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Review: Last week we looked at how God provides manna that points to the Bread of Life in Christ. God gives Moses instruction when he is verbally attacked by the Israelites. God mercifully provides water from the Rock, pointing to Jesus our Satisfier and Provider.
Title: God’s Commands
Text: Exodus 20:1-17
Memory Verse: Exodus 20:2-3
Theme: God reveals His character and standards for holy living.
Introduction: In this week’s lesson we see that God does give His people commands to conform them to His Son’s image by His grace. He gave His people the ten commandments and they are summed up in loving God and others from Matthew 22:37-40, “And [H]e said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets’” (emphasis mine).
Opening Discussion Question (s): Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant or coffee shop and the kind of obvious instruction is given, “Careful, hot coffee?” It’s an obvious instruction but maybe someone sued the company prior for something that was obvious, so they had to put that on the cup. What’s a bizarre warning you’ve heard or seen, and what did you think of that?
Context: They defeat the Amalekites after the trials of Rephidim, which God mercifully saw them through. First mention of Moses writing the law is provided in 17:14, and Yahweh-nissi is the name of God highlighted after their victory, “The Lord is my Banner.” They arrived at Mt. Sinai after 3 months of wondering, because God wanted to make sure they were spiritually prepared as His people before any other things, priorities, or the rest of the journey got in the way. God would bring Moses up for instructions and formalize with them the covenant with Abraham.
In 19:5 He refers to them “segullah” meaning “my adopted son, “my own possession.” This is an expression of affection. In 19:6 He called them a “kingdom of priests” and “holy nation” to be the recipients and means of paving the way of His grace to the lost world through Jesus.
They were to willingly obey Him. God’s mighty presence in the cloud, thunder, fire, and lightning would descend and He would speak, and the people would observe this majestic and even frightening scene.
Summary: God reveals His identity in the ten commandments to His people and bases the formalization of this covenant relationship upon His rescue of them from Egypt that they might serve Him with devotion and loyalty as His instrument through which redemption would come for all peoples.
Main Points:
- God’s Identity (Exodus 20:1-2)
“And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.’”
- As they were learning to enjoy their new freedom, God provided them with the decalogue to personally know God and how their lives would be righteous and honor Him.
- Decalogue literally means ten words, and these were written on stones, the “tablets of the covenant” according to Deut. 9:9,11.
- Lifeway’s Leader Guide says, “Contrary to popular thought, the Ten Words were not spread over two tablets. As was customary with ancient treaties, the tablets were duplicates, one representing God’s guarantee of His covenant commitment to Israel, and the other Israel’s promise to be faithful to God. Each tablet was inscribed on both sides (32: 15-16)” (page 82).
- God spoke to them and the people trembled. Eight times He says here “I am the Lord your God” establishing them as His obedient followers who take His Word seriously and them Him as their God who is in complete charge, always doing what is best for us according to Psalm 81:10, “I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
- Ancient covenants were established on the basis of relationship. Here God highlights that their relationship was on the basis of Him setting them free from slavery, for which they owed Him their complete devotion.
Doctrine: God
“To God we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience” (Lifeway Leader Guide, p. 82)
Luke 4:8, “ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.’”
John 14:15, “ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Discussion: Why did God share the commandment by first reminding them of Who He is and what He had done for them?
II. Relating to God (Exodus 20:3-11)
3 “’You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and 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.’”
- The ten commandments are presented first in the vertical relationship between man and God in verses 3-11 and man toward his fellow man in verses 12-17, covering households in verses 8-12, neighbors in 13-16, and heart in verse 17.
- One great way to love your neighbor well is through Bless Every Home. Here is the link to get started praying, caring for, serving, and reaching your neighbors with the Good News: https://app.blesseveryhome.com/
- Verse 3 shows God’s singularity and supremacy vs. other religions with multiple, confusing idolatrous gods.
- Verse 4’s idolatry means any man-made image.
- Possible Discussion: What are modern day idols? Success, car/possessions, acclaim…
- Verse 5’s jealousy of God is His righteous kind of zealous protection of us as precious to Him.
- Verse 7 “Misuse” means emptiness, worthlessness, futility.”
- Sabbath rest in verse 8 means replacing work with rest that increases devotion to God.
Discussion: What does keeping sabbath look like for today’s Christians? It’s still important for believers. Why do you think that is?
III. Relating to Others (Exodus 20:12-17)
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder.[c] 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
- Respecting and taking care of parents in old age is part of the meaning in verse 12, while not discounting the command in Genesis 2:24 to leave and cleave to one’s spouse.
- The last five commands are shared in the negative sense, to not murder, commit adultery, or lie, or desire or lust after what is someone else’s.
Discussion: How can the way we relate to others bring glory to God?
The work of Christ in the gospel: This lesson points us to Christ and the gospel when we see how He fulfilled the commands of the law that we had broken and that breaded more brokenness, and that if we repent and believe on Jesus—the Great law-Fulfiller-we can be restored to a right relationship with God and recover and pursue the original design of individuals relating rightly to God through receiving His forgiveness and relating rightly toward our fellow man as recipients of grace.
Devotional: “Jesus Fulfilled the Law”:
The book of Romans makes it clear that the law was given to reveal to ourselves what lawbreakers we are and what a law-Fulfiller Christ is. He never broke one of the ten commandments, and we by word, deed, and thought have broken all of them if we were honest with ourselves.
The law shows us the holiness of God. These ten commandments reveal the holiness of God’s Divine nature in comparison to corrupt man.
The law shows us how amazing Jesus’ righteous life was in our place. When we look into our souls and understand the level of our sin nature, the utter corruption within, we will have to admit our need of a sufficient sacrifice in our place, which Jesus willingly stepped into being for us. The merciful willingness of Christ to come die on the cross in man’s place in the face of such heinous law-breaking should cause our hearts to well up with gratitude and wonder and go forward to live out our redeemed responsibility of loving God and loving others well out of loyal, appreciative devotion to God for His glory.
How to Pray:
- God, thank You for fulfilling the law I had broken.
- God, help me to love You well.
- God, help me to love others well.
Caleb Walker 
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