No, I’m not confused about either the content of Genesis 1-5 or where the Ten Commandments are located in Scripture! But as I read Genesis 1-5, I note that the basis for most of the Ten Commandments are established in these chapters that teach us about the beginning of our world and the beginning of the human race.
1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3
Genesis 1 clearly establishes the authority of God through his creation. It establishes the power and creativity of God as well. Genesis 3 establishes “who” is to be listened to and obeyed above all. Eve and then Adam made the mistake of listening to Satan rather than God. What are “other gods” besides voices – temptations to not obey what God is saying to us? Sometimes we make actual physical idols and call them our gods, and sometimes we make ‘virtual’ idols – ideas built on false teachings or understandings.
2. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Exodus 20:4
In Genesis 2, God establishes the responsibility of the human race to care for the creation they live in. First he tells Adam that he is to work the ground and take care of it. Then he gives Adam the responsibility to “name” the creatures. Man is responsible to care for the world we live in. We are not subject to the plants and animals, but they are subject to us. Making idols in the forms of things we are responsible to care for doesn’t make sense!
3. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Exodus 20:7
At the end of Genesis 4, after Adam became the father of Seth and Seth became the father of Enosh, we are told that “at that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.” Genesis 4:26b While profanity is a primary way that we can misuse the name of the Lord, there would certainly be other misuses such as trying to make God into our ‘fairy godmother’ or ‘Santa Claus’ by making our prayers into long lists of “I wants”’ and “do this or do that” and ending “in the name of Jesus” and expecting him to do whatever we demanded without the loving relationship that he desires to have with us.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating he had done.” Genesis 2:2-3 God made the Sabbath holy and we are asked to keep it holy. I have been wondering a lot about what exactly this means for me today in the culture I live in. Is Sunday more holy than other days? Can I maintain a Sabbath on another day of the week? Is it okay to shop on Sunday’s, to eat out, to buy gas, to shop on the Internet? What does it mean for me to keep the Sabbath holy? Jesus clearly was not impressed with the Sabbath laws that had been established by the religious leaders over the generations and it became one of his most obvious points of contention with them. In fact, he said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27
At the end of each day of creation, God said that it was good. On the seventh day he rested. It seems to me that keeping the Sabbath holy has to do with reflecting on God’s creation, his authority, our place in the scheme of things and our need for rest. I believe rest means more than sitting in an easy chair with our feet up or taking an afternoon nap. I believe true rest comes from faith – believing God is who he says he is and has the power and authority to control even our daily circumstances when we allow him that honor. A true Sabbath rest comes from me giving up my need to control things and allowing God to be God of my life.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12
Throughout the early books of Genesis, the first genealogies are established. The family structure is set up. It appears that they were in no rush to leave home and get married as the sons named in the genealogies are born when the parent is around 100 years old! Of course, that is mere adolescence when you realize that they lived to be 7-900+ years old. God shows us how to be a Father worthy of honor and respect. Since we are made in his image, we would be expected to be parents worthy of honor and respect.
6. “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13
The story of Cain murdering Abel in Genesis 4 quickly establishes how quickly things can go downhill when we choose to not honor and obey God. Cain’s first mistake is not honoring God – he “brought some of the fruits” of his labors (Genesis 4:3), not his first fruits, not his best fruits. His second mistake was comparing himself to his brother Abel and being angry with Abel because God looked with favor on Abel’s offering of the firstborn of his flock. His third mistake was not obeying the voice of God when God instructed him about doing what was right and warned him about “sin crouching at your door” (Genesis 4:7) His fourth mistake was letting his jealous rage have control rather than letting God have control which led to the murder of his brother. Murder doesn’t ‘just happen’. It comes from a series of movements away from God.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14
Genesis 2 establishes the basis of marriage. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24 As we become one flesh in marriage, the family is established. To commit adultery is to tear apart what God has put together. It leads to destruction of family rather than construction of family. Just as God warned Cain about “sin crouching at your door,” so he warns us through this commandment. Cain became separated from God when he let ‘sin’ have control. So it is with adultery. It not only separates what God has put together, it also leads to separation from God.
8. “You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15
Eve had not been given permission to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She listened to Satan’s lies amidst his half-truth and took what did not belong to her. She invited Adam to take as well and he did. It didn’t seem like a big thing at the time. But it became the downfall of the human race!
9. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
As we watch the story of the temptation and the taking of the forbidden fruit, we see one sin leads to the next sin leads to the next sin… When God calls to them, they hide – just like a child today who swipes a cookie and hides behind the big chair in the living room so Mom doesn’t see him or her. Then the blaming begins. Adam blames Eve (and God who gave her to him) and Eve blames the Serpent who deceived her. They were all trying to get someone else in trouble rather than take responsibility for their own actions. The Serpent lied - gave false testimony against God - but Eve made a choice and Adam made a choice and pointing the finger at others didn’t undo the poor choices they had made.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17
The first murder occurred because Cain coveted the favor of God his brother Abel had gained. He wasn’t willing to do what it took to gain the favor, but he wanted God to show him favor. Cain could have nipped this one in the bud by humbling himself before God, honoring him and seeking his favor through giving his first fruits, not his leftovers. But he let the coveting consume him and cloud his judgment until it led to murder and separation from God and his family.
Suddenly, the Creation account and the story of the human race leading up to the Exodus comes together in a new light. Genesis is the basis for the Law of Moses. God didn’t spend 40 days on the mountain with Moses chiseling out those Ten Commandments. He could have done that in a flash of lightening. I believe that he talked with Moses about how the people had gotten to the point of needing these Ten Commandments in order to come back into right relationship with God, their Creator. He established his authority and his honor and the importance of these laws through sharing with Moses the history of creation and the early genealogy of the human race.
The Ten Commandments aren’t just rules to be followed. They are the short version of Genesis – God’s relationship with the human race from the beginning of time.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Following to Lead
Nehemiah was taken captive and made to serve Artaxerxes as the cup bearer. And somehow, he found a way to do it joyfully even though his heart yearned for home and to return to Jerusalem. I wonder if he felt a bit jealous of those who had been left in the city – the remnant who were not exiled to another country but allowed to remain behind. I wonder if he dreamed about how fortunate they were that they could still worship in the temple and could enjoy the fruits of their labors. I wonder if he hoped and prayed he would be allowed to return and join them. How uncomfortable it must have felt to be in the service of a foreign king day after day.
Yet, it would appear that he maintained a good spirit about him and had built relationship with the king because when his brother Hanani returned with others and reported on the distress of the people and Nehemiah wept and mourned, the king took notice of his sadness and asked him why he was sad. This was a very dangerous moment for Nehemiah. The king could order him put in prison or executed depending on how he answered or even before he answered – just because he appeared sad in the king’s presence. But Nehemiah had prepared himself for this moment. He had been fasting and praying. Still, when the moment came, Nehemiah felt fear. As I read Nehemiah, the book of Esther is running through my mind. There are great similarities…
Lesson 1: Good leadership is not the absence of fear, but the preparation of the heart and the courage to move forward regardless of the potential consequences. Both Nehemiah and Esther fasted and prayed before going on behalf of their people into the very dangerous situation before the king.
As Nehemiah shared his personal pain regarding the state of Jerusalem with the king, he was praying. King Artaxerxes responded with tenderness. “What is it you want?” Nehemiah 2:4 And Nehemiah forged ahead through his fear, praying for God’s wisdom and protection even as he spoke to the king. Nehemiah obviously had given some thought to this while he was fasting and praying. He asked for some very specific things and they were way out of line for his position! “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:5 And, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors… safe conduct… timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel… and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” Nehemiah 2:7-8 Obviously, God went before him and the king granted his requests and even more.
Nehemiah went with the king’s blessings and provisions, but more importantly, he went with God’s blessings and provisions. He was clearly called by God to a place of leadership with the people. And he called on God’s wisdom and assurance throughout the process. Before he even took the first step, he humbled himself before God in repentance for the sins of the people and for his own sin of disobedience in the past. He reminded God of his covenant with the Jewish people, particularly the part about “if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” Nehemiah 1:9
Lesson 2: Good leadership grows out of a vision that comes through humbling ourselves before the Lord and seeking his face. It is not our will, but his to move forward. Our part is obedience to him.
This would be a great place to say, “And they lived happily ever after.” But just as that often isn’t true today, it was not true for Nehemiah. Not everyone was happy with his plan to rebuild and it was not long before opposition came in the form of threats, taunting, intimidation and slander. But Nehemiah did not bend to the fear. Rather, he encouraged the people and equipped them to deal with the opposition. “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day at night to meet this threat.” Nehemiah 4:9 He organized the people to work side by side, and equipped them with weapons to carry with them as they worked. He taught them to trust God and keep working.
Lesson 3: Good leadership is aware of the problems and encourages and equips the team to pray to God and work together remembering the goal.
Apparently, the nobles and officials in Jerusalem thought they were more special than the common people and were taking advantage of them, becoming wealthy at their expense. When this was brought to Nehemiah’s attention, he pondered it and then using what he knew from the Law and knew that they knew from the Law, he charged them saying, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!... What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?... Give back to them immediately [what you have taken from them]” Nehemiah 5:7, 9, 11 And the nobles and officials decided to do as Nehemiah said. His wisdom, which was God’s wisdom, made sense to them. He led by example, not using his position to gain more wealth, but rather to share with others from his own provisions. (Nehemiah 5:14-18)
Lesson 4: Good leadership does not favor the wealthy and powerful over the poor and needy but is concerned with true justice for all. It does not use the position of power to gain more wealth, but rather shares the wealth with all.
Nehemiah continued to lead the people through all the difficulties until the project was completed. Then he appointed the priests and Levites to their duties and replaced the provision for them by the offerings of the people. He shared the leadership at this point as they brought together the people and instructed them in the Law once again. As they read and instructed the people, they were overcome by tears of repentance and then joy. They continued to learn about their traditions and the meanings of those traditions which led to a great celebration. “From the days of Joshua son of Num until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.” Nehemiah 8:17
Lesson 5: Good leadership passes the torch and celebrates meeting the goals and fulfilling the vision.
Nehemiah is full of great teachings on prayer, humbleness, justice, obedience, and more. But today, leadership came to the fore in the reading of this book. Nehemiah led by following God. I wonder how many opportunities I have had to lead by following God that I missed because I didn’t see myself as a leader, because I wasn’t listening to what God was saying, or because I allowed fear to stop me before I even began.
Maybe the most important principle hasn’t even been said yet: Good leadership grows out of obedience – to God, to his Word, to his Spirit within us.
As I humble myself before God, he provides the vision, the courage and the means to fulfill his will for my life and for the ministry he desires to accomplish through me. May I listen more closely for his voice and humbly respond in obedience as Nehemiah did.
Yet, it would appear that he maintained a good spirit about him and had built relationship with the king because when his brother Hanani returned with others and reported on the distress of the people and Nehemiah wept and mourned, the king took notice of his sadness and asked him why he was sad. This was a very dangerous moment for Nehemiah. The king could order him put in prison or executed depending on how he answered or even before he answered – just because he appeared sad in the king’s presence. But Nehemiah had prepared himself for this moment. He had been fasting and praying. Still, when the moment came, Nehemiah felt fear. As I read Nehemiah, the book of Esther is running through my mind. There are great similarities…
Lesson 1: Good leadership is not the absence of fear, but the preparation of the heart and the courage to move forward regardless of the potential consequences. Both Nehemiah and Esther fasted and prayed before going on behalf of their people into the very dangerous situation before the king.
As Nehemiah shared his personal pain regarding the state of Jerusalem with the king, he was praying. King Artaxerxes responded with tenderness. “What is it you want?” Nehemiah 2:4 And Nehemiah forged ahead through his fear, praying for God’s wisdom and protection even as he spoke to the king. Nehemiah obviously had given some thought to this while he was fasting and praying. He asked for some very specific things and they were way out of line for his position! “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:5 And, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors… safe conduct… timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel… and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” Nehemiah 2:7-8 Obviously, God went before him and the king granted his requests and even more.
Nehemiah went with the king’s blessings and provisions, but more importantly, he went with God’s blessings and provisions. He was clearly called by God to a place of leadership with the people. And he called on God’s wisdom and assurance throughout the process. Before he even took the first step, he humbled himself before God in repentance for the sins of the people and for his own sin of disobedience in the past. He reminded God of his covenant with the Jewish people, particularly the part about “if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” Nehemiah 1:9
Lesson 2: Good leadership grows out of a vision that comes through humbling ourselves before the Lord and seeking his face. It is not our will, but his to move forward. Our part is obedience to him.
This would be a great place to say, “And they lived happily ever after.” But just as that often isn’t true today, it was not true for Nehemiah. Not everyone was happy with his plan to rebuild and it was not long before opposition came in the form of threats, taunting, intimidation and slander. But Nehemiah did not bend to the fear. Rather, he encouraged the people and equipped them to deal with the opposition. “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day at night to meet this threat.” Nehemiah 4:9 He organized the people to work side by side, and equipped them with weapons to carry with them as they worked. He taught them to trust God and keep working.
Lesson 3: Good leadership is aware of the problems and encourages and equips the team to pray to God and work together remembering the goal.
Apparently, the nobles and officials in Jerusalem thought they were more special than the common people and were taking advantage of them, becoming wealthy at their expense. When this was brought to Nehemiah’s attention, he pondered it and then using what he knew from the Law and knew that they knew from the Law, he charged them saying, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!... What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?... Give back to them immediately [what you have taken from them]” Nehemiah 5:7, 9, 11 And the nobles and officials decided to do as Nehemiah said. His wisdom, which was God’s wisdom, made sense to them. He led by example, not using his position to gain more wealth, but rather to share with others from his own provisions. (Nehemiah 5:14-18)
Lesson 4: Good leadership does not favor the wealthy and powerful over the poor and needy but is concerned with true justice for all. It does not use the position of power to gain more wealth, but rather shares the wealth with all.
Nehemiah continued to lead the people through all the difficulties until the project was completed. Then he appointed the priests and Levites to their duties and replaced the provision for them by the offerings of the people. He shared the leadership at this point as they brought together the people and instructed them in the Law once again. As they read and instructed the people, they were overcome by tears of repentance and then joy. They continued to learn about their traditions and the meanings of those traditions which led to a great celebration. “From the days of Joshua son of Num until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.” Nehemiah 8:17
Lesson 5: Good leadership passes the torch and celebrates meeting the goals and fulfilling the vision.
Nehemiah is full of great teachings on prayer, humbleness, justice, obedience, and more. But today, leadership came to the fore in the reading of this book. Nehemiah led by following God. I wonder how many opportunities I have had to lead by following God that I missed because I didn’t see myself as a leader, because I wasn’t listening to what God was saying, or because I allowed fear to stop me before I even began.
Maybe the most important principle hasn’t even been said yet: Good leadership grows out of obedience – to God, to his Word, to his Spirit within us.
As I humble myself before God, he provides the vision, the courage and the means to fulfill his will for my life and for the ministry he desires to accomplish through me. May I listen more closely for his voice and humbly respond in obedience as Nehemiah did.
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