February 4

Exodus 19:16-21:21; Matthew 23:13-39; Psalm 28:19; Proverbs 7:1-5

Pretty iconic stuff today, huh? Even people who have never read the Bible are familiar with the Ten Commandments. The first movie my 76-year-old father ever saw in the theater was Charlton Heston's The Ten Commandments. Now days, it seems unlikely they would make a movie about the Ten Commandments, but the subject matter is still very familiar.

Still, I was struck afresh today as I read because for as ancient as these commandments are, they are still so valuable and relevant to today. Let’s look at a few –

“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20: 3), the first and greatest commandment. God knew this would be a temptation for the Israelites as they made it into the Promised Land and began to interact with different cultures who had different gods. And it is still a huge temptation for us today, one that we need to keep up a constant vigil against. Sure, we may not be tempted toward Pantheism or Hinduism (though certainly Christians have abandoned their faith to follow these ideas) but how easy is it to worship our time? Or our money? Or treat our smart phone like it’s an idol we can’t live without? I love this about God’s word – it is timeless.

Let’s look at another one. “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…” (20: 8-10). As Christians, we have different views about the Sabbath than Orthodox views, but the reason behind the commandment is still as pertinent to us as to Moses’ original audience. In fact, I might argue that the need for a Sabbath is even more important today, as constant working has become so commonplace. A recent article by the Atlantic quoted a 2014 Gallup survey that showed that 80% of employees check emails at home, including weekends. This is a staggering number. We are always “on” and the pressure to produce, produce, produce is almost overwhelming. In the midst of that, God calls us to rest. He calls us to trust him to provide. It really is a matter of trust. We have to believe that God will take care of us, just as he took care of the Israelites. This means we believe that God will help us to gain favor with our boss, even if we take a day of the weekend to not check emails. This means that if we’re a student, we trust that our studying has been productive on the other 6 days of the week and we rest on the 7^th. I don’t believe it matters what day we rest; just that we rest. In that resting, we proclaim to the world that God is enough.

One more, and I’ll try to be quicker. “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” (20: 17). I don’t think I need to go into detail about the importance of this commandment today. In the broken world in which we live, I’m sure we’ve all see tragic examples of where envying leads – so much overspending to keep up with your neighbors that you end up losing everything; so much competing (in our own hearts) over whose kids are better are soccer that we drive a wedge between our friends and cause our kids to hate the sport; lust the leads to broken marriages. I know we’ve all seen examples of what happens when we don’t follow God’s good and perfect commands.

This theme is even present in our New Testament reading today, as Jesus calls out “Woe to you…” to the hypocrites, blind guides, scribes and Pharisees. Jesus’ language to them is very strong, as it should be, given that they are no longer following God’s commands, and are leading others astray, all in the name of God. Thank goodness for the breath of fresh air in the Psalms – “Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him” (Psalm 28:6-7).

Blessed be the LORD, indeed! 

- Esther McCurry

How did God speak to you in Scripture today? Click here to share your reflections on God's word or read past posts. We'd love to hear from you. 

February 3

Exodus 17:8-19:15; Matthew 22:34-23:12; Psalm 27:7-14; Proverbs 6:27-35

I had a hard time deciding what to write about today. I talked recently with a friend who’s been reading the blog who said she’s sometimes surprised that our posts don't mention things that struck her in our daily readings.  She didn’t mean it as a criticism at all – minutes before, she had been saying how much she was enjoying it – but she went on to say that if each of the Three65 bloggers were to write a post each day, we would have four totally different posts. And it’s true. What strikes one person doesn’t strike the next; what hits me one year doesn’t make as great of an impact the next. That’s how life is, and it’s how God’s word is – living and breathing.

So you may have come today hoping I would talk about Moses’ preparation of the people of Israel for the monumental event that awaits them tomorrow - the giving on the Ten Commandments. Or maybe you were struck by Jethro – he’s a convert (perhaps the first recorded pagan turned God-fearer) and a super wise guy, giving Moses such great leadership advice. (As a side note, that advice is still true for leaders today – “You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone…look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands” [Ex. 17:18, 21].  Can I get an amen? There are so many people in ministry who need to hear those words! Delegate, people!)

I digress.

Perhaps you were really moved by Jesus’ declaration of the greatest commandants and his proclamation that all of the law and prophets (e.g., all the Old Testament) are summed up by these two: love God and love your neighbor. Powerful stuff. Jesus also does a remarkable job of putting the Pharisees and Scribes in their place. My sisters and I were actually talking about this last night, how it’s always the religious leaders that Jesus comes down on, while he hangs out with the riff-raff of society. At face value, it’s not what you might expect in a great religious leader, is it? You’d think Jesus would want to align himself with the powerful spiritual leaders of his day. And he might have, had those religious leaders been what they should have been – humble, repentant of the way they’d misused God’s word and obedient to Jesus. But instead, it’s the tax collectors, lepers, adulterers and Gentiles who see their true need and prostrate themselves before Jesus, admitting they are sinners. That’s the big difference between the Pharisees and the people Jesus kept company with: the Pharisees would never admit to being sinners. If you want Jesus in your life, you really can’t get around that. We are sinners and we need a Savior.

Or maybe you were struck by the last verses in our Psalm – so beautiful, so encouraging, so comforting. “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (27:13-14). If you’re in a season of loss or longing or difficulty, may this verse speak right to your heart and give you peace. God is good and you’ll soon look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Well, did I do it? Did I hit on one of the things that struck you from today’s reading? If not, let us know what struck you and how you think God might be moving in your life! 

- Esther McCurry

How did God speak to you in Scripture today? Click here to share your reflections on God's word or read past posts. We'd love to hear from you.