"...they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it..." Exodus 32:8

This past Sunday, the confirmation class at Redeemer began lessons on the Ten Commandments. I was privileged to facilitate the opening discussions. For a moment, we talked about the commandments in the context of the Exodus narrative in which faith, doubt, miracle, and idolatry almost compete with one another constantly. 

Lord, we were promised milk and honey, yet our mouths are parched and our bodies famished. So we turned from you. Even asking why did you free us from slavery only to wander endlessly? But God does not leave us to journey alone. He accompanies us. 


The commandments are in many ways a response to the wilderness of sin in our own hearts, separating us from God and one another. At the heart of them is testimony that God and God alone is the Source of Life. God alone in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit is worthy of our praise and adoration.

"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors." - Deuteronomy 30:  15

This week's Old Testament lesson are words that Moses shares with the Israelites who have been wandering for more than a generation while waiting to enter the land promised to their ancestors.  It's a pivotal moment.  It's as if God is saying to them through Moses, "Now that you're about to receive what you've been looking forward to all these years, it's gut check time.  You need to know that your choices will make a difference as to how this all plays out."