Bible Pathway - Jan. 24, 2010
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Ten Commandments and other laws and regulations given. The Law is a mirror that reveals with absolute accuracy and authority what we are and what we should be. God reveals His perfect standard for His people to live by.
Verses for Today:
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any gaven image. . . . Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. . . . Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. . . . Honor thy father and thy mother. . . . Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet (Ex. 20:3-17).The Ten Commandments were spoken directly by God Himself, and afterward were written with the finger of God (31:18). The Ten Commandments are of utmost importance since they were given to us by our Creator. It is no surprise that those who hate and reject God also hate to see them displayed. However, they are essential, basic principles for spiritual and moral conduct of mankind. Without them we have uncontrolled chaos. They were the basis of Hebrew law. Four of the Commandments (20:3-11) were given to the Israelites to help them recognize sin and understand the holy character of God. Six of them (20:12-17) dealt with their attitude and conduct toward their fellowman.
Jesus condensed all the Law into two Commandments when He said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matt. 22:36-40).
As holy and perfect as the Ten Commandments are, Christ told a rich man that even if he kept all of the Commandments from the time he was a child, there was still one more thing he needed to do — give up the wealth that had captured his heart and let Christ become Lord and Master of his life (Mark 10:17-22).
The rich young ruler who thought that he had kept the Law was sorrowful when the Lord Jesus exposed his covetousness. Many think they are good enough but we read in Galatians: The Law was our schoomaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24).
If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:23).
Down through the years, people have hoped to get to heaven by being good; but they are unwilling to give up things that would keep them from loving the Lord with all their hearts.
Thought for Today:
It's how much of the Word of God that controls our life that really matters — not how much of it we know.
Christ Revealed:
The perfection of Christ is revealed through the Ten Commandments, for He kept all of them (Ex. 20:1-17). He was perfect and without sin (Heb. 4:15).
Word Studies:
20:10 Sabbath =day of rest to honor God; 20:13 kill =murder; 21:8 strange nation =foreign people; 21:14 presumptuously =willfully, overstepping due bounds; with guile =treacherously; 21:19 be quit =be acquitted, blameless; 21:22 her fruit depart from her =she suffer a miscarriage; 22:2 breaking up =breaking in; smitten =struck with a fatal blow; 22:16 endow =make a marriage payment for, pay a dowry for; 22:21 vex =wrongfully treat; 22:24 wax =become; 22:25 usurer =one who loans with interest; 22:31 holy men unto Me =special people consecrated to My service.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Broadcasts in memory of Letha Hash • Government Officials: Sec. Shaun Donovan (Dept. of Housing & Urban Development), Rep. Bart Gordon (TN), and Rep. Mike Thompson (CA) • Country: Tajikistan (6 million) southeast central Asia • Major languages: Tajik and Russian • Almost entirely Muslim • 82% Muslim; 4% Russian Orthodox • Prayer Suggestion: Glory in the Lord. He is Victor over Satan (Zech. 3:2).
Optional Reading: Matthew 24
Memory Verse for the Week: Psalms 23:6
