You Shall Love the Lord Your God | Keith Sharp
Since the law is the expressed will of God as the Lord of Israel, it revealed to Israel His holy nature (Exodus 19:5-6; Leviticus 19:1-2; Deuteronomy 7:6). The lives of Israelites were to reflect the holy nature of the God whose they were (Ibid). The same is true of us (1 Peter 1:15-16; 2:5,9-10).
First the Lord declared His right to give the Law. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6). When the Lord delivered Israel from Egypt, He brought them to Himself (Exodus 19:4). They were His special treasure (Exodus 19:5). Through the law given from Sinai He was bringing them into a covenant relationship with Him as His own people (Deuteronomy 5:2-3).
First Commandment
“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7).
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
There is no other God besides the Lord (Isaiah 44:6). And the Lord is perfectly united (John 17:20-21). The first commandment implied that Israel was to worship and serve the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:12,20), and it forbid worshiping and serving any other god or gods (polytheism) (Deuteronomy 6:14-15).
Second Commandment
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6; Deuteronomy 5:8-10).
God is an invisible Spirit (Deuteronomy 4:15-19; John 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17) and cannot be likened to anything with a physical form, whether natural or man made, animate or inanimate. He is not to be worshiped through an image.
The passage clearly forbids sculpting a statue or painting a picture, not for the sake of art, but for the sake of worshiping it. Idolatry is forbidden. God is jealous; He will not share His divine glory with another (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11).
He is abundantly merciful toward those who fear Him but fierce in wrath toward those who sin against Him. The consequences, though not the guilt (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:20), of sins affects children even to the third and fourth generation. If this were teaching inherent guilt of sin, it should read to all generations. But, His mercy exceeds His justice. It is to thousands of generations, i.e., infinite. The otherwise good King Jehoshaphat sinfully made an alliance with his evil neighbor to the north, Ahab (2 Chronicles 18:1; 19:1-3) and brought murderous consequences on his offspring even to his great grandchildren (2 Chronicles 21:1-6; 22:10-12), very nearly destroying the house of David. On the other hand, the faith of Abraham has benefitted his descendants to all generations (Genesis 18:17-19).
Third Commandment
“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” (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11).
The Lord is glorious and great (Deuteronomy 5:24). His name, which represents His Person, is holy and awesome (Psalm 111:9). To lightly and thoughtlessly employ the divine name is to treat the glorious, great, holy, awesome Creator of the universe lightly. His name must never be used lightly in exclamation, cursing, swearing, lying or in any other way.
Fourth Commandment
“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:12-15; cf. Exodus 20:8-11).
God is Creator and Deliverer. He is to be worshiped.
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week (verse 14; cf. Exodus 20:10). It is measured “from evening to evening,” i.e., sunset Friday to sunset Saturday (Leviticus 23:32). The Lord chose this day because He rested from His work of creation on the seventh day (Exodus 20:11). It was a weekly memorial of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15).
All servile labor was forbidden, whether of parents, children, servants, strangers or beasts. No fire could be kindled (Exodus 35:3), and no cooking was to be done (Exodus 16:5,23). Everyone was to stay at home (Exodus 16:29). Two lambs were to be offered to the Lord in the morning and two in the evening (Numbers 28:1-10). The penalty for its violation was death (Exodus 31;15-16; 35:2; Numbers 15:32-36).
