THE STORY, Chapter 4
Exodus 1-7, 10-14
Deliverance

These Ten Commandments (the first four are vertical -- they honor God -- the next six concern love of others) give us the fundamental structure of how to live well. They are not a bunch of joy killing don'ts, rather they represent the protection of a loving Father for his children. They also imply provision. God provides what we need when we restrict our appetites in favor of God's provision. Protection and Provision of our gracious God and Father.

2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus 20:2-17 (NIV)


Prayer

“Lord, I accept the 10 commandments as a pathway, not to sinlessness, but to life. They protect me from evil and they lead me to life within the confines of life as you built it to be experienced. Amen."