DAILY BIBLE DEVOTION

 

WE WILL DO IT

Moses came down from the

mountain and told the people what

the Lord had commanded. They all

said, Okay! No problem! As we shall

see in a few days, that didn't last

long. The Israelites said yes over

and over to God, and then said, no,

over and over again. So much like

us! It's a good thing God forgives

us over and over again. It is always

interesting to read the full account

of the commandments and their

amplified meaning in Exodus,

because it gives an idea of what the

civilization was like in those days.

The commandnents were not all

totally new as many of them were

based on the code of Hammurabi.

The first three commandments

were new as they listed the proper

behavior towards God. The other

seven concerned social behavior

and social structure. So, what's the

difference between Hammurabi's

code and the Ten Commandments

other that the first three? The

difference is in the why. We don't

obey the commandments because

the promote civility within society;

we obey them because this is what

God has called us to do. Regardless

of the punishments proscribed in

Exodus for different offenses, we

are called to obey God. Period! It is

the same today with Jesus law of

love which calls for us to work for

justice, help the poor, etc. We

don't help others because it's a

nice thing to do, ever though it is,

we do it because we are called as

Christians to take care of one

another. Why do you obey, why do

I? Is it because we want to avoid

punishment, or because it's the

right thing to do.

PRAYER

Loving and forgiving God, you call

us to act toward our brothers and

sisters ina loving way regardless of

whether we might be punished or

not. Help us to engrave your law

on our hearts and be faithful to

you, Amen.