Exodus 20
From Theologica
Contents |
Overview
The Ten Commandments
Unknown Subsection
20:1 -
Observation
- God spoke those commandments to Israel diretly
- On the third day, Israel met god and He gave them commandments for them to keep
- Not t:hrough Moses, but diretly to the people (see v. 20:22)
- Brings to mind John 4:23-24
20:2 -
- God is statingwho He is: He is the Lord; He is their God.
- He is the one who brought them out of Egypt
- Out of the houses of slavery
- These are God's credentials
- He has redeemed them; they are His
- Redemption: "Deliverance by the payment of a price"
- ? What price did God pay here?
- Can refer to rescue or deliverance
- "In nearly every instance, [redemption] ... was secured by the payment of a price."
- Did God redeem or free Israel
- Does Israel owe God anything?
- Are they indebted to Him?
- Has all of this been answered elsewhere (ie does God need to justify Himself (comprehensively))?
- Is this rather just establishing that the Lord is God, the one who rescued Israel? It wasn't a gimmick, or a trick. He really is a God and everything really did happen.
The First Commandment (20:3 - )
Observation
20:3 - The first commandment
Observation
- No other gods are to come before God
- There are to be no oter gods besides God
- xref
- Dt 6:14: "you shall not follow other gods"
- 2 Kings 17:55: you shall not fear|bow down to|serve|sacrifice to other gods
Interpretation
- Why is this the first commandment?
The Sixth Commandment (20:8-11)
Observation Interpretation Application
20:8 - Remember the Sabbath
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Observation
- Be mindful of the Sabbath
- Keep it separate from the other days
- "remember" - be mindful, remember what the day represents
- "Keep it holy" - a day to focus on God
Interpretation
- But what does the day represent?
- It represents the day God rested.
- God did not do anything else on the seventh day.
- He looked back over the previous week at the end of the sixth day.
20:9 - Six Days of Labor
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Observation
- Six days of the week are for labors
- Does not necessarily mean we should move to a six-day work week
20:10 - The Seventh Is a Sabbath
but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
Observation
- The seventh day is a sabbath to God
- Mark 2:27 Says that the Sabbath was made for man.
- You are not to do any work
- No one in your household is to do any work
Interpretation
- If you can't do any work, what are you supposed to do?
20:11 - The Lord's Model
“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Observation
- In six days God labored over creation
- He rested on the seventh
- Therefore, the seventh day is blessed and is holy
Interpretation
- Definition: Sabbath - desist, rest, cease
- Why is the seventh day blessed and holy?
- How is it blessed and holy?
- There is no real need to even mention the seventh day unless God was providing a model for us to follow
- On the seventh day of creation, God looked on what He did and declared it very good.
- Are we to take a day to evaluate our previous week?
- To look upon what we have done?
- To see where we are going?
- If God can cease from His activities and even make a law concerning the seventh day and the 'rest' therein, can I not be satisfied with resting one day and evaluating what I have done?
- God had to make it a law or no one would think about it; no one would take time.
