Deuteronomy 27:4-10 - When you cross the Jordan, set up these stones
at Mount Ebal and coat them with plaster, as I am commanding you today. Then build an altar there to the LORD your
God, using natural stones. Do not shape
the stones with an iron tool. On the altar you must offer burnt offerings to
the LORD your God. Sacrifice peace
offerings on it also, and feast there with great joy before the LORD your God. On the stones coated with plaster, you must clearly
write all the terms of this law." Then Moses and the Levitical priests addressed
all Israel as follows: "O Israel, be quiet and listen! Today you have
become the people of the LORD your God. So obey the LORD your God by keeping all these
commands and laws that I am giving you today."
Moses made sure to tell them
these words of the Lord…words that would require specific actions…and an
obedience of his laws…for the rest of their lives. He told them how God wanted them to permanently
place a copy of the laws on the shore of the river Jordan…as soon as they
placed their feet upon the Promised Land God was giving them. He wanted them to build a monument…out of the
rocks of the river…uncut…unshaped…covered with a plaster of sorts that could
hold an etching of all 10 laws. The Lord
wanted them to stop…and give thanks for this great land …and dedicate
themselves to following ALL his rules before they embarked one foot into the
land.
There
were 10 rules that God wanted to shape their character…10 rules that show all
of us how to truly live the way God intended from the moment he gave them to
us. We don’t get to pick the ones we
like…and pretend the rest don’t exist. God said follow them all. In Exodus 20:1-17…he wrote them on tablets…we
are to….Love God only…Refrain from building relationships with anything that is
more important than God….Always use God’s name in a reverent way…Rest and
Worship every seventh day…Respect our parents…Respect the life of others by not
murdering …Respect the relationships of others by not committing adultery or lying
to them…And be content with what God gave to us by not stealing or coveting what he might have blessed others with.
Just
like the Israelites crossed that river…we too cross a great chasm of emptiness
when we accept God into our lives. As his love fills our heart…he wants us to
stop and give thanks to him for our salvation…and permanently etch ALL his
rules on our hearts…then be obedient to them…ALL of them. Satan would lose a great stronghold on the
world…and all the evil in our world would begin to vanish as we began to obey
these simple rules. Too bad we aren’t allowed to etch them on public places
anymore. Just my personal opinion here…but
if it was good for the Israelites as they crossed the Jordon to etch them on a
monument…it should be good for us too.
Father…thank
you for the reminder that you gave us 10 rules to follow…and we should stop
when we accept your love in our hearts…and etch them where we can see them…so
they will remind us daily of the commitment we made to you. Help me to find new places to post them…as a
reminder for me…and maybe …because I had them posted for my eyes…you can use
them to remind others as well. Amen.
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