God's Top Ten

“And God spoke all these words.”  Exodus 20:1

 

The garden courtyard at my church boasts a large granite monument boldly proclaiming the Ten Commandments.   This famous list of laws is important, so much so that its initial reveal way back in the wilderness wasn’t merely through stone etching but also by God speaking—out loud and in person from a trembling, smoking mountain. 

What God had to say matters—a lot—for then and for now.  Actually, for forever because God’s Top Ten are not merely guidelines for a good, moral life but are His very description of Himself, showing us who He is and what He desires and deserves. 

Here’s a summary of what He said:

§  Focus on God first—only and always.  No one else and no thing ever deserves your time, attention, energy, and adoration more than God.

§  Don’t let your own ideas or ideals replace the reality of who God is.  Right priorities prevent punishment.

§  God’s name is too precious to play around with.  If you wear His label, your words and your works should never be a source of slander.

§  Take one day per week to rest.  Time to refresh and refocus is blessed by God and needed by you.

§  The ones who brought you up shouldn’t be put down. 

§  Life is precious, so elimination isn’t an option.  

§  Keep your hands and your heart on your spouse. 

§  If something doesn’t belong to you, leave it alone.

§  Always tell only the truth.

§  Don’t wish you had what others have.

The Old Testament Law contains 613 commands, but 603 of those are simply expansions of these Top Ten.  Condensed in a few short sentences are the very nature of God and the need of man.  He is perfect, and we need to be the same.  Though the controversy surrounding the public display of these divine declarations makes us want to read them loudly and proudly shout, “Yeah!”, a closer look makes us mouth, “Yikes!” as we realize our guilt in repeatedly breaking the instructions and the intent. 

But don’t despair. Keep reading in the Word and keep walking in the garden, and you will find a cross where monumental grace was poured out for a desperate people. Through God’s mercy, Christ’s perfection has covered our fault, and through faith, we now have power to obey and pardon when we don’t.  

The Ten Commandments are endlessly important, but they are not the end.  The relationship behind the rules is what counts and what God caused.  The One who came down to speak the commandments to us moved down to keep the commandments for us, and now we can relate to Him and to others the way we should.  

When you love the right One, you can live the Top Ten.