The Big 10

Day 29
OT Reading: Exodus 19-21
NT Reading: Matthew 20: 1-16

In Andy Stanley's sermon series "The Sinai Code" he points out something about the ten commandments that I never noticed before. You probably read it today yourself and didn't even realize it. It was in Exodus 20:2 where God says, "I am the Lord your God..." (NIV) That may seem like an easy comment to overlook, but really it's significant for a couple reasons.

One, these people had been in captivity for 430 years. And other than the stories that had been passed down through the generations they really knew nothing about this God. Ask them about the various gods of the Egyptians? Sure, they could tell you about them. But this God? They didn't know his name, how He acted, what He wanted from them, how He likes His
coffee...nothing! They just knew he was the God of their ancestors...and that's about it.

Second, this statement "I am the Lord your God..." is said before anything else. Before any "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots." When God makes this statement, we don't yet have any 'ten commandments.' The people could not yet make sure they were following the rules because...well...they did not have any of His rules!

And yet before the people could obey Him perfectly, before they knew all the information there was to know about Him...God said, "I am your God." Do you realize how significant that is? Most of the time people make the ten commandments about the rules. But before any rules are listed God's emphasis is on how He wants a relationship with His people.

Perhaps the reason this stands out to me is because of the number of people I meet who believe they either need to know enough or be following enough of the rules before God will accept them. Yet here, even before the most famous list of commands in the world, God expresses his desire to be a personal God.