Many of us were expected to memorize these verses in Sunday school or as part of confirmation. Even if you never memorized them, you are probably familiar with the ten commandments. Often, though, when something is familiar, we tend not to spend much time examining it from different angles or through other lenses. Just as much as this passage is about a legal understanding of command and responsive action, it is also about relationship. Before God gives any commands, the Israelites are reminded that it is their God speaking. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery;”
These commands will give structure to the relationship between God and God’s people; they will also give structure for the community of God’s people. These commands paint a picture of a community in which God’s name will be honored, one in which there will be work and rest in turn, and one in which life and faithfulness will be valued.
In what ways might this passage have brought comfort to this group who could not seem to figure out what it meant to be God’s people? How would these commandments have set the community of God’s people apart from others?
Answer those two questions for our own community of faith. Now apply these questions to you as an individual.
In prayer, thank God for the structure for living in faithful community that the scriptures offer and dedicate yourself to more faithfully observing these ideals in your own life.