Exodus 19-21 - The Commandments of Yahweh

Israel at Sinai

Exo 19:4-6 LSB - [4] 'You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I lifted you up on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. [5] 'So now then, if you will indeed listen to My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; [6] and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel."

1Pe 2:9 LSB - [9] But you are A CHOSEN FAMILY, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God's] OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Rev 20:6 LSB - [6] Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

 

Yahweh Descends on Mount Sinai

Exo 19:18-19 LSB - [18] Now Mount Sinai [was] all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. [19] And the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder; [then] Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.

Lo! God is here: let us adore
Author: Gerhardt Tersteegen (1729)

1 Lo! God is here; let us adore,

and own how dreadful is this place;

let all within us feel His pow'r,

and humbly bow before His face.

Who knows His pow'r, His grace who proves,

serve Him with awe, with rev'rence love.

2 Lo! God is here, whom day and night

united choirs of angels praise;

to Him, enthroned above all height,

the host of heav'n their anthems raise.

Disdain not, Lord, our meaner song,

who praise Thee with a stamm'ring tongue.

3 Almighty Father, may our praise

Thy courts with grateful fragrance fill;

still may we stand before Thy face,

still hear and do Thy sov'reign will.

To God whom earth and heav'n adore,

be praise and glory evermore.

 

The Commandments of Yahweh

Exo 20:2-3 LSB - [2] "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [3] "You shall have no other gods before Me.

Exo 20:5-6 LSB - [5] "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, [6] but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Exo 20:10-11 LSB - [10] but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh your God; [in it] you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female slave or your cattle or your sojourner who is within your gates. [11] "For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Exo 20:18-19 LSB - [18] And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and the people perceived [it], and they shook and stood at a distance. [19] Then they said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, lest we die."

These Are the Holy Ten Commands

Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot

Martin Luther, 1524

1. These are the holy Ten Commands
   Which our Lord God placed in our hands
   Through Moses, His own servant true,
   When he to Mount Sinai drew.
   Kyrieleis!

2. I am alone thy God the Lord,
   Thou shalt false worship not afford;
   Put thy whole confidence in Me
   And love Me right faithfully.
   Kyrieleis!

3. Thou shalt not take My name in vain
   By idle word or speech profane,
   And praise but that as good and true
   Which I Myself say and do.
   Kyrieleis!

4. Thou shalt the day which God hath blest
   Keep holy, that thy house may rest;
   Keep hand and heart from labor free,
   That God may thus work in thee.
   Kyrieleis!

5. Thou shalt give love and honor due
   To father, and to mother too,
   And help them when their strength decays;
   So shalt thou have length of days.
   Kyrieleis!

6. Thou shalt in sinful wrath not kill,
   Nor hate, nor render ill for ill;
   Be patient and of gentle mood,
   And to thy foe do thou good.
   Kyrieleis!

7. Thou shalt respect thy marriage vows,
   Thy heart give only to thy spouse;
   Thy life keep pure, and lest thou sin,
   Use temp’rance and discipline.
   Kyrieleis!

8. Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt abhor
   To wring their life-blood from the poor;
   But open wide thy kindly hand
   To all the poor in the land.
   Kyrieleis!

9. Thou shalt no faithless witness be,
   Nor neighbor harm with calumny;
   Defend his innocence from blame;
   With charity hide his shame.
   Kyrieleis!

10. Thou shalt not seek thy neighbor’s house,
    Nor wife, nor servants, nor aught else,
    But wish that his such good may be
    As thy heart doth wish for thee.
    Kyrieleis!

11. God hath giv’n us all these commands
    That thou thy sin, O child of man,
    Might know, and also well perceive
    How unto God man should live.
    Kyrieleis!

12. Help us, Lord Jesus Christ, for we
    A Mediator have in Thee.
    With works we’d perish from the path;
    They merit but endless wrath.
    Kyrieleis!

Judgments About Slaves

Exo 21:2 LSB - [2] "If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.

Exo 21:5-6 LSB - [5] "But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out as a free man,' [6] then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. Then his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

Take My Life, and Let It Be

Author: Frances Ridley Havergal (1874)

1 Take my life and let it be

consecrated, Lord, to thee.

Take my moments and my days;

let them flow in endless praise,

let them flow in endless praise.

2 Take my hands and let them move

at the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be

swift and beautiful for thee,

swift and beautiful for thee.

3 Take my voice and let me sing

always, only, for my King.

Take my lips and let them be

filled with messages from thee,

filled with messages from thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold;

not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use

every power as thou shalt choose,

every power as thou shalt choose.

5 Take my will and make it thine;

it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart it is thine own;

it shall be thy royal throne,

it shall be thy royal throne.

6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour

at thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be

ever, only, all for thee,

ever, only, all for thee.

 

Judgments About Personal Injuries

Exo 21:15, 17 LSB - [15] "And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. ... [17] "And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

Exo 21:23-25 LSB - [23] "But if there is [any further] injury, then you shall pay life for life, [24] eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, [25] burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound.