Pastor Steve at E.V. Free Conejo Valley is doing a series in Deuteronomy and we are at Deuteronomy 5.
Deuteronomy 5:1, 6-22 (ESV):
1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
6 “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me.
8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or 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 generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 “‘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.
12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 “‘You shall not murder.
18 “‘And you shall not commit adultery.
19 “‘And you shall not steal.
20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
Questions from Pastor Steve to ponder in response to these commandments and to this question: Am I following God wholeheartedly? 2 Chronicles 25:2, “He did what was right in the eyes of God but not wholeheartedly.”
What is your source of strength and guidance? ~ What gives you a sense of security? ~ In what do you trust? ~ What has become the source of your joy this week? ~ What sparks your heart to adoration? ~ Who or what do you worship? (John 4:23) ~ What lifts your heart to wonder and praise? ~ What are you looking forward to? ~ What do you think will truly fulfill your life and make it worth living? ~ In whom do you place your hope?
God has given me these commandments for my good. I need to learn them and to remember them and teach them to my children and grandchildren and I am to be careful to do them and follow God wholeheartedly. Yep, I’m feeling convicted.
Disclaimer: I’m assuming the artwork at the top of this post is the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, but since I don’t read Hebrew I can’t be sure. Forgive me if it isn’t.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
Very piercing questions, indeed.
Thanks for posting this. . .
Oh, it’s certainly the ten commandments. The first five commandmemts are in the right-hand column (ending with “honour your father” – sadly, no mention of mother; these are just summaries) and the second five down the left.
The word לא which you can see occurring several times means “thou shalt not”.
Yes, I think it’s vital to understand obedience to the Ten Commandments as springing from faith. We are to believe these commands come from God and that it is good for us to obey them.
Thanks John,
I just retrieved your comment today…seems my blog police decided it was spam. Thanks for sharing your Hebrew expertise with me. I appreciate it.
Blessings!