Exodus 19 tells us that it was on the third new moon of the year that the Israelites arrived at Sinai, to worship God as Moses had been told in Exodus 3. Calculations reveal that the 10 commandments were given 50 days after the Passover (hence the New Testament name for the Feast for this occasion, Pentecost). In verses 4-6 Yahweh reminds Israel of His might exercised on their behalf and His care for His people. He was like a mother eagle: Deuteronomy 32 verses 5-13. Israel were called to...
Exodus 19 tells us that it was on the third new moon of the year that the Israelites arrived at Sinai, to worship God as Moses had been told in Exodus 3. Calculations reveal that the 10 commandments were given 50 days after the Passover (hence the New Testament name for the Feast for this occasion, Pentecost). In verses 4-6 Yahweh reminds Israel of His might exercised on their behalf and His care for His people. He was like a mother eagle: Deuteronomy 32 verses 5-13. Israel were called to holiness; to be a kingdom of priests to bring the nations to the God of Israel. The same is true for believers now (1 Peter 2verses 5-6).
Verses 7-15 tell us that the waiting Israelites must reverently prepare for the coming awesome occasion when God would deliver the ten commanding words to His people. They were terrified by the prospect. But were even more disturbed by the events of that day. The writer to the Hebrews described these events in chapter 12 verses 18-21, but we also find by contrast the wonderful situation for faithful believers in Christ Jesus (Verses 22-28). The drama of the day when the Law was first given is captured by the build up reconstructed in verses 16-24. So terror struck were the people that they pleaded for Moses to speak with God in order that they die not.
Chapter 20 enumerated the Ten Commandments. They started with those which outlined their responsibilities to God and concluded with those duties to their fellow human beings (Matthew 22 verses 34-40). The first is our priority – God must be first in our lives (Interestingly the 10th teaches us the same lesson – “You shall not covet”. Anything which takes our love away from God; anything which reduces our service to Him is an idol Colossians 3:1-5, emphasis on verses 5; Luke 12 verses13-21;
and 1 John 5 verses 19-21. Interestingly the second commandment in verse 4 of Exodus 20 is “You shall not make graven images” is omitted in the Catholic Bible, which breaks the tenth commandment into two in that version. This is unsurprising as nearly all Catholic Churches are filled with icons and images which they worship. The fourth commandment’s principles have been important from the beginning of creation; but, also interestingly enough, is the only commandment to not be reiterated in the New Testament. The fifth commandment also is unique in that it is the only command with a blessing that accompanies its observance – “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long on the earth”: Ephesians 6verses 1-4. Paul tells us that God places great importance on this command, and therefore we ought to take great care to carry it out. Commandments 6-10 appear to be negative don’t do this, don’t do that. But consider the import of what they taught to the spiritually minded – Romans 12 verses12-21;
James 2:8-13. So, although the Law of Moses given to the Israelites at Sinai is not binding on believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the principles of the Ten Commandments are enduring and teach us how we should live in this present evil world; as we await the coming of our King. For those commandments were written by “the finger of God”: Exodus 31 verse18. Verses 22 to the end of Exodus 20 describe the construction of, and worship at, altars. They were to be made from whole stones shaped by God without human embellishments – speaking of Christ,our altar: Hebrews 13 verses10-16. No flesh was to be exposed by any worshipper, telling us of the devotion and reverence needed when drawing near to our God.
Psalm 73 commences Book 3 of the Psalms. They are the Leviticus psalms to the theme of “In the Sanctuary”. The issues addressed in this Psalm are the same as those in Psalm 37. Though the wicked appear to prosper – an illusion – in the end those who reverently serve God will dwell eternally in His Sanctuary on earth, when Messiah reigns. Despite the evidence that the LORD has been good to His people, the psalmist envies the wicked. The evildoers seem to go unpunished despite their failure to be subjected to any of God’s commandments. The psalmist describes their scorn for the Almighty, shown by their lifestyle; which seemed to say, that there is no God; or He is indifferent to my behaviour. Were this true, the writer declares, there would be no point in following the ways of the LORD. Similar arguments were put by the wrongdoers at the time of Malachi’s prophecy. The writer says that it was only when he came to worship in the Temple that he understood the hopeless end for the wicked. But when one comes to understand the fear of God in the Sanctuary, then our thinking is reversed. It is the evil and their way of living that sealed their doom. The psalmist became thankful for God’s faithfulness and deliverance. And so the writer declares his joy in that his Creator is with him; and he could not ask for any better situation. No matter what could befall him his confidence remains unshakable. And so he encourages his hearers to make Yahweh their everlasting hope.
In Mark 6 Jesus returns to Nazareth where the previous 28 years of his life were spent. There above all other towns he should have been acclaimed. But this was not to be; as he declares “a prophet is without honour in his own country”. In the words of John 1:12 “he came to his own and his own received him not”. His capacity for healing here was limited by their unbelief. The twelve Apostles were sent out with a message for the hearers to repent. Their message was supported by the testimony of miracles. There follows a lengthy account of the death of John the Baptist – which includes Herod’s respect for John’s character. This was a trial for both the vicious Herod and the virtuous John. The Jezebel-like Salome secured John’s death. The report of John’s demise was devastating for Jesus, who sought solitude and time to reflect – his own death was but 12 months away. But crowds sought him and he had compassion for them, as they were “sheep lacking a shepherd”. Joshua had asked the same request of Yahweh following Moses’ death. 5,000 men, not counting women and children, are fed from five loaves and two fish. The twelve baskets of fragments are collected. The remains were greater than the initial fare. One lesson being that through Israel Messiah would feed the world. After this our Lord walks upon the Sea of Galilee indicating that he has power over the nations. And finally the boat into which Jesus enters reaches the shore. In this Jesus demonstrates that he would be the healer of the nations.
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