Commandments via a Children Praise cassette tape that we listened to in the car. They seem so self-explanatory, yet if these Commandments are so straightforward, what do those who say they love and worship the LORD GOD have so much difficulty living consistently in this manner??
Are our hearts and minds coated with Teflon so that when we encounter God's Truth that they "don't stick?"
Perhaps our hearts are too hard, or we are too entrenched in the darkness of this world as defined by the Apostle John: "Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world." 1 John 2:15-16 MSG
Oh, that our consciences would be continually burdened to consider and meditate on the Ten Commandments! Oh, that our minds would be disturbed and unsettled by these Ten Ways that God has asked us to live so that we would grapple and wrestle with the LORD on the ones that we stumble or flat out do not do.
QUESTIONS for Reflection
1) Who is speaking these words to the people? From Whom did this HUMAN get the information?
2) What is the 1st commandment? Drill down … Who and why?
3) What is the 2nd commandment? What types are prohibited? What are the prohibitions stated within? What is the consequence of choosing to disregard this command? How long are those consequences in effect?
4) What is the 3rd commandment? Two ways are stated that we are not to use God’s name: what are those two? What statement is made about those who choose to do so anyway?
5) What is the 4th commandment? Which day of the week does this commandment apply? What is the division of the days: What is supposed to happen on days 1 - 6? What happens on the 7th? Who can work on that day? Why did God make this command? What does Holy Day mean to you personally?
6) What is the 5th commandment? What is the FIRST word of this command, and what does that word mean? To whom are you to do this? Why are you doing this??
7) What is the 6th commandment? What would you say this one means?
8) What is the 7th commandment? How would you define this one?
9) What is the 8th commandment? Are there exceptions to this one?
10) What is the 9th commandment? What is the definition of this one?
11) What is the 10th commandment? What exactly is the point of this command?
12) How were the assembly of men, women, and children handling this assembly? What did they say to Moses?
13) What was Moses’ response?
14) What is the WARNING God gives before laying out the instructions about creating an altar to be used to offerings?
15) What were the instructions?
16) IF the alter was made from stones, what type of stones were to be used in the construction? What are "dressed stones"? What was the purpose of God instructing them to not use a chisel on the stones to create an altar?
17) God gives one more instruction in this chapter about the construction of the Altar: What was that important instruction? AND why would God make that instruction?
Our Heavenly Father, the LORD God desires His Chosen people to live righteous lives. He wants them to live intentionally under his loving gaze striving to bring glory and honor to His Name. This is why He set the standard of acceptable behavior and clearly states what He hates. Our LORD knows that the enemy of our souls, Lucifer/Satan/"the devil," hunts along the boundary line that God had set. These evil, dark spirits hunt to capture those who are playing along the edge. ...they will attempt to lure you with baubles, candies, delights of the temporary world. If you resist the temptations but continue to flirt on the edge, they will knock you senseless with whatever tools at their disposal. The purpose is always to grab the unwise to be drag away to be beaten, tortured, tormented, threatened with death. Or worse: to witness the reality of having one's loved ones taken, tortured, and killed before their eyes if they will not submit.
Perhaps you think I am incorrect in the ways these things. First, let look at human history from 1900 to current. When a dictator comes to power, they demand submission and allegiance to whatever they say without question. Three examples: Nazi Germany, Stalin, Communist Party of China. In each of these examples, any person who did not bow willingly to the demands and dictates required faced the exact prediction of those that the Spirit of Darkness and Evil plans for all who disregard God's Commandments.
Secondly let's look to Word of God for confirmation:
"In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places."
Ephesians 6:10-12 AMP.