Moses repeats the Ten Commandments with some additional commentary
thrown in for good measure. Regarding the
commandment to do no work on the Sabbath day we find the rationale linked with the
deliverance from Egypt rather than from creation. We also see that the Lord will not hold him
guiltless who takes His Name in vain. What
does that commandment mean? Is it using
the Name as a curse? I think it clearly
includes such things, as this would be a blasphemy against His Name. It always strikes me as interesting that of
all the names given under heaven, all the names of other "gods", only
the name of Jesus is used in such ways. The
Name of God to which this refers is Yahweh, and the prohibition implies the
misuse of the Name in any way, such as superstitious or witchcraft. In the Middle Ages witches would take the
communion wafer in order to use it for their incantations, believing with the
Roman Catholic church that it was the body of Jesus. We see the sons of Sceva in the book of Acts
using the Name of Jesus as a form of magic and paying a price for it. The Name was always precious to God's people,
so precious they wouldn't write it out, and you see today in Jewish writings
the abbreviation, G-d. It is a great
gift to us to know His Name.
Lovers of money and religious people? Surely we wouldn't see that today in
Christianity would we? Clearly I am
being sarcastic, there are many whose religion includes the idea that God's
blessings are seen in a person's wealth and that the pursuit of money is
somehow actually godly. These Pharisees ridiculed
Jesus' teaching on money, and they clearly hadn't heard His statement that it
is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom. His response was
to point to their self-justification before men which won't work before the
Father. We have arguments in theological
circles over the Law in Christianity and I don't see how we can say that it has
no place. It continues to be that which
we measure ourselves against and it is the check against which we should
measure any word from the Lord. If the Holy
Spirit is speaking to us, we can't believe it is somehow in contradiction to
the Law. I know right from wrong by
measuring the Spirit in me against God's Word.
Paul says that the way he lives and the way he preaches is
according to the Word of God. He refuses
to practice cunning or tamper with God's Word in order to captivate them. He preaches Jesus, the perfect righteousness
of God and that righteousness is according to the Law, both the letter and the
Spirit of the Law. Jesus knew exactly
what the Father meant in giving the Law because they are one, and His
righteousness reveals true righteousness in a way that Pharisaic righteousness
never could because theirs was a performance while Jesus' flowed from His
being. His heart was pure. Paul's one goal was to reveal that perfect
righteousness of Jesus both in his preaching and in his life. Do we have that same goal in our lives?
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