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Daily Devotions

Exodus

Exodus 
Day 
Day 158

"O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool understand this." Psalm 92:5-6

Text: Exodus 20 : 13-17

THE LAST FIVE COMMANDMENTS

Some complain against the laws of God. Yet, to be honest, His laws are truly most fundamental. The problem does not lie with the laws of God but with man himself. The last five laws are so obvious, they need little explanation!

“You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness…
You shall not covet…”
EXODUS 20:13-17

The sixth to the tenth commandments conclude the deictic laws that God gave the children of Israel. These commandments were to become the foundation of the judicial laws that would govern the nation.

AN APOSTOLIC WORD OF ADMONITION CONCERNING THE LAW

The Apostle Paul wrote to his protege Timothy to help him in his battle against false teachers who were misusing “the law”. His insight concerning why God gave laws helps us to appreciate the Ten Commandments even more.

“But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,
knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person,
but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and
for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers,
and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators,
for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if
there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.”
1 TIMOTHY 1:8-10

1. “The law is good”

But of course the laws of God are good! The challenge is to “use it lawfully”. Essentially, this means compliance to the commandments of God.

2. “The law is not made for a righteous person but for the lawless and the insubordinate”

Paul reasoned! Why did God give laws at all? Surely not for the righteous? They would not consciously do things contrary to sound doctrine! Why then did God give laws? Yes, He who knew the human heart, saw how the unrighteous, if left to themselves would create havoc! Thus He gave laws:-

a) To highlight the problem of wickedness.
b) To restrain wickedness.
c) To warn perpetrators of wickedness.
d) To provide the basis for the punishment of those who pursue wickedness.