Unlike commandment 8 which we looked at last week (don’t steal), adultery isn’t against the law. There are consequences of course, there always are if we step outside God’s commands, but we don’t end up in prison. So what’s the big deal? Firstly, God is holy, and he wants his people to be holy too. That means they should exhibit sexual…
As I’ve reflected further on this command over the last week, I’ve been struck by the amount of times when my wants, my opinions, my will being done leads to the wants, opinions and desires of others being neglected or ignored. I wonder, might the spirit of the command, not to take for ourselves that which belongs to someone else, not apply…
On the face of it, this commandment seems very straightforward. Do not steal. Do not take things that belong to someone else. That’s theft, and theft, clearly, is wrong. Exodus chapter 22 says that stealing includes cattle rustling and burglary. Those are obvious enough. But that chapter also includes the damage done to crops and fields by someone else’s livestock, or by…
With all these commandments it is vital to remember that they were given to a people who had already been redeemed, not as a way of making them righteous. The rescue from Egypt had already happened, the people were no longer slaves, but called to be God’s people. These commandments set out how they should live as God’s people, in God’s land,…
In the Book of Common Prayer Communion service these words of Jesus are said before the offering: “So may your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” It’s a command to live a life of visible light and holy salt, full of God-honouring good works that demonstrate we follow Christ. What…