Daily Bible Reading Tuesday 28th May 2024
by William Moody
Exodus 20:1–15
The Ten Commandments
20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before1 me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands2 of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.3
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
Footnotes
[1] 20:3
Or besides
[2] 20:6Or to the thousandth generation
[3] 20:13The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence (ESV)
Not stealing (v15), is not just about physically taking what does not belong to us, it also has to include honesty and integrity in how we use our work hours and pay our taxes. Many, who would be horrified at stealing from a shop, see it as no big thing to steal from their employers in regards to time and from their government in regards to taxes.
The Bible teaches that Christians are to be great examples as employees (Colossians 3v22-25) and good citizens for the government (Romans 13v5-7). Honesty and integrity need to be the hallmark of the Christian’s life, otherwise our witness and the honour of Christ will be severely harmed.
Another area in which we can steal is by not giving to the Lord and His work as we should. The prophet Malachi says, “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.” (Malachi 3 v8)
Jesus confirms that believers should give at least one tenth of their income to God (Matthew 23 v23) and we should do this with hearts that rejoice to do this (2 Corinthians 9 v9). Are you robbing God or are you a cheerful giver?
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