Abounding Grace: The Grace of the Law | God's Self-Giving

Sunday, we will begin considering the ten commandments in Exodus 20. The scene is of Moses ascending the mountain with the priests calling God’s people to the foot of the mountain to hear from God. As they get closer and Moses climbs higher, the music gets louder and louder until God speaks to his people. When God speaks, the people are terrified at his thunderous voice but comforted by his tender words. God says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2,3.

In this first of the commandments, God calls his people to respond to his giving of himself to them. He is their God because he made them his own, committing himself to them before they even knew him. Their deliverance from Egypt, going from seventy people to close to two million, witnessing the destruction of Pharaoh, all communicate God’s faithfulness to them.

In the commandment, God calls his people to respond to his “giving” with their “giving.” They are “to have and to hold” him as their God. This requires faithful worship and service to God alone and forbids all affections that would compete with exclusive love for God. As we’ll see, we fall terribly short in our response to God’s self-giving, but in Christ, we see the righteous requirement of the law fulfilled. We’ll worship him for that. Join us Sunday!