Monday, March 8, 2004
Monday, March 8, 2004
He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor
drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
(Exodus 34.28
NRSV)
The fifth through the tenth commandments are concerned with moral duties. "Honor your father and mother . . . You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or his maidservant . . . or anything that is your neighbor's." In other words, the first section deals with our personal relationship with God, and the second section our relationships with one another.
These ten commandments are the foundation of civilized behavior. We could not live in a society where people were allowed to kill one another or steal from one another. Even the prohibition against adultery serves a societal interest--in order to maintain a viable family life--as does "honor your father and mother." The reason the Ten Commandments have remained with us so long is that no society can function well where they are ignored.
Dear Jesus, help me to follow our Father's commands. Amen.
