I Am the Lord Your God
The Covenant • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsWho God is and what he has done ought to affect how we live.
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Intro
One of the most unique aspects of the Judeo-Christian worldview is our ethics. Ethics is essentially the way we determine good and evil and apply that in our actions. And there is no more succinct, more clear, nor more beautiful statement of our ethics than the Ten Commandments.
Most of you have probably seen the 1956 classic The Ten Commandments. The image of Charlton Heston as Moses is iconic. His biography is even named “An American Moses” because of this movie.
What you might not know is that this wasn’t Cecil B. DeMille’s first movie by that name. For that, you have to go back to the days of silent pictures - 1923 to be exact. In that era, storyboards showed the words spoken and relevant to the story. In the storyboard introducing the original The Ten Commandments, DeMille puts this:
The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey as a personal favor to God. They are the fundamental principles without which mankind cannot live together. They are not laws - they are the LAW.
To say it differently: the Ten Commandments are not laws for us to follow. They are an ethic for us to live by; principles for us to embody. They are not merely to guide our steps but to shape our souls. The basis of this ethic of is not idyllic principles or functional pragmatism, but something far more stable.
In this series, we’re going to dive deep into the Ten Commandments. We’re going to explore their meaning, what they teach us about ourselves and about God. We’re not merely interested in do’s and don’ts. We want to meet the God that this covenant reveals, and see how we can through his work become more like he created us to be.
Today, we want to put ourselves at the foot of the Moses as he recounts these Words of God. So let’s join those ancient Israelites and find a word just as valuable and relevant to us as it was to them.
Reading: Deuteronomy 5:1-6
1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.
4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,
5 while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
6 “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Pray
The book of Deuteronomy is a retelling of much of the content of Exodus and Leviticus. In fact, the name “Deuteronomy” actually comes from two words meaning “second law.” But this isn’t just a copy-and-paste job. Deuteronomy reiterates the Law through the lens of God’s covenant relationship with Israel.
This is obvious as you read the entire book. Over and over again, God reminds Israel of the relationship they have with him. They are to follow his ways, to worship and serve only him. He will be their God, and they will be his people. They are not to forget him when they get into the land, but are to devote themselves only to him. He promises to give them abundance: milk and honey, long life in the land, and protection from enemies and beasts. Even in verse 1 we hear the call to faithfulness in obeying God’s commands:
1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
Then Moses reminds them of how God entered into this covenant with his people:
2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.
4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,
5 while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
The scene of that day was quite the sight. Exodus 19 gives us a description of the day God made covenant with Israel. God instructed Moses to consecrate the people for two days, then to bring them to the food of the mountain on the third day.
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
When God comes to meet with man, man cannot help but be changed by the experience. Man cannot but tremble in fear at the presence of the Almighty God. Even the mountain and the earth trembled and quaked at God’s presence; how much less can man remain apathetic and unmoved at God’s nearness in this moment?
God does not just change our attitudes by being around us, he also changes us. It’s not just that God makes our knees knock or our stomachs unsettled, or even our brows sweat or hands wring. God changes our souls, our inner beings. He makes us different, and he makes our actions different. Consider verse 6:
6 “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
What God Has Done
The Judeo-Christian ethic is like a foundation upon which we build our lives. Foundations have two components. The main component we see is concrete. Ethics by its nature must be acted out - lived through works. God’s works provide the basis upon which we live; the model from which we base our actions.
Note here in verse 6 the dual description of God’s work for Israel: “…who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” God’s work of redeeming his chosen people out of slavery in Egypt becomes the basis of his demands upon their lives. But more than that - it is the basis of them being God’s chosen people. It was so important is Israel’s history that the event is mentioned at least 120 times in the OT (Sarna, JPS Exodus, xii)!
This leads us to an important truth: our actions are to be reflective of God’s work. You’ll see this throughout the commandments. We don’t bear false witness, for example, because God himself does not lie. We do not commit adultery because God is always faithful to us, and our faithfulness mirrors his. Paul puts it this way:
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
Our ethical foundation is composed of the concrete of God’s works.
Who God Is
But concrete isn’t the only element of a strong foundation. Try as we might to copy God’s works, it will not work without something more. Just as a concrete slab needs rebar, we need an ethical rebar that binds the good works together and makes them one firm unit that stands the test of time.
The rebar in our ethical foundation is God’s character. Look back at the beginning of verse 6:
6 “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Note the name he gives himself: YHWH.
Note also the way he describes himself: “your God.” The relationship between God and his people is so important to him that he clarifies who he is with how he relates to his people. He is not just any divine character named YHWH; he is YHWH, our God. Yours and mine! His own character and his actions combine together to form the basic principle of our ethics:
Who God Is and What He Has Done Should Determine How We Live
Who God Is and What He Has Done Should Determine How We Live
Every command of God is based in his character and his works. God is, and who he is ought to be what we are striving to be, too. He is just, merciful, loving, truthful, faithful, and pure. We should live like that - being more and more like him as he shapes us in his image.
But we cannot become like him without also emulating his works. Just as we must conform to his image, we must also conform to his works. God redeems the lost, loves his enemies, protects the helpless, gives justice to the oppressed, forgives repentant sinners, restores the broken, and fulfills his promises. We should to, because doing the works God does is the means through which God shapes us.
Who God is and what he has done should determine how we live. And in no other thing do we see the nature and works of God than in his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is a living Word, translating God to us and showing us what living by God’s ethic really looks like. Let’s follow his example and live our lives based on who God is and what he has done.
Pray