Gospel AND Law | Exodus 20:1-2
As I was thinking back to the season in our life when my wife and I were fully occupied with parenting, certainly one of the main things we grappled with was how to get these boys to obey us. Before they would obey us, they needed to hear us. Before they would obey us, they needed to understand us. The word “no” was a necessary building block in their developing vocabulary. Before they would obey us, they needed to know they could trust us – trust that we loved them, trust that we knew and were committed to what was best for them. And before they would obey us consistently, they needed to know there were consequences for disobeying us. Raising and training children is one of the most, I don’t have to say it, but I will – demanding, exhausting, challenging, and exhilarating tasks in all the world. And it’s because the task of child-rearing brings us face to face with the human condition – we don’t like anyone telling us what we can and cannot do.
And further, as we now move into the next section of the book of Exodus, and in particular, engage one of the most famous sections of the Bible, what many would consider one of the most important pieces of religious literature in all the world, namely the Ten Commandments, we are brought face to face with the very heart of the human condition. We don’t like God telling us what we can and cannot do.
A few years ago, CNN reported a special interest story on what two research executives termed “The Ten Non-commandments of Our Age.” This is a fairly accurate assessment of what people come up with – who don’t like God or anyone else for that matter, telling them what they can and cannot do. Here’s what those crowd-sourced researchers came up with - The Ten Non-Commandments of Our Age:
Be open-minded and be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence. Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, and not to believe what you wish to be true.
The scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world. Every person has the right to control of their body. God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a full and meaningful life.
Be mindful of the consequences of all your actions and recognize that you must take responsibility for them.
Treat others as you would want them to treat you, and can reasonably expect them to want to be treated. Think about their perspective. We have the responsibility to consider others, including future generations.
There is no one right way to live. And finally, leave the world a better place than you found it.
— (Referenced in The Ten Commandments, K. DeYoung)
There you have a summary of the moral code one arrives at by listening to and taking the temperature of those around you. But according to the Bible, the way to find moral instruction that reflects true and enduring wisdom is not by listening to your gut, but by listening to God. And that is what we are about to do. Please stand and follow along as I read Ex. 20:1-17.
“And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day, and made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
—Exodus 20:1-17
Exodus 20:1-2 answer the question, “Why obey the ten commandments?” Ex. 20:1-2 serve as the foundation, the ground for the obedience of God’s people to God’s Word. I believe a fair summary answer to that question is –
God’s People Love and Obey God Because God First Loved Them
In Ex. 20:1-2 we see that the Ten Commandments are rooted in God’s character – who He is. And the Ten Commandments are rooted in God’s saving acts – what He has done. These two verses are utterly essential in getting the answer right to the question, “Why obey the ten commandments?” God’s people love and obey God because of who He is, and because of what He has done. First,
The Ten Commandments are Rooted in God’s Character
Who is this God? Remember the setting. According to Ex. 19, there is thunder, and lightening, and smoke, and fire. The mountain, Mt. Sinai itself, is trembling. And the people are standing in awe and trembling, but safely positioned by God at the foot of the mountain. And they are forbidden from coming any closer lest their sinfulness comes in contact with God’s holiness, and they suffer the death penalty. For the wages of sin is death.
And then, the LORD himself appears in a thick cloud. And just when one cannot imagine anything more dramatic, something more dramatic happens. The LORD himself speaks to the Israelites. And it worth noticing, that the awesome appearance of God in unapproachable holiness, with all its accompanying phenomena, is NOT the ultimate revelation of God that He gives to His people. The Lord doesn’t descend in order to simply overwhelm the people with shock and awe. If that’s all God intended was to generate shivers, and chicken skin and frighten them and grieve them to tears, then thunder, and lightening, and thick smoke, and fire would have been sufficient. But feelings alone, whether feelings of awe and wonder, or feelings of terror and shame, are NOT the end.
God reveals himself to His people by speaking to them personally and audibly. Let us never lose sight of this. God’s personal Word is a far more significant illustration of God’s glorious presence and WHO HE IS than anything we will ever see in nature. So v. 1, “And God spoke all these words, saying . . . “
The narrator distinguishes this divine speech from all previous divine speech as God communicates himself directly to the Israelites rather than through Moses. So, for the Israelites, this moment is unlike any previous experience they have had of God and His glory. Because here at Sinai, the people heard, not only the words of God. They heard the very voice of God. And in v. 2, God introduces himself to his people saying, “I am the LORD your God.”
He introduces himself by his personal name, “Yahweh.” It’s the name by which God introduced himself to Moses in Ex. 3. It is distinguished by spelling it with all caps. “I am.” This is the great “I am” speaking. This is the sovereign, self-existent One saying to them, “I am the LORD your God.” He is the One who has made covenant promises to this people. And He is dynamically, and actively present. He has come down. And he is the God who speaks. He is the God who acts. He is the God who creates. He is the God who keeps his promises to His people. This is the wedding ceremony. “I Yahweh, take you to be my people.”
And what is particularly stunning is that the LORD addresses the people using the second person singular pronoun. SINGULAR! There are times when pronouns are a BIG deal. “I am the LORD YOUR God!” And God uses the 2nd person singular pronoun in order to communicate that he has a personal relationship with His people. And this is particularly amazing, in light of their grumbling and whining, and arrogantly complaining and testing God rather than humbly trusting God.
So, God is doing more than addressing them together as single nation. No. He is addressing them individually as well. It’s as though God is making personal eye contact with each of them and communicating his personal affection and loyalty to each of them. This is God’s covenant to His bride! This is his covenant to each one here who trusts, and takes him to be their God. “I am the LORD your God.” It’s as if he’s calling them and us out individually. “I am the LORD your God.” Looking you in the eye and saying, “I am the LORD your God, and your God. I am the LORD your God.” Isn’t that way more significant and meaningful than thunder and lightning and a towering inferno?
And then God describes how they met each other and how they came into this relationship.
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
—Exodus 20:2b
God is NOT only their LORD and God. He is also their REDEEMER. Their rescue out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery – it was ALL His doing. And again, it’s the 2nd person singular pronoun. He brought you out. And you out. He brought you out, and you out, and you out. He brought you out. “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land and Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” And your rescue, your deliverance was all because of divine initiative and divine intervention. It was completely, and entirely because of divine action.
This is so crucial. For you see, the basis, the foundation for the ten commandments is NOT only rooted in God’s character.
The Ten Commandments are Rooted in God’s Saving Acts
Do you see that in Ex. 20:1-2 that there are NO commands? There are NO imperatives. There is NO law. It’s all indicatives. The commands do not appear until v. 3. AFTER the recounting of ALL that God has done to save, AFTER the review of ALL God has done to rescue, and deliver, and bring them out, and free them, it’s not until AFTER ALL THAT GOD HAS DONE, that God lays down the stipulations of this on-going relationship. Because God’s sovereign grace is the bedrock of His relationship with us.
We were hopelessly and helplessly in bondage, utterly incapable of liberating ourselves. It was God, who had graciously given His covenant promises to Abraham, and who has fulfilled those promises by His powerful and decisive deliverance of His people from their enslavement to the Egyptian superpower.
And here’s what is so significant. BEFORE issuing the ten commandments, the Lord purposefully, and intentionally reminds them of who He is, and what He has done for them. BEFORE God gives His people the law, He reminds them it is He who has graciously redeemed them out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of slavery.
There is a divine order revealed here that creates an environment of grace for all that follows in the giving of the law. God’s gracious act of salvation precedes His call to obedience. And this divine order must never be forgotten. Not now. Not ever. So, parents, according to Dt. 6:20, a time will come when your children will say something like this. “Why do we need to obey? Why do we need to keep these rules, these commands?” And you’ll be tempted, especially on days when you’re tired, to say something like, “Because I said so.” And that’s when you’ll want to remember this.
“When your son asks you in time to come, “What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?”
Then you shall say to your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the LORD showed us signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh . . .
And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always.”
—Deuteronomy 6:20-24
It’s not ultimately helpful to tell our children to obey JUST BECAUSE we say so. No. The first thing we tell them, the first thing we re-tell them, the first thing we review, we rehearse, we revisit again, is the story of God’s great saving work. That’s because children will only understand the role of God’s law and the purpose of God’s law by first hearing, and by hearing again and again and again, the story of the rescue. We will not, we cannot love and obey God until we first experience his saving acts.
So, when calling for and enforcing obedience, don’t forget the gospel. God and His gracious and saving acts are the foundation. God and His gracious saving acts are what generate an environment of grace for the giving of the law. The starting point for gospel-powered parenting, and gospel-powered community, and gospel-powered lives is the gospel. So, tell ‘em over and over. Sing it over and over. Preach it over and over. We are all slaves to sin. Slaves to disobedience. When you and I act out in sinful, willful disobedience, do you not see how it reveals the enslavement of our souls? We are helpless. Moms and Dads are helpless to set their own hearts free. And we are helpless to set our children’s hearts free. BUT GOD!
But God can set your heart free from your slavery to sinning. Cry out to him! He will deliver you! Call on His name! For everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD will be saved!
Grace precedes and informs the giving of God’s law – His good, wise, and loving law. And what took place at Sinai in the giving of the law CANNOT be rightly understood without this reminder of their redemption and deliverance by God’s free and sovereign and powerful hand.
This is why hanging a plaque on our wall with the ten commandments, by themselves, is incomplete. As well-intended as it is, apart from Ex. 20:1-2, apart from the gospel of God’s sovereign and saving acts, informing, and inflaming our wills to keep those commands, God’s law alone and by itself is misrepresented. So, Ex. 20:1-2 provides both the reason and the motivation God’s people need to keep the commands that follow. The ten commandments are rooted in the character of God – who He is, and the saving acts of God – what He has done.
And now here’s why this is SO significant. The ten commandments are NOT a condition for becoming God’s people. They are ALREADY God’s people. These commands were not delivered to the Israelites in Egypt while they were still in the house of slavery – as some condition for getting out of Egypt and out of the house of slavery. IF these commands were given to them while they were in Egypt as a condition for getting out of Egypt, they would still be in Egypt. NO! The law was given when they were long gone from Egypt! Their redemption is NOT a reward for keeping God’s commands. There is no place in the book of Exodus where there is even the slightest suggestion that the Israelites were rescued because of their faithfulness to, and/or compliance with God’s law. Oh no! The reason for their deliverance was solely due to the LORD’s love for this “unimpressive” people.
As an unconverted adolescent, I so clearly remember perceiving that a Christian was someone who did NOT do certain things. A Christian was distinguished by a list of “don’ts” and a few “do’s.” And at some point, after I had decided to be a Christian, I told my testimony through the same framework. “I used to dishonor my parents. I used to use bad language. I used to tell little white lies. I used to get angry at my sister. But now, I’ve changed! I’ve gotten myself straightened out!” Only to prove what slave I was to self-righteousness.
What God says to the Israelites in Ex. 20:1-2, he says to each and every Christian. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” ONLY, if you ARE a Christian, you have been rescued from a far more serious slavery than the Egyptian slavery. Because if you are a Christian, you have been rescued from a more serious bondage – a slavery to sin with eternal consequences.
Ex. 20:1-2 points to a future saving experience in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It points to the announcement and the fulfillment of the gospel. The good news of what has been done by Jesus Christ so that one can be pardoned from the guilt of sin, and reconciled to God. The gospel is NOT about what we do. It is decidedly about what has been graciously done for us. The gospel is an announcement! The gospel is the news of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. The gospel is WHO God is for us in Christ. The gospel is WHAT God has done for us in Christ.
Repentance and faith are the fitting response to the gospel. But repentance and faith are NOT the gospel. Obedience to God’s commands have an appropriate place in response to the gospel. Godliness and good works are the fruit and effect of the gospel in the life of a Christian. But NONE of those fruits and effects of the gospel ARE the gospel. You see, there is a distinct and necessary difference between the gospel and our response to the gospel. What Ex. 20:1-2 point us to is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant promise in Christ and through His perfect life and the death he died in our place on the cross. Titus 3:3-6 says, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy . . . poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” That is foundation that informs the giving, and inspires the keeping of the ten commandments. And it points to the gospel of what God has done in Christ to rescue sinners like me and like you. And the effect of the gospel – the effect of the new covenant is a transformed heart – a heart made free and alive unto glad obedience to God’s good and wise commands.
We love and obey God because he first loved us. We gladly obey His commands because he has rescued us through Jesus’ death on the cross in our place for our sins.
And therefore, his commands are not burdensome. That’s because they are NOT a means of earning his love. Rather, they are the appropriate response to the experience of His undeserved love as revealed in the gospel.