Exodus 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
God continued to lay out the details of the sabbath. There was to be six days of labour. Everything that needed to be done was to be done in the six days. Jesus clarified this further in that an ox that falls into the well needs to be rescued whether it be the sabbath or not. A son also needed to be circumcised on the sabbath if the eighth day was on that day. God further clarified the sabbath by using the word “servile” with the sabbath. The word “servile” speaks of ordinary daily work.
In verse 10 God stated that the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God. God desired to be the personal God of man. He does not want to be a God in the distance. He desires to be the personal God of each person.
Regular work such as seeding or harvesting was not to be done on the sabbath. They were not to enlist their cattle in work either. Plowing did not need to be done on the sabbath. The sabbath was to be a day set aside for worshipping the true God.
In verse 11 God further gave evidence to the fact that Creation week was a literal six days. In six days He created all things. We do not need to hesitate on this fact. There is no need to doubt and allow for gaps or long ages. The LORD blessed the sabbath and He proved to be able to provide all that was needed on the seventh day. God was also able to protect them from attacks on the sabbath day. He is still able to do that for the Jews now.
In verse 12 God dealt with the importance of honouring father and mother. We need to be taught the importance of honouring our parents. God designed man to reproduce after his kind. We need parents. Children need humility to be willing to submit to parental authority. Parental authority is a picture of the submission we need toward God.
God tied long life in the land of Israel to honour of parents. That promise is specific to Israel. Israel is the only nation that has been promised a parcel of land by God. In Canada many people have accepted the lie of the “first nations”. These are natives of Canada which were called Indians. That is not a derogatory term. That is who they are. They are not first nations. Canada never belonged to the Indians. We have no idea who were the first people of what is called Canada. The governments of Canada have done a great disservice to the Indians by accepting their selfish demands.
Everybody needs to learn to work and provide for himself. Families need to work as families and live in the fear of the Lord. When God is in charge families can get along and have a good life. When God does not have His rightful place, there will be tension.
In verse 13 God taught the importance of respect for life. Cain murdered his brother. God judged Cain for that sin. In Exodus chapter 21 God stated that a life needed to be taken for a life wrongly taken. Capital punishment is God’s design. It is not up to individuals to take the law into their own hands. The government is to be responsible for dealing with injustice.
In Ontario, there is a little bit of an awakening regarding self-defence. A criminal forced his way into a house and the homeowner defended himself. He injured the criminal. The police charged the criminal and also the homeowner in this case. A person has the right to defend his own property and his own family.
Again we see the result of a society that rejects God. When He is not known, then anarchy results. That is where Canada is headed.
In verse 14 God commanded the law in regard to marriage. Marriage is God’s design. He instituted marriage in Genesis 2. God has never changed His order regarding marriage. Polygamy has been a curse to man since Genesis 4. God’s design is for one man and one woman for life. After the death of one of the two in a marriage, then remarriage is permitted.
Adultery is when either the man or the woman in a marriage is unfaithful. That would include divorce and remarriage. Jesus reminded the Jews of His time that God’s law of Genesis 2 is permanent. God knows how to make a marriage work. There have been many marriages that fail. When a marriage fails it is always due to the fact that God does not have His rightful place.
In verse 15 we are taught the importance of private property. Something you do not own does not belong to you. You have no right to go and take that which does not belong to you. It seems that theft is more of a problem in larger centres. It does not matter whether a person lives in the country or in the city, private property needs to be respected. We should not need to lock our houses and our vehicles in order to keep them from being invaded or taken. In Canada theft is an all too common thing. This is again the result of the rejection of the true God.
Today is the Lord’s Day. It is another day the Lord has given us to set aside our busyness and attend a true local church where we can learn of Him. Be sure you take this opportunity to fellowship with the Creator before Whom all must appear one day.
Pastor Bartel
