Moses and the 10 Commandments

The sights and sounds of this season are unlike any other season of the year, and it becomes a great opportunity for us to be able to express to other people why we celebrate Christmas as we do. And as we gather together with our families and we talk about different prophecies surrounding the Messiah, we are able to understand why this season is so significant. Today our topic is Moses and the Ten Commandments. You know, the Ten Commandments are a great study. We have studied them on several occasions.

We did a series a number of years ago called The Survival of the American Family. It was all based on the Ten Commandments, based on Deuteronomy 6, verse number 24, which says, these things are for your survival. So we talked about the Ten Commandments. Then we went through the life of Moses in the book of Exodus. And once again, we talked about the Ten Commandments. And I know there's topics of discussion about whether the Ten Commandments should be displayed in our schools or in our courts. None of that really interests me.

I know that might sound negative to some of you. But whether or not the Ten Commandments are displayed publicly in the halls of our schools or our courts is really irrelevant to me. Because I don't want them necessarily displayed publicly as much as I want them to be demonstrated passionately in the hearts of those who claim to know Christ as Lord and Savior. That's the most important thing. You can put them up in a classroom and you can put them up in the court system and you can read them. And they might have an effect on people.

But if we don't live them because they're not demonstrated in our hearts with a passion, then we have missed what God did at the base of Mount Horeb when Moses came down with the very first written Word of God.

Think about it. Moses comes down with these Ten Commandments, the perfect ten. And these are the first written words of God.

And Moses brings them down. They find themselves in Exodus 20 at the base of Mount Sinai. How did they get there? Well they've been in bondage for over 400 years in Egypt. And they cried into God that He would somehow deliver them. And God heard them. And in Exodus chapter 3, God tells Moses, I've heard the cry of my people and I'm coming down to deliver them. And it helps us understand that when God comes down, He comes down for one or two reasons. To either deliver you or to destroy you. He comes to deliver in the book of Exodus.

He comes in the New Testament to deliver people from their sins. He will one day come to destroy those who have sinned against Him. But He came down to deliver. He told Moses, I'm coming down. I'm going to deliver my people from bondage. And Moses becomes that great communicator of God to the nation of Israel. And God through a series of plagues would deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. And they would leave because God says, I want you to let my people go because I want them to be able to go and I want them to be able to worship me.

And so through a series of plagues, they were released from bondage. They left. And some three months later, they find themselves at the base of this mountain. And Moses goes up into the mountain and God gives him the Ten Commandments. Forty years after Exodus chapter 20, in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses goes back and reiterates the law of God. He goes back and he tells them about these Ten Commandments once again. He reiterates to them the law of God and the importance of the law in their lives.

And so he goes back and tells them these words in Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 22. These words, the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire of the cloud and the thick gloom with a great voice. And he added, no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. And it came about when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders.

And you said, behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness. And we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. We have seen, we have heard about the glory of God. That leads us to help us understand these Ten Commandments. Let me give you some principles that you can teach your children that will help them understand the significance of these commandments that God gives.

Now remember when Jesus came in Matthew chapter 5, He said He came to fulfill the law and the prophets. In other words, Christ came and fulfilled everything that the law symbolized, represented, and pointed to. That would mean that when Christ came, He fulfilled the civil law. He fulfilled the ceremonial law. And He fulfilled the moral law. You must distinguish between the three to understand what Jesus did. He fulfilled the civil and ceremonial law through His death. He fulfilled the moral law through His life.

The civil law and the ceremonial law were given to the nation of Israel only. The moral law was given to all mankind. The civil law speaks of Israel's witness. Ceremonial law speaks of Israel's worship. And the moral law speaks of Israel's walk. The civil law dealt with their dress. Dealt with how they ate. What they ate. And the relationships they had one to another. That was a civil law. It dealt with Israel's witness. Because God wanted them to be unique and distinct. And so they would eat differently.

They would dress differently. They would act differently. They would look differently. The principle of the civil law remains. God still expects His people to dress differently. To look differently. To act differently. To be unique from everybody else. He doesn't want us to look and act like the world. He didn't want Israel to look and act like the Canaanites. And the Jebusites. And the parasites. And the termites. He wanted them to act and look completely different than everybody they came in contact with.

Because they were His representatives. And yet when Christ came and died, He fulfilled that civil law. And what He would do is He would change that. Because Israel turned their back on Him. And He went after another people, the church. And He was going to use the church now to be His representatives. And they were to be as holy as He is holy. As perfect as He Himself is perfect. And they were to be the representatives of the Kingdom of God. The ceremonial law dealt with Israel's worship. All the symbols and all the types and everything in the Old Testament that took place in the tabernacle with the nation would point to the coming ultimate sacrifice.

The Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. And when Christ died, He fulfilled the ceremonial law. Everything about the worship of Israel pointed to the final sacrifice that would come. All the sacrifices that they offered covered the sins of man. But the final sacrifice would wipe away the sin of man. And so you have a civil law that dealt with Israel's witness. You had a ceremonial law that dealt with Israel's worship. And then you had the moral law that dealt with Israel's walk. Christ fulfilled that through His life.

Because He fulfilled it perfectly. He was the sinless, spotless Lamb. He never sinned. He couldn't sin because He's perfect. He's God. He's sinless. And yet He fulfilled everything in His law. Because it was the moral law of God. And therefore He fulfilled it through His life. And so when He gives the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, this is the moral law of God. This is what helps us understand who God is. And that's why principle number one is very simply stated this way.

That the purpose of the law is to reflect the glory and personality of the Lord. Everything about the law of God reflects His glory and personality. This is who He is. He is the lawgiver. And you can't separate the law from the lawgiver. Because these are the very words of God. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. This is God. This is the embodiment of God. So you need to understand that. That's what the Bible says in Deuteronomy 5 verse 24.

Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness. How did He do that? Through His written Word. It reflects to us the personality and glory of God. This is who He is. The Bible says in Romans 7, the law is spiritual.

God is spiritual. Romans 7 verse 12, the law is holy. God is holy. The commandment is holy and just and good. God is holy, just and good. If I was to ask you why don't, why don't you murder somebody? You could say well the Bible says thou shalt not kill.

And that would be partially right. But not totally right. Because the right answer is this. God is life. And God is into life. That's why you don't murder. Because God is life. If I was to ask you why, why you don't lie? You could say the Bible says thou shalt not lie.

But that's not the answer. The answer is God is truth. And God is into truth. And whenever you speak truth, you align yourself with the character and nature of God. When you speak lies, you align yourself with the character and nature of who? The Father of lies, Satan himself. You see? So you understand that, that when God gave these 10 commandments and gave them to His people, He gave them to them, listen, not as something that would make them special. Because they were special, He gave them His law.

For instance, God said, God never told Israel that He loved them until Deuteronomy chapter 7. He never said, hey, I want to let you guys know I love you. And I hope things are going well for you. They're in bondage. And you know, but I do love you. No, He demonstrated His love all through Genesis and all through Exodus and all through Leviticus and all through Numbers. And then in Deuteronomy 7, He tells them, I chose you because I love you. But everything about God and what He did for Israel was because He loved them.

It would be no good for God to say, I love you without demonstrating His love to them. So He demonstrated, He lived a life of love toward His people. So when you come to Deuteronomy 6, verse number 4, it says, hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one. Moses says, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. In other words, because of what God has done, He now gives you these words, these commands. You now are to demonstrate your love to Him by following those commands.

Everything about the Ten Commandments is based on a love relationship between God and His people. You need to understand that. And so these commands that God gives reflects the glory of the Lord, reflects the personality of the Lord. This is who He is. He's the God of life. So He says, don't murder. He's the God of truth. So He says, don't lie. He is the only other God. He's the only God there is. So He says, don't have any other God because there are no other gods. I'm the only God there is. You should have no other God before me.

Why? Because I have a monopoly on being God. There are no other gods. So you worship me and no one else. I'm everything to you. If you understand that God is everything to you, you don't covet. You don't commit adultery. You don't do those things because God's everything to you. See? And you love Him with all that you have. So when God gives these words, He gives them because they are a reflection of who He is. They reflect the glory and personality of the Lord. Number two, they reinforce my iniquity before the Lord.

They reinforce my iniquity. You see, when I see God for who He is, all of His glory, then I realize who I am. And I realize how far short I fall of His standard. The Bible says, for all have sinned and fallen short of what?

The glory of God. What's the glory of God? His standard. What's His standard? Perfection. That's who He is. He's a perfect God. For all have sinned and fallen short of that standard, that glory, all have sinned. And so therefore, when I read the law, when I memorize the law, I realize that the law of the Lord is perfect, and I'm not. So it reinforces my iniquity before the Lord. The Bible says in Romans 3, verse number 20, through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

Through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Paul said, I would ever known that I should not covet had the law not said, thou shalt not covet. And so the law gives us the knowledge of sin. That's why the Bible says in James 2, verse number 10, whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at one point has become guilty of all.

In other words, not only does it reinforce my iniquity, it reinforces my guilt before God. And so because the law of God reflects the glory of the Lord and reinforces my iniquity before the Lord, it reiterates my accountability to the Lord. Listen to what the Bible says in Romans chapter 3, verse number 19.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. It reiterates my accountability to the Lord. In other words, Jesus said in John 12, verse number 48, the word which I have spoken will judge you on the last day. You're accountable to God for his spoken word, for what he has said. So when in Revelation 20, when at the great white throne judgment, when all the books are opened and the books of man's deeds are opened, they'll be weighed against the perfect law of a perfect God who rules and reigns over man.

Number four, the law of God reveals my necessity for the Lord. It reveals my necessity. You listen, if it reflects his glory and it reinforces my iniquity and it reiterates my accountability, then it reveals my necessity for the Lord. I need him because I can't do what his word says. He knows that. He knows that. He knows I cannot fulfill the law. That's why when the rich young ruler came to Christ and said, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Christ says, keep the commandments.

Now, you know, and I know that keeping the commandments can't get you to heaven, but the man says, well, which ones? And so Christ gives him the latter half, the ones that are manward, not Godward, manward that deal with not committing adultery, that deal with honoring your mother and father, that deal with not bearing false witness. And the man said, I've done all that. I've done all that. What do I lack? And what did Jesus say? Go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Now, you know, as well as I know that if you go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor, you're not getting into heaven.

But what Jesus did was give him an illustration that would show the condition of his heart. He had another God. He took him from the last half of the commandments to the first half that says, you shall have no other God before me.

And he had another God. His God was his wealth. It was his materialism. It was his riches. That's what he had. And he went away sad because he wasn't willing to depart with that which he loved the most. And you see, the Lord Jesus knew that. He knew the man had another God. That's why he said you got to keep the commandments. He brought the man's life in light of the law of God. So he would see his sin. That law reflects the character of God. That law reinforces your iniquity before God. It reiterates our accountability to God because we are accountable to God for what he has said.

And it reveals my necessity for God. I need you, God. If he would have said, Lord, I can't do that. Lord, help me. He would have been saved. He came to God with a, with a fallen, with a felt need, not a fallen need. He felt emptiness, but he didn't see his fallenness. And that's why the Lord took him back to the law to measure his life against the ultimate standard of perfection. So important. It reveals my necessity for the Lord. After being slain by the truth, having been shattered by the truth, we must be saved by the truth.

And God explains his truth to us. God's law reveals sin. It does not remove sin. Only the Lord removes sin. The law just reveals sin. And that's why over in the book of Galatians, the third chapter, Paul says this in verse number 24, therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.

The law becomes a schoolmaster. It becomes a tutor. It becomes a teacher. It leads us to Christ because it reflects his glory. It reflects his personality. That's who he is. We can't meet his standard. So we cry out to him and beg to him for mercy. And because he is a God of love and forgiveness and grace, he grants that to those who come to him with a broken and contrite heart. Number five, the law of God reassures the longevity and quality of my life. It reassures the longevity and quality of my life.

Listen to what it says in Deuteronomy chapter six, verse one, now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commended me to teach you. As you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God and to keep all the statutes and his commandments which I command you, all the days of your life and that your days may be prolonged. Oh Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord the God of your fathers has promised you in the land flowing with milk and honey.

God says, look, I've delivered you, I've redeemed you, I've brought you to a place that's going to allow you to enter into this land flowing with milk and honey.

These words are the only words that will help you survive in that land. If you don't obey these words, you will not make it. You cannot do it. You must obey my word. And that's what helps us understand the importance of the Ten Commandments because then not only do they reveal to me or they reassure my quality of life, because they do, honor your father and mother and it will be well with you on the earth. Well with you. You ever think about the fact that long life is determined based on how you honor your mom and dad?

And God, that's the first commandment with a promise. It promises us quality of life. It promises us longevity in life. You can go back to read Ephesians chapter 6 about that. But God says to the nation of Israel, all these statutes, all these judgments, all these commandments, Deuteronomy 6, verse 24, are for your survival in the land.

Number six, these commandments remind me of my responsibility and priority in life. And that is, I'm to teach them to my children. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. And these words which I command in you today shall be on your heart. You should teach them diligently to your sons and talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.

She'll bind them as a sign in your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. She'll write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. These commandments remind me of my responsibility and priority in life. And what is that? It's to teach my children about God. And I am to teach them compellingly. Why? Because I love God first with all my heart, with all my mind, and all my strength.

Listen, if I don't love God, I am not compelled to teach my children about God. So therefore I teach them compellingly. That is, I love God so much, I want my children to know God. Not only do I teach them compellingly, I teach them convincingly. Because the Bible says in Deuteronomy 6, I am commend you today, all these things shall be on your heart.

So when I teach my children, I teach them compellingly, and I teach them convincingly. Why? Because I am convinced in my own heart that these words are for my survival. I've written them on my heart. I've hid them in my heart. I've treasured them in my heart. I live them, therefore I am, because I'm convinced of them, I live them. My children see them in my life. They are convinced by looking at me that what I say, I believe. I teach His word. Moses says, you shall love the Lord your God, all your heart, all your soul, all your might, everything you have, it compels you.

That's why in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul says, the love of Christ compels me, it moves me, it motivates me. You teach them compellingly. If you teach them compellingly, you'll teach them convincingly, because they will be on your heart. You will live them, and your children will be convinced that what you're saying to them is true. And then thirdly, you teach them continually or constantly.

It says, and you shall teach them diligently. It's a Hebrew word, it means to sharpen. If you're going to sharpen the ax, okay, you got to do it continually. Every time you use it, you got to sharpen it. Every time it's an operation, you got to take it aside, you got to sharpen it so it's ready to go the next time. The only way your children will ever be sharp is for you to continually and constantly teach them the word of God. It's something that's got to be a habit pattern of your life. Teach them compellingly, convincingly, continually, and then you must teach them creatively.

And you shall teach them diligently to your sons, and talk to them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. You teach them creatively through every aspect of their lives, whether it's a school, at work, or at play, whether the life is filled with disappointment or with joys. You teach them creatively as you walk by the way, as you sit by the side, no matter where you're at, no matter where you go, you're in the car, you're at home, you teach them.

You teach them creatively. You can teach them creatively if you teach them continually. You'll teach them continually if you teach them convincingly. You'll teach them convincingly if you teach them compellingly. And then you need to teach them conspicuously. It says, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. Now you've seen the Hasidic Jews when they take those phylacteries, and they bind them around their hands, and put them around their heads so they hang down.

All that was symbolic of what they were supposed, they did it literally, but it wasn't to be done literally. It's to let you know that you tie them around your hands because whatever your hand does, it's to be subject to the Word of God. You tie it around your head because whatever you think about should be thought about through the grid of Scripture. Whatever your eyes look at, they look through the grid of Scripture.

In other words, everything you do, everything you think about, everything you look at is done under the guise of everything Scripture says.

That's how you teach them conspicuously. Everything you do, everything you say is all judged under the microscope of the Word of God. Everything is. That makes you a very conspicuous kind of person. Makes you completely different than everybody else. And then you ought to teach them completely. It says in verse 24, so the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival as it is today. Completely, all these statutes, not some of them, not the ones you like, but all the commandments of God teach them completely.

And so when you gather with your children or with your grandchildren, you talk to them about the Ten Commandments, you talk to them about the moral law of God and what it does. It reflects to us the glory of God, the personality of God, because Israel was able to see His glory on the mountain as God would write with His finger in stone the very first written Word of God.

And as they reflect to me God's glory, they will naturally reinforce my sin, my iniquity, show me how far short I fall, and my accountability to God, which reveals how much I need God. I need Him because I can't keep His law. But through His grace, through His grace, through the cross of Christ, I am free from the law's condemnation, but I'm not free from the law's obligation. But only because of the cross of Christ can I fulfill what God has for me, because He empowers me to do that through His Spirit, that I might live for His glory and honor.

And then tell your children, this is a reminder for me to tell you what God's Word says, that I need to be doing this on a regular basis with you. I need to love God with all that I have. I need to be able to tell you exactly what God's Word says. I need to live it so that you are convinced that what I'm teaching you, I believe, and I hold dear in my heart. See, that's where it all breaks down, isn't it? That's where it breaks down. I gather my children around together and tell them one thing, but live another life.

And it falls on deaf ears. I must teach them compellingly and convincingly and continually, this is who I am, this is what I believe in, this is what I want you to believe in, because I want you to walk in truth. And God's Word is true. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank You for today and the chance we have, as brief as it is, to spend time in Your Word. And our prayer, Father, is that we would be stimulated to live for the glory and honor of God. That, Lord, these words would be demonstrated passionately on our hearts, that we'd live the law of God, we'd walk after the Lord God, and we'd serve You with all of our hearts. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.