Chapter 13
Exodus 20
“This evening,” continued Mother, “we will see what the commandments were which God gave Moses, those often spoken of as the Ten Commandments.”
“Oh, Mamma,” exclaimed Sophy, “I am so glad God gave us the Bible so we can hear about how great He is and how good He is to His people.”
“Yes, Sophy. Moses was back on the mountain and the Lord spoke to him out of the thick darkness and said,
‘I am the Lord thy God which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (that is an idol), or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.’
“When the people heard all the thunderings and the trumpet and saw all the lightnings and the smoking mountain, they stood afar off. They said unto Moses, ‘Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.’
“Moses answered them: ‘Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.’
“So Moses drew near into the thick darkness where God was. And the Lord said, ‘Say unto the children of Israel: ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.’ He commanded them not to make idols of silver or of gold; nor an altar of cut stone, for if they lifted up a tool upon His altar it would be unholy, because God could not have anything of man’s work. The Lord said they could make an altar of earth and burn sacrifices upon it to Him in every place He chose to put His name and He would come and bless them there.”
“Did God give His law to other nations also?” inquired Sophy.
“No, if a Gentile was bought as a servant for an Israelite he had to be circumcised to become one of the family. God did not give the Gentile nations the law.”
“Why did God give the law to the children of Israel?” again asked Sophy.
“It was to show them how sinful they were. God’s law showed what sin was, and taught them what was worthy of a man as God’s creature on the earth. If they had kept it, they would have been wise and good men, fearing God and loving one another. The law told them in God’s own words what was right and what was wrong.”
“But did the children of Israel kill and steal and do all those bad things before God said they shouldn’t?” questioned Arthur.
“God saw that there were naughty feelings in the hearts of His people, that they had hearts that would go after other gods, and that would kill, and steal and wish for their neighbor’s things. So He decided to give them a law to show them how sinful they were and how holy He was.”
“Mother,” said Sophy, “did the children of Israel like to get the law?”
“Yes, I think they liked to have God ask them to do something for they were very proud. They said, ‘All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.’ But they soon learned that they could not obey the rules of the law and this did show them up to be sinners. It showed them the difference between right and wrong.”
“Does God give the law to people now who believe in Jesus?” said Sophy, pursuing the conversation.
“If we believe in Jesus, dear, God does not give us the law on tablets of stone but He writes them in our hearts. Do you know what that means, Arthur?”
“No,” replied the little boy.
“It means that God gives us a new life in Jesus and a new nature, with new thoughts and new desires. He also gives us His Holy Spirit to stay with us forever to teach us about the Lord Jesus Christ who is above and to help us walk like Him down here. So we do not have a law but a living Person, Jesus Christ, to honor and obey because we appreciate what He has done for us and we love Him and wish to be as nearly like Him as we can be.”
“Oh, Mother,” broke in Sophy. “I remember that He died to take away my naughty heart and how glad I am that I have a chance to love Him and to live for Him.”
“Yes, Sophy, ‘we love Him because He first loved us.’ He has taken us away from our enemy, Satan, just as God took the Israelites away from the wicked Egyptian ruler.
“But that must be enough for now, for Arthur is getting too sleepy to listen to more. Try and remember some of the things God has been seeking to teach us. Goodnight, my dears!”