Book: Exodus
- Devotional Exodus 20: Looking Back to Move Forward
Whether we are facing a new year in these “unprecedented times,” or a new year in “precedented times”, it is still important to look back before moving forward.
- Devotional Exodus 20:1-21: The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are laws, yes, but they are so much more. They reveal the standard of morality God requires, and they reveal how a people freed from bondage can…
- Devotional Exodus 20:3 – The First Commandment
Idols are much broader than just (literal) religious figures, they are anything which takes the place of God as the highest priority in our life. Many of the ancient world’s…
- Devotional Exodus 20:4-6: The Second Commandment
God is not local, and certainly cannot be controlled. He is not to be worshiped as we desire, but instead in the way he commands, and worshiped as he has…
- Devotional Exodus 20:7: The Third Commandment
While we tend to think the Third Commandment forbids using God’s names as an expletive, the commandment covers more than that. It reminds us God is holy, and we must…
- Devotional Exodus 20:8-11: The Fourth Commandment
In the Fourth Commandment, the importance of rest and worship is highlighted. God positively reminds us to set aside work and to rest – instead focusing our time on the…
- Devotional Exodus 20:12 – The Fifth Commandment
The Fifth Commandment serves as a bridge between the first four commandments, which deal with obligations to God, and the last five commandments, which deal with obligations to each other.…
- Devotional Exodus 20:13 – The Sixth Commandment
The Sixth Commandment does not just forbid murder, but all forms of unlawful killing. More than that, it forbids the attitude of hate which is a type of murder in…
- Devotional Exodus 20:14 – The Seventh Commandment
While the world may not care about marital faithfulness, God does. The Seventh Commandment forbids all types of marital unfaithfulness, pointing to the ideal of the one man-one woman union…
- Devotional Exodus 20:15 – The Eighth Commandment
Since ultimately everything belongs to God and he dishes it out as he wills, God requires us to respect his division of material goods. The Eighth Commandment, which forbids stealing,…
- Devotional Exodus 20:16: The Ninth Commandment
We all lie, deceive, gossip and slander, and fail to stand up for the truth. The Ninth Commandment condemns us. Deceitful words destroy trust in society, in relationships, and offend…
- Devotional Exodus 20:17- The Tenth Commandment
In this spirit of consumerism and desiring what others have that we do not, the Tenth Commandment hits like a hammer. Instead of sinfully desiring in our hearts what God…
- Devotional Exodus 20:18-21: Fear and Trembling
When Israel gathered at Sinai to hear God’s Law, they came to God’s presence, demonstrated to them by a booming voice, thunder and lightning, trumpets, and smoke. It was too…
- Devotional Exodus 20:22-26: Only As God Required
After the people appointed Moses as their intermediary, God spoke to the people through Moses to remind them to worship him only. They had seen and heard God directly; in…