Hello! Here are the Mid-Week review posts from this week! Based on our Bible Study on Sunday June 26, 2022.
Mid-Week Review #1
Exodus 20:7“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
The idea of taking the Lord’s name in vain goes beyond the common understanding of discouraging phrases like, “Oh my God.” Though it is important to keep the Lord’s name holy in our speech and not use it frivolously, it bears also the responsibility of representing His name well. The term “take” is really better translated as “carry”. When we use His name to justify our behaviors or to add authority to our words, we implicate ourselves as His representatives. If we misuse His name and thus misrepresent Him to others (causing others to believe things about Him which are not true) we bring shame and disrepute to His name.
The example Brother Randy used was that of forgery. If you were to make use of someone else’s name to approve what you wanted, it would be a crime. It is the same when we use the name of the Lord to further our own plans rather than His own. He is holy and His name is holy, we must be careful how we bear His name in the world.
Mid-Week Review #2
Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. (11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Of all the commandments, this seems the least attended to. Very few of us give much priority or even consideration to this command even though it is given the most verses of any. We don’t value rest in our culture, but the Lord seems to think it so important He established the precedent at the very beginning of Creation. Why does the Lord place so much importance on this? Is He that concerned about our tendencies to overwork?
The Lord does concern Himself with your health, but there is something greater at play here. Humans glory in what we are able to produce through our own hard work. We take pride in the fruit of our efforts. The Lord, however, is not glorified by our works. He commands us to lay aside the works of our hands for one day each week, so that we may take the time to remember it is from Him all blessings flow. We dedicate that day to rest in His goodness and faithfulness, trusting that what we fail to produce in that rest, is more than made up for by His divine providence.
It is a kind of sacrifice to lay upon the altar our ability to work. In doing so, we exalt the Lord above our works and acknowledge His sovereignty. We set the Sabbath apart and make it holy, not just to rest from our labor, but to declare the supremacy of our God and express our humble submission to His will.
Mid-Week Review #3
Exo 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
How we carry on in society begins with how we view and treat our parents. Our parents are the first form of authority to which we are exposed and to which we are required to submit. A child’s relationship with their parents heavily influences the way they engage with the figures of authority they will encounter in society. If a child honors their parents with respect and value, then they are likely to treat other authorities in the same manner.
The true difficulty comes when we do not feel our parents deserve our honor. Are we to respect those who fail to respect us? Are we to value those who fail to value us? Ought we to honor those who are less honorable than ourselves? Let us remember the hard command of Christ, “Mat 5:44-46 Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven… For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?”
We receive the command to honor our parents, we are not given the condition of, “If they deserve it.” Our obedience is not contingent on the behavior of others. It can be difficult, but that is why there is a reward. Parents have a duty to care for their children, sometimes they fail and the Lord will hold them accountable. But it is our obligation to forgive them as we have been forgiven and to honor them as best we can. For the Lord will also hold us accountable.
Be ready for this coming Sunday as we continue our discussion of the Ten Commandments!
