Two Day's Daily Bread Ex 20 & 31

Exodus 20: 1 - 26
1 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
3 Do not have other gods besides Me.
4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers' sin, to the third and fourth [generations] of those who hate Me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand [generations] of those who love Me and keep My commands.
7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will punish anyone who misuses His name.
8 Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work-you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 Do not murder.
14 Do not commit adultery.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 Do not covet your neighbor's house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
18 All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain [surrounded by] smoke. When the people saw [it] they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 "You speak to us, and we will listen," they said to Moses, "but don't let God speak to us, or we will die."
20 Moses responded to the people, "Don't be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear Him and will not sin." 21 And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22 Then the Lord told Moses, "This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 You must not make gods of silver to rival Me; you must not make [gods of gold] for yourselves.
24 "You must make an earthen altar for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats, as well as your cattle. I will come to you and bless you in every place where I cause My name to be remembered. 25 If you make a stone altar for Me, you must not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it. 26 You must not go up to My altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed on it.
The Holman Christian Standard Bible
~Lena’s Comments~
Isn’t this almost silly that God, Our Father, would have to be telling us who He is and that He is the one who saved us? I think it is a sort of reminder to us of whom and where we’ve come from on the pathway we are on.
Egypt is a sort of "world we live in." Where we were before Christ, in bondage and slavery to sin. The sin that had us eternally doomed. Now that we are serving a new master, He is gracious enough to take us in and instruct us in the ways of His household….
I’m the center of your life. I’m #1, even before you!
Idols are things that take our energy and attentions. If we make idols, we attend to other things more than we do God, sometimes we create projects to fill up space in our lives and God is not involved in them at all, even in the thoughts of whatever it is we are doing. Then we find ourselves having less and less time for Him. Also as we live this way we are forming this pattern of action in those around us- especially those in our own household or those who are our disciples. When we train them that God is not #1 to us or for them (people learn best by seeing it demonstrated), we are forming our own ideas about God in them, We are "fashioning" them according to how we do things rather than How He does.
Don’t mis-use…I really love this translation. It is not only speaking of what we call "curse words". It is speaking of our flippant use, use without thought or honor made.
We can enter and stay in the "day of God’s rest", if we trust in Him and let Him do His work, rather than trusting ourselves and doing it all how we want to, or like to etc. We rely on our own strength and we labor, but have no rest.
Honor…This doesn’t mean agree. It means when you have a chance to be someone honorable, you are. You are already in relation to your parents. When someone speaks your name in their presence is it honorably mentioned? Does your life give them honor as parents, or disgrace or shame, or embarrassment? It is not based on who they are, it is based on who you are.
Morder…Take a life in your hands and end it. Take "life" into your own hands, ending its purpose being fulfilled. NT says- hatred is the same action. It has to do with passing judgement on another. This is God’s place, not ours.
Adultry…Being intimate with others, other than the ones you are in covenant with.(being intimate with the world especially).
Ever think of this one as being a false witness of the gospel of Christ? A Hypocrit?
Coveting things takes God out of the picture and we are not at a place where we desire Him above all, nor do we trust Him to satisfy us completely.
I must make for Him an altar of earth- that’s my life given over to Gods work, a work that requires sacrifice on my part. An altar represents sacrifice, a life given over. Yet even in my giving my life over. I can give as much as I want, I can do it as I like it and make it look as good as I like. Well maybe I can do this in my mind, because God sees right through that. I have really made an altar then, unto myself! See He said I need to make an altar with all He’s taught me to do and obey in His word, but if I’m not being the altar, I’m making it, spending a lot of time talking about it, while I carve it out in my mind according to my design. (good intentions look this way, very pretty outside).
Where God is saying, just give your life. He showed me how (through Jesus). These are the stones that were made by God, the Godly principles of my faith. When I change how it is done, my altar become made out of carved stones, works of my own hands, and really it is so ornate, so pretty, but it is not glorifying God, with fire and consumation. It is glorifying me because I’m competing with others to see who’s altar is prettier. God doesn’t care what it looks like, He cares if my life is consumed in Him.
Exodus 31: 1 - 18
1 The LORD also said to Moses, 2 "Look, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence, and skill in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is able to create beautiful objects from gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in cutting and setting gemstones and in carving wood. Yes, he is a master at every craft! 6 "And I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the naturally talented craftsmen so they can make all the things I have instructed you to make: 7 the Tabernacle itself; the Ark of the Covenant; F65 the Ark's cover – the place of atonement; all the furnishings of the Tabernacle; 8 the table and all its utensils; the gold lampstand with all its accessories; the incense altar; 9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils; the washbasin and its pedestal; 10 the beautifully stitched, holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests; 11 the anointing oil; and the special incense for the Holy Place. They must follow exactly all the instructions I have given you."
12 The LORD then gave these further instructions to Moses: 13 "Tell the people of Israel to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you forever. It helps you to remember that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. 14 Yes, keep the Sabbath day, for it is holy. Anyone who desecrates it must die; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. 15 Work six days only, but the seventh day must be a day of total rest. I repeat: Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death. 16 The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day forever. 17 It is a permanent sign of my covenant with them. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but he rested on the seventh day and was refreshed." 18 Then as the LORD finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, F66 written by the finger of God.
FOOTNOTES:F65: Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; the Ark of the Testimony. F66: Hebrew the Testimony.
The New Living Translation
~Lena’s Comments~
Sabbath. If we do not take time with the Lord, to know Him, how would we ever make Him known or want to make Him known? If we don’t give time to the Lord maybe we do not really love Him, we just use Him for whatever we can try to get from Him. Maybe we do not really believe He is God Most High and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek after Him. If we aren’t living this way, we are actually dying. If we won’t live this way we will die. Purpose preserves life. Life goes on and on and is like a moving sidewalk, no-stopping, unless we either get off or push the panic or emergency buttons. Often when we do not have times of rest in God’s presence we find ourselves in tragic situations. Life was meant for rest. If we do not give it, it will take it, as it becomes overwhelmed with stress. God knows how he made us and designed even our physical bodies, He knows how to maintain the models and theses are like an instruction manual on how to get the longest life of purpose out of the design He made. If we follow the manual, we’ll do well. If not it won’t go so well, and the design will not be able to be used to its full potential in Christ. We enter into God’s rest or we stay away from it.