Sup Juggalos,
Most of this and the next couple of exploration sermons I'm going to cut and paste. I will explain and add some notes but for the most part I don't think it would be a good idea for me to paraphrase. I want you to judge for yourself and learn from the exact wordings. We're getting into the section of Exodus where Moses is going to explain what God's laws are for his chosen people. On the 3rd month after leaving Egypt, the nation of Israel come upon Mount Sinai. The Lord tells Moses that He has delivered them as He said He would. He tells Moses that if the people of Israel keep His commandments then they will be for Him a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation. So at this point in the Old Testament, He is telling Moses that these are to be His chosen people, that He owns the whole world but He's setting aside the Nation of Israel. I want you to keep this in mind as we go through some of the commandments and laws. I will refer to it again.
God tells Moses he wants the people to consecrate themselves and prepare themselves to come before the Lord. The Lord said He would reveal Himself to the People. He tells them to section off the mountain like it was holy and Do NOT TOUCH IT. Cuz they'll die. So the priests had to set up a barricade like a concert. The Ram's Horn blast will tell them when it's okay to come forward to the mountain.
"On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain [b] trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. [c] " or and God answered Him with Thunder.
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
REV'S TAKE:
Alright here they are. It would not be fair for me to try to make an interpretation for each one of these commandments. However, I will make a few observations. Was Mount Sinai and active volcano? The description seems to describe volcanic activity. I'm not saying that the Lord didn't speak from it, but that would explain why the people would get killed if they touched the Mountain. However Moses was on the Mountain so by rights he would have been killed too, so maybe not volcanic activity. As for the commandments themselves. A lot of these still apply. But you must understand that he was speaking to His Chosen people, the people that were going to live around him. (That's just one interpretation, remember no one is right or wrong, I'm just sharing). In later, exploration sermons you will see more in depth explanations and you will see that some of the laws don't apply in this day and age. You will see more of what I mean in later exploration sermons. What do I believe about the ten commandments. We all need guidelines in our Life to live by. Some more than others. A young friend of mine was honest with himself one day and said I'm converting to Catholicism, I was curious as to why (why as in what was his reasoning, not why as in there's something wrong with Catholicism) He told me he needed more structure. Understanding where the young kid was coming from brings this to mind. Structure has its uses, as well as Laws and as well as Commandments. In our young ages we tend to rebel from these things because we want to live free. However as one gets older we begin to realize the purpose behind Laws and Structure. Your Mom used to tell you look both ways before crossing the street. You think it's a law based on the manner of how she put it. The police man will give you a ticket if you don't use the cross walk. But when you are older you turn on the television and see the Carnage of a man splattered across the pavement in his rush and disregard of structure he crossed without looking and did not use the cross walk. All you can do is look at the TV and say "Look both ways, before crossing the street, a**hole." So you see with all things there is a purpose, we must define that purpose for ourselves. I cannot and will not define it for you.
MCL
Rev. Last Rite
Presiding Minister, Founder
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