63 BLUEPRINT FOR BEHAVIOUR F O O T ================================

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READING

63 BLUEPRINT FOR BEHAVIOUR

PRAY Thank you Father for your care for our wellbeing. Help me to be loyal to you and to value your ways. —————————————————————- READ Exodus 20:1-21. —————————————————————- THINK What is the purpose of these commandments? —————————————————————-

FOCUS This famous passage contains the Ten Words or Ten Commandments. They are the key to God’s covenant relationship with his people. In some ways these commandments are written like a treaty or contract. However it is not strictly a two-sided contract. God is the redeemer and provider. It is God who liberated his people from slavery in Egypt. He demands loyalty and absolute, unquestioning obedience. This loyalty arises from gratitude when his people realise afresh how great are God’s acts of rescue. These commandments offer no reason or exception. They are God’s commands; they express his character and show us his requirements. They begin with a fact – the living God. If there were no God to say ‘I am the Lord’, then there would be no point in worrying about commandments. They are a unique blueprint for behaviour. Most people divide the ten into two groups: the first four show our obligations to God and the final six show our duty to others. Some place the fifth in the first block not just because it is tidy (!), but also because of the special sanctity of parenthood. TO GOD TO OTHERS 1. No rivals 5. Respect parents 2. Mo images 6. No murder 3. No blasphemy 7. No adultery 4. Keep the sabbath 8. No stealing 9. No false witness 10. Do not covet Notice how the final six apply not only to actions but also to our thoughts and motives.