Monday: Preparing for the Gift
Daily Lesson for Monday 18th of August 2025
Read Exodus 19:9-25. How did God prepare Israel to receive the Ten Commandments?
God gave specific instructions for what the Israelites were to do in preparation for the giving of the law at Sinai. Their external purity was to reflect their total dedication to God.
Rules to Govern a New Society
They needed to be ready for the splendid manifestation of the Lord’s glory that was about to come. And when it did, it was accompanied by “thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled” (Exodus 19:16, NKJV).
The Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) is the heart of God’s revelation and biblical ethics. It forms the substance and foundation of divine standards for all humanity; its principles are eternal and universal.
According to the biblical account, the Decalogue was announced by God (Exodus 19:19; Exodus 20:1; Deuteronomy 5:4-5,24) and was written by Him (Exodus 24:12, Exodus 31:18, Deuteronomy 5:22). It was twice given to Moses as a special gift (Exodus 32:19; Exodus 34:1; Deuteronomy 10:1-2).
In the book of Exodus, the Decalogue is called “the Testimony” (Hebrew: ‘edut; Exodus 31:18); or it is named “the words of the covenant” (Hebrew: dibre habberit; Exodus 34:28). In the book of Deuteronomy, they are written on “the tablets of the covenant” (Deuteronomy 9:9,11,15, NKJV). Neither book in Hebrew uses the term “the Ten Commandments” (Hebrew: mitzwot, “commandments”). Instead, three times they call it “the Ten Words.” The Hebrew is ‘aseret haddebarim, from dabar, meaning “word, sentence, matter, thing, speech, story, promise, utterance.” (See Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13, Deuteronomy 10:4.)
There are two versions of the Decalogue with very slight differences; the first one is recorded in Exodus 20:1-17 and the second in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The second version, presented orally by Moses to Israel, occurred almost forty years after Sinai, just before the people entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:3-4; Deuteronomy 4:44-47). These circumstances explain the slight differences between the two.
When Paul summarized the law as being love, he quoted from the Decalogue (Romans 13:8-10). Love is, indeed, the sum of God’s law because He is a God of love (1 John 4:16).
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How do you understand the idea of the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s love? What does that mean? How is God’s love revealed in them? |
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Ahhh! That question at the end of the lesson today is just another of the questions we should be having and asking ourselves.
This question:
"How do you understand the idea of the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s love? What does that mean? How is God’s love revealed in them?"
For a God who is "bringing us to Him", a communal and relational bond by choice is ideally fundamental. It's so clear that God was stretching out for a relationship with Israel - the son, the firstborn who has lost identity, focus, and purpose.
However, doesn't it feel like sometimes we portray God as a God of rules, acts, and bylaws? We portray God as one longing to punish and torture, so that even these "words of the covenant or testimony" we take from a penal point of view or legalistic perspective.
Take a look at them again, and you'll see the commandments have always been a written statement of love - love of God through loyalty, commitment, and dedication; love of worship, adoration, praise, exaltation, communal bonding, and even setting a holy and blessed day to savor the love from creation, redemption, and salvation. And there's love expressed through action towards your family, environment, and neighbors. All this is encapsulated in what we have called the 10 Commandments.
Looking deeply at these commandments, those lovely words of Sh'ma Yisrael (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) and the blessed words of Jesus Christ (Matthew 22:37-40) shine out. It's all about God's love in our thoughts, in our senses, and in our actions - and not rules or codes of order.
The questions at the end are the kind that we need today, to begin conversations in our hearts and allow us to know God - the God of love.
A study of ancient Mediterranean religions shows that they often focused on sexuality. The bull was regarded as a symbol of virility - Something that still lingers on in bull-fighting in some countries today. Many of the gods had phallic representations. Oblisks originated in Mesopotamia and became almost synonymous with Egypt. It is somewhat surprising to find them in various political and religious contexts even today, given their origin and meaning.
Spring festivals such as Easter were essentially celebrations of fertility. It is not surprising that ancient religions combined sexual activity with religious festivals. They knew the link between sex and fertility, and given the chemistry it provided the human brain, they had combined it into worship.
It is significant that the Hebrews, in preparing for their encounter with God, were asked to refrain from sexual activity. It is perhaps the first indication that they were to be different to the nations and religions around them.
In our modern world, sex has become a cheap commodity, used to sell cars, insurance, computer hardware, and entertainment. Something tells me we need to rest our horizon.
What did the external purity have to do with the receiving of the 10 commandments (Exodus 19:9-25)? God instructed the people of Israel through Moses to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual intercourse before receiving the decalogue. These acts did not make them spiritually holy. What was their purpose then?
1. These external formalities were meant to remind them that God was not ordinary and cannot be approached ordinarily. A holy God should be approached with reverence.
2. By doing ordinary things (washing clothes and abstaining from marital intimacy), was to instill a sense of seriousness in the solemnity of the occasion.
3. Abstaining from marital intimacy was to minimize unnecessary distraction from giving total attention to a very important event.
4. As outside purity was required, it was a reminder to the people that internal purity was highly needed.
What spiritual lessons or admonitions can we learn from this episode?
1.God’s holiness must be revered. When we come to God in prayer, worship, or study, we need to do so with awe, respect, and humility.
2. Coming in the presence of a holy God needs preparation. Holiness is not an afterthought but requires intentional preparation of heart and mind.
3. God is still calling for a people who are morally and spiritually purified.
4. Even today, God requires those who are called by His name to meet certain standards through Christ. Through the blood of Jesus, we are truly cleansed from all our unrighteousness.
“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God” – 2 Corinthians 7:1 (NLT).
The Law of God, given at Mount Sinai in the form of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17), remains a divine gift, not because it can save, but because it reveals God's holy will and character, it shows us we need a Savior. It acts as a mirror, exposing our sin and points us away from our self-righteousness to the only One Jesus Christ our friend and saviour. As Paul writes, “Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20), making it clear that the commandments are not a path to righteousness but a guide that drives us to the Gospel. While the Law can not justify or forgive, it prepares our hearts to receive the grace and righteousness that come through faith in Christ (Galatians 3:24). In this way, the giving of the Law at Sinai is ultimately a gracious act of God that leads us to the greater gift of salvation in Jesus.