From representative government to the 10 commandments, Exodus is so full of wisdom... and it truly applies to us as Christian moms! If you feel like people are surrounding you, and always begging for help with their problems, Moses can relate! Let's take his lead and draw near to God, even when others stand far off.

Today's Scripture: Exodus 17-20

Do you need some encouragement regarding a difficult in-law? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-again-podcast-on-biblical-motherhood/id1700555502?i=1000652006391

But how do we get our kids to work through their issues without us?!? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-again-podcast-on-biblical-motherhood/id1700555502?i=1000624630660

Scripture Referenced or Read:

Exodus 17:9-15

Exodus 18:2, 13-22

Exodus 19:5-6, 16

1 Peter 2:9

Exodus 3:12

Exodus 20:1-21

Psalm 40:8

Ten Words to Live By By Jen Wilkin

This is a dwelling place

from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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Today we'll be looking at

Exodus chapter 17 through 20.

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Every time that they have come.

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To a spot in the wilderness where

they haven't had what they needed.

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God provided it.

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Even when they're grumbling and they

have horrible attitudes, he graciously

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provides exactly what they need.

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The manna rains down from heaven, and the

word manna literally means what is it?

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' It had everything they needed

nutritionally, and it was

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slightly sweet call me crazy.

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But I wonder if this almost had a

similar composition to a mom's milk.

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It has everything that a baby needs

and I've heard there's a sweetness to

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it, though I can't remember myself.

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It just shows the kindness of the

Lord that he's gonna provide this

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every single day that they're in

the wilderness and be watching for

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the day that God has its cease,

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in Chapter 17, the people of

Israel are going to face their very

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first war against the Amalekites.

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They're named after Amalek,

who is the grandson of Esau.

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His descendants continually represent

the enemies of God in scripture,

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we're also going to see an

introduction to Joshua, who will

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become Israel's leader after Moses

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17 nine tells us, so Moses said

to Joshua, choose for us men and

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go out and fight with Amalek.

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Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the

hill with the staff of God in my hand.

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So Joshua, did as Moses told him and

fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron

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and her went up to the top of the

hill whenever Moses held up his hand.

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Israel prevailed, and whenever he

lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.

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But Moses' hands grew weary, so they

took a stone and put it under him,

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and he sat on it while Aaron and her

held up his hands, one on one side

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and the other on the other side.

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So his hands were steady until the going

down of the sun, and Joshua overwhelmed

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Amalek and his people with sword.

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Then the Lord said to Moses.

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Write this as a memorial in a book

and recite it in the ears of Joshua

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that I will utterly blot out the

memory of Amalek from under heaven.

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And Moses built an altar and called

the name of it the Lord is my banner

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We were not created to do this alone and

although God was requiring something from

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Moses, he didn't ask him to do it alone.

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If you are feeling like your arms are

weary, then it's time to just raise a hand

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and say, I need some support right now.

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And don't be ashamed, we need

others, and it's how the body

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of Christ was created to work.

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Moses would've had

training as an Egyptian,

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and he would've learned writing and record

keeping in Pharaoh's governmental school.

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Now he's equipped to record.

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What the Lord is doing, and I love that

it says recited in the ears of Joshua.

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it seems like it's a holy

pep talk that the Lord is

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building up Joshua's faith here

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and a new name of God is introduced.

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The Lord is my banner.

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We can victoriously face

whatever comes our way,

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knowing that the Lord is our victory

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In chapter 18, Moses is

reunited with his father-in-law.

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Jethro

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Interestingly, 18 two tells us now,

Jethro Moses' father-in-law had taken

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Zipporah Moses' wife after he had

sent her home along with her two sons.

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. So Moses' wife and

children weren't with him.

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And then how do you think that they

would've arranged to meet back up

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together without the Lord's intervention?

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I can't imagine how they would know

where to find each other again.

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But they did

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It seems that they're truly

rejoicing to see each other again.

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and Jethro is going to be a voice

of reason in Moses' life and say

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all that you're doing for the

people, it's just too much for you.

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This is a very different relationship than

Jacob had with his father-in-law, Laben.

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I'm gonna link an episode of our

other podcast in the show notes.

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because having a strife with an

in-law can be truly difficult.

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I am so blessed to have a

mother-in-law like a Jethro to me.

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And though she is very careful about

when she speaks into my life or into

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my parenting, I know when she does.

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That I should listen up.

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I was almost afraid to tell her when

the Lord put this project on my heart,

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because I thought she was going to

say, Stephanie, there's no way that

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you could take that on right now too.

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But when she said, I think you

should do it, I felt I could

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confidently walk forward.

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And I cannot help but think of motherhood.

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When I read 1813, the next day, Moses

sat to judge the people and the people

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stood around Moses from morning till

evening when Moses' father-in-law saw

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all that he was doing for the people.

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He said, what is this that

you are doing for the people?

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Why do you sit alone and all

the people stand around you

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from morning till evening?

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And his father-in-law tells him

what you're doing is not good.

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You and the people with you will

certainly wear yourselves out for

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this thing is too heavy for you.

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Doesn't that sound like what we do?

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There are people standing around

you for morning till evening trying

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to have you solve their problems.

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Jethro actually introduces

an idea of representative

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government here, and he says,

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find some men who fear God and are

trustworthy and place them over the

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thousands, the hundreds, the fifties,

and the tens, and make them be judges.

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And then have them bring

the hardest cases to you.

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This is a passage of scripture that

different founders of nations looked to

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for how can we set up our government?

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In chapter 19, God tells them, I want you

to consecrate yourselves and get ready.

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Do you remember in the burning bush moment

where God says, this will be a sign to you

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that you will worship me on this mountain?

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That fulfillment is gonna happen here.

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In 19 three while Moses went up to God,

the Lord called to him out of the mountain

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saying, thus you shall say to the house

of Jacob and tell the people of Israel.

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You yourselves have seen what I did to the

Egyptians and how I bore you on Eagle's

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wings and brought you to myself now.

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Therefore, if you will

indeed obey my voice.

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And keep my covenant.

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You shall be my treasured

possession among all peoples.

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For all the earth is mine and

you shall be to me, a kingdom

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of priests and a holy nation.

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I can't help think about

one Peter two, nine

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but you are a chosen race, a royal

priesthood, a holy nation, a people for

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his own possession that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him who called you out

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of darkness into his marvelous light and

God is saying, you are important to me.

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you're chosen and you're

a unique treasure.

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To give these titles, it really

means that this is a new nation under

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God and that they have an important

relationship with the Lord, a

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responsibility to the rest of humanity,

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and they're going to have a unique

standing in the world of nations,

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as my moody commentary says.

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So it's a new name and privilege, a new

responsibility, and a new character.

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These verses have been referred to as the

Great Commission of the Old Testament.

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God is separating them out for a purpose.

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1916 tells us on the morning of the third

day there were thunders and lightnings

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and a thick cloud in the mountain,

and a very loud trumpet blast so that

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all the people in the camp trembled.

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Then Moses brought the people out of

the camp to meet God and they took

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their stand at the foot of the mountain.

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Now Mount Sinai was wrapped

in smoke because the Lord

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had descended on it in fire.

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The smoke of it went up like

the smoke of a kiln, and the

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whole mountain trembled greatly.

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And as the sound of the trumpet

grew louder and louder, Moses spoke

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and God answered him in thunder.

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The Lord came down on Mount

Sinai to the top of the mountain.

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And the Lord called Moses to the top

of the mountain and Moses went up

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and this is where God

gives the 10 Commandments.

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Chapter 20 is an absolute

can't miss chapter.

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And God spoke all these words

saying, I am the Lord your God,

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who brought you out of the land of

Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

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You shall have no other gods before me.

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You shall not make for yourself

a carved image or any likeness of

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anything that is in heaven above,

or that is in the earth beneath or

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that is in the water under the earth.

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You shall not bow down to them or serve

them for I the Lord your God, and a

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jealous God visiting the iniquity of the

fathers and the children to the third and

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the fourth generation of those who hate

me, but showing steadfast love to those

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who love me and keep my commandments.

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You shall not take the name of

the Lord your God in vain, for

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the Lord will not hold him.

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Guiltless, who takes his name in vain.

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Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

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Six days you shall labor and do

all your work, but the seventh day

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is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

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On it.

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You shall not do any work.

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You or your son or your daughter,

your male servant, or your female

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servant, or your livestock, or the

sojourner who is within your gates.

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For in six days, the Lord made heaven

and earth the sea and all that is

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in them and rested the seventh day.

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Therefore, the Lord blessed the

Sabbath day and made it holy honor

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your father and your mother, that

your days may long in the land that

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the Lord your God is giving you.

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You shall not murder.

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You shall not commit

adultery, you shall not steal.

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You shall not be a false

witness against your neighbor.

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You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

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You shall not covert your neighbor's

wife or his male servant, or his female

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servant, or his ax or his donkey,

or anything that is your neighbor's.

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Now when all the people saw the thunder

and the flashes of lightning and the

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sound of the trumpet and the mountain

smoking, the people were afraid and

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trembled and they stood far off and said

to Moses, you speak to us and we will

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listen, but do not let God speak to us.

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Lest we die.

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Moses said to the Peopledo, not

fear for God has come to test

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you, that the fear of him may be

before you, that you may not sin.

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The people stood far off while Moses drew

near to the thick darkness where God was.

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Just as we saw in Genesis one and two.

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God shows that he is

imminent and transcendent.

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He's willing to draw near.

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But he's still all powerful and

worthy of our awe and respect.

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Psalm 40 verse eight says,

I delight to do your will.

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Oh my God, your law is within my heart.

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In our culture, we often look as rules

as the problem, but we need to see the

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sin in our own hearts as a problem.

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and we need to teach our kids

that rules are good, they're for

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our blessing and our benefit.

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God told us here that he's a God

of steadfast love and that the

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blessings of obedience can follow

up to the thousandth generation and

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unfortunately, the consequences of sin.

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Often affect our children and our

grandchildren but God wants that

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cycle to stop and he is able.

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Heavenly Father,

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As we meditate on the 10 Commandments, may

we see them as opportunities to honor you

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and to be blessed.

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Just as Moses drew near to

you, I pray that the call to

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holiness would not hold us back,

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but that we would be purified in our

hearts and in our actions before you.

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May we know our limitations and

may we rely on others for help.

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And Lord, we thank you that you reign

down manna and Jesus, you also gave us

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that example to pray for our daily bread.

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We thank you, that you are our

sustainer and our provider.

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It's in your name, we pray Jesus.

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Amen.