I want to
introduce to you three words.
1. Rules –
which side of the road we drive on – needed to stay safe but can be different.
2. Laws – I
know some government rules are called law, but I tend to think in terms of laws
that are unchangeable – science! 😊 Newton's
law of universal gravitation; The second law of thermodynamics states that the
entropy [chaos] of any isolated system always increases. You can’t change these
laws of physics but knowing them and taking them into account, you can do
amazing things.
3. Covenant –
from
the Latin and means to come together, to agree; a covenant is an agreement,
usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified,
[i]
I think of
the ten commandments as part of a covenant.
These two sections of exodus we heard
this morning, remind us again that God brings us into relationship, then makes a claim on our lives.
God establishes a relationship with
us, a relationship that brings us out of slavery, slavery in Egypt, slavery to
sin, slavery to fear…. We are all aware of places in our lives where we have
been, and in many cases, still are in bondage. God establishes a relationship
with us, a relationship that brings us out of slavery.
The 10 commandments are not about a
pathway into relationship with God, we are already in a relationship with God.
God has already established a relationship with us.
According to
the book of Exodus, the commandments were given just three months after the
people came out of slavery in Egypt. Imagine what it was like for these people
who for generations had been enslaved. The people who had come out of Egypt
needed to remember, to relearn what it means to live as free people.
In a sense the
10 Commandments are a way of recalibrating the people to being God's people,
not Pharaoh's people.[ii]
When you
have lived in a system where life is not valued, where work is constant and
soul destroying, where as a slave you are at the whim of the captors, living in
freedom is not an easy change.
You may
remember Terry Waite, a special envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was
held hostage for 5 years in Beirut in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. When he
returned from captivity, he couldn’t eat with his family. After 5 years of
mostly solitary confinement, he felt crowded, even around his family. He took
the time he needed to slowly re-enter the world he had left 5 years earlier.[iii]
For over 400
years the Hebrew people had been living in Egypt, initially as free people, but
then as slaves.
Now there is
no Pharaoh to tell them what to do, no taskmasters allocating back breaking
work each day
Now they can
worship God
Now they are
free, but they need to learn what it means to live as free people.
You may have heard the poem:
Children
Learn What They Live
by
Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.
If
children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If
children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
…..
If
children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
….
If
children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If
children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If
children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If
children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If
children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those
about them.
If
children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which
to live.[iv]
The people of Israel had lived with
fear and criticism and hostility, they needed to relearn what it means to live
in freedom, not in fear.
The 10 commandments are basically
about relationship with God and with each other.
These commandments are not just for
us. They are for our neighbour, so our neighbour can live the best life
possible. You see God loves all of creation, all people. When we are in a
relationship with God, when we live in covenant with God, we are God’s
treasured possession. But God wants all people and all of creation to live a
full life, and gives the commandments, so that all people can live.
The good news for my neighbour is that
God loves them so much that God tells me not to steal from my neighbour, cheat
my neighbour, kill my neighbour, or take their family from them. And the good
news for me, is that God loves me so much that God calls my neighbour not to
kill me, or steal from me, or cheat me.
The people of Israel had moved from
slavery, slavery to Pharaoh,
They had lived under oppression,
They had been abused
Their children killed, or threatened
and now, they are free.
and they need to learn new ways to live in relationship with God and each other.
They had lived under oppression,
They had been abused
Their children killed, or threatened
and now, they are free.
and they need to learn new ways to live in relationship with God and each other.
As people created by God, redeemed by
Jesus, and sanctified by the holy spirit, we are free.
Free, not so we can dominate others,
but so we can work for their freedom.
Free, not so we can take more than we
need, but so we can ensure all people, and all of creation is provided for.
Free, not so we can make slaves of
others, but so we can respect all people. [v]
Where do our
lives need calibrating with the freedom of God?
Which of the
commandments do you need today?
[i]
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/covenant
[ii]
From Facebook, don’t know original reference
[iii]
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/terry-waite-i-spent-five-years-as-a-hostage-in-beirut---but-i-ne/
[iv]
Copyright © 1972 by Dorothy Law Nolte https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/overcoming-child-abuse/201112/children-learn-what-they-live
[v]
Rolf Jacobsen, working preacher
