Exodus 19:3-7; 20:1-17
When we hear the words “Ten Commandments,” many of us probably picture a stone tablet.
It makes sense. The story of Moses receiving the commandments is one of the most familiar stories in Scripture, and the commandments themselves are often presented as a list of rules: Do this. Don’t do that. Follow these instructions.
But there is something easy to miss when we focus only on the rules. Before God gives Israel a single commandment, God reminds them of their relationship:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
That comes first. Before the rules, there is relationship.
God isn’t saying, “Follow these commandments and then I will become your God.” God has already claimed them. God has already heard their cries. God has already brought them out of slavery. The commandments come afterward, not as the price of belonging, but as a way of living together as people who already belong to God.
That changes how we might hear them. We sometimes think of rules as restrictions. They tell us what we can’t do and limit our freedom. But the commandments are also about protecting relationships.
- Don’t steal because your neighbour matters.
- Don’t lie about someone because their reputation matters.
- Don’t murder because life matters.
- Honour your parents because relationships across generations matter.
- Keep Sabbath because you matter too, you are more than what you produce.
Even the commandments about worship are ultimately about relationship: remember who you belong to, and don’t allow anything else to take God’s place in your life.
Seen this way, the Ten Commandments aren’t just a list of things God wants us to avoid. They are a framework for living in relationship, with God, with one another, and with ourselves.
And maybe that’s something worth remembering in our own lives. Healthy relationships have boundaries. Families, friendships, communities, and churches all need some understanding of how we will treat one another. Those boundaries aren’t signs that love is absent. Often, they are what allow love to flourish.
The question, then, isn’t just “What are the rules?”
Perhaps the better question is: “What kind of people are we becoming through the way we live with one another?”
That question moves us beyond checking boxes. We can follow every rule and still miss the heart of the relationship. Jesus himself would later remind his followers that the heart of God’s law is love: love of God and love of neighbour.
The commandments begin with a relationship, and they point us toward relationships. That is what makes them more than rules. They are an invitation to live as people who remember that we belong to God, and that the people around us belong to God too.
Take some time to sit with the reading from Exodus, and as you do, use the following reflective questions to guide you.
- When you think about faith, do you tend to think more about rules or relationships?
- What boundaries or practices help the important relationships in your life flourish?
- How might you live this week in a way that strengthens your relationship with God or with someone else?
- What kind of community are your everyday choices helping to create?
Let’s pray:
God of covenant and relationship, thank you for claiming us as your own before we ever know how to follow your ways.Help us to see your commandments not just as rules to obey, but as invitations to love you, to care for one another, and to live faithfully together. Shape us into people whose lives reflect the love at the heart of your covenant. AMEN