Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Ponderings from the Men’s Bible Study

Context:  On Wednesday, the gathering was much into the Rays, because they beat the Yanks; I was especially happy, having been at the game and snagged a BJ Foul Ball.  We were saddened to hear that Mary Ellen Smith, the Bishop’s wife cancer was inoperable and it has spread.   Bishop Smith asked that our prayers be directed to Wisdom and Mercy.   We prayed also for Father Schuller as he sets out on his journey to explore new ways to serve and bring people close to God.   

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20   What are we missing by skipping verses 5-6, 10-11?  Take a moment to read the whole passage and the abbreviated version.  Do you think that which was left out is too harsh a message?   Some in our study group were dismayed that we were leaving out the tough stuff.  This includes that parental iniquity is going to be rewarded with punishing the children for up to four generations.  The words resonate in the context of the wandering folks that Moses was trying to keep in line.  If you are sternly warned to toe the line how do you respond?     


This passage is recalled in the Hollywood Cecil B. DeMille Ten Commandments.  The image of God giving Moses the Ten Commandments up on Mont Sinai on some clay tablets is a prominent feature that CB brought to the Big Screen. 

In the lead up to this story (Exodus 19: 10-24), God told Moses to get the people ready (wash the clothing and get consecrated) because on the third day God was coming down on Mount Sinai and all the Israelites would see God, but they were not to come beyond the base of Mount Sinai.  Only Aaron and Moses were to come up on the Mountain.   When God came to Mt Sinai there was smoke, fire, blasting trumpets, and shaking ground.  If you were one of those in the camp, you would have been shaking in your sandals.   This does not sound like a very pleasant experience.   God is coming for a visit, get ready and don’t stray.  

“God then Spoke all these words”:   You shall have no other God; don’t create and worship idols, don’t misuse God’s name; respect the Sabbath; honor your mother and father; you shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, or bear false witness; no coveting of wives or property.     While God was proclaiming all of this, the smoke, fire, trumpets, and earthquakes were in high gear.   The people were terrified. 

In closing, Moses tells the anxious and dismayed not to worry; God has put you to the test and put fear in you so you won’t fall into sin.   

The Ten Commandments historically are the basis of Covenant, the Decalogue, The Ten Words, the Testimony.  The Tables of God’s Law was given the most honored place, in an Arc in the inner Tabernacle.  A very similar set of commandments is fount in Deuteronomy 5:6-21; scholars mostly agree that the form of the Ten Commandments in Exodus is older and purer.   These Laws are the source and they are a backbone of Jewish and Christian doctrine.   There are many interpretations and commentaries on tqen big ones.  William Barclay wrote a book on the Ten Commandments.   I can’t pass up the opportunity to share some of Barclay’s good words.

“The Ten Commandments …the starting point for all those people who have agreed to live together in community,… the basis of community existence. The Ten Commandments should be seen as representing the voluntary and accepted principals of self-limitations and self discipline without which no group of people can ever become a nation.  Special emphasis is put on the study of the commandments concerning the Sabbath, killing, and adultery.”

As we travel on the pathway, the big ten are important in keeping us from going astray.  

Submitted by Walt Jaap 

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