Exodus 20:1-17: Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8 Remember the sabbath day, and 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; you shall not do any work - you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 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 male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

The man of God, Moses, has been leading this rag tag bunch of homeless rebellious Jews around the desert wilderness toward the land that Yahweh had promised them. It quickly became apparent that they were going to need some rules to live by. As God always does, God provided!

These simple rules for loving God and neighbor have been guiding us ever since. They have provided the basis for the foundation documents of our nation and the laws that govern our land.

From our earliest days in Sunday School we have been taught their words and precepts. Jesus taught that we must write these rules to live by upon our hearts and live them every day.

Most of us have sat through sermons on all ten!

There seems to be a movement across our land that if we will just post these laws of God everywhere, and have our children read them in school, that we can cure the lawlessness in our cities and on our streets.

A federal judge has defied a higher court ruling and has refused to remove a large stone edifice containing these ten commandments from “his” court house.

School districts are defying edicts to remove them from the classrooms. Cities are passing ordnances requiring their posting in government buildings.

The idea seems to be that if we will just post them in enough places that somehow people will begin to follow them.

Oh, if it were just that easy!

You know Jesus was right (Isn’t he always right!). Until we can transfigure these tablets in stone into tablets within our hearts we will continue to behave much like the wilderness people did. While Moses was up on the mountain with God - - they got impatient and built them an idol and began to worship it. When Moses challenged Aaron about it - - Aaron’s reply was “well it just appeared!”

Isn't that the way sin always happens - - it just appears.

Putting God laws upon walls and in tablets of stone will not change that!

God can and will!



A Jim Lane Commentary
July 8, 2003