16 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19 Keeps and Teaches – Apparently Jesus did not view the Law as…
I brought you out of the land of Egypt, saying, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” Amos 3:2 Only – Why did God choose you and me? He did, you know. He started this plan of redemption and restoration by choosing Abraham. He continues the plan by grafting the…
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain Deuteronomy 5:11 In Vain – Let’s settle this one right up front. This commandment is not about swearing, foul language or cursing. Cleaning up your vocabulary is socially proper and relationally correct, but it won’t get you any closer to obedience. Using…
punishing the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and forth generation of those that hate me. Deuteronomy 5:9 Hate – What happens when we bow down and serve false gods? Among other things, our children suffer. Why? Because our attitudes and actions demonstrate that we do not need God. They…
“And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities” Psalm 130:8 His – Your eighth grade English teacher would have circled the word in red. She would write in the margin, “number disagreement”. “Israel” is plural but “his” is singular. Did God make a grammatical mistake? Take a look at this verse in your translation…
You shall not bow yourself to them nor serve them, for I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God Deuteronomy 5:9 Bow – Serve – Idolatry comes in two related flavors. The first is shachah, to bow down in submission or reverence or worship. Hollywood has exploited this flavor of idolatry with its scenes of…
Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19 Doing – What an important verse this is! Not…
You shall not make for yourself an image Deuteronomy 5:8 Image – It’s all connected. Let me show you how. Idolatry is the substitution of devotion to something other than God. Keep that in mind as we look at a story from the life of Moses. In Exodus 33:23, God fulfills Moses’ request to see…
You shall not make for yourself an image Deuteronomy 5:8 NASB Image – What is an idol? We certainly recognize the idols of ancient religions. The Hebrew word here (pesel from pasal, meaning “to cut or hew”) makes it clear that the initial emphasis of the commandment deals with all those sacred objects men make…
You shall have no other gods besides Me. Deuteronomy 5:7 Other Gods – An axiom of human resource management applies here. People almost always do what they believe to be in their best interest. When you aren’t getting the behavior you desire from others, use this axiom to discover why they think behaving as they…
