The Power of the Word

June 7

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17)

1 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2 “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; you shall not bow down to them nor 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 generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
3 “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.
4 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6 “You shall not murder.
7 “You shall not commit adultery.
8 “You shall not steal.
9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you,” Exodus 20:12, is said to be the ‘first commandment with promise,” Ephesians 6:2. Paul is making quite an assertion in his letter to the Ephesians.

In his letter to Timothy he states further, “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work,” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We see that our adherence to the law of God is for our own good. Obeying the holy writ will benefit us in countless ways, including ‘setting things straight.’ Indeed, we tend to get our lives in a snarl when we go our own way and do our own thing, but compliance with the holy word of God will enable us to learn and to be profited in its reproof of our failures.

It will also help us in our outreach to others as we endeavor to allow our lives to be “living epistles, read of all men,” II Corinthians 3:1-3. But the Fifth Commandment has a personal promise attached to it. If we will honor our parents as the Lord desires that we do, He says we shall enjoy long life in the land He gives to us.

This promise will enable us to see our children and grandchildren thrive upon the earth as we nurture them in His way. If we will abide in the Word of God and allow His Word to abide in us, we will become vessels that hold the promise—and every life that touches ours shall be blessed.