1-3 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. “You shall have no other gods before me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything …

5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, ….

6 but showing steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, …

8-9 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,

10-11 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, … For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

13-17 “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house …your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

— Exodus 20:1-17

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Does God’s Law, the 10 Commandments, even matter today? Is it just some ancient list of rules, a religious checklist or is it something far more powerful, personal and purposeful? What will happen in society when there is no structure, no accountability and no justice? If we magnify that spiritually, without God‘s Law, people have no awareness of sin, no concept of holiness and no understanding of why we need salvation.

The study of the Law is not about just knowing the rules, it is about knowing God, knowing ourselves and knowing how the gospel meets us right where we are. In fact when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He didn’t discard the Law. He summed it up— love God, and your neighbors. The Law, the 10 Commandments are not just a moral code. They’re a mirror of God‘s character and a spotlight on our hearts.