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How do we live by every word of the Torah? God is the God of actions, not merely abstract ideas. We live by the Torah when we practice it in our day to day lives, just as a basketball player consciously practices his dribbles and his 3-point shots for hours at a time. This study from the Torah reading יתרו Yitro (Jethro, Exodus 18:1–20:23) focuses on the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).
One thing to keep in mind, the events of Exodus 18 occurred after the events of Exodus 19. We don’t know why God wanted the chapters to be transposed chronologically, but it’s evident from the text that is what we see.
The last time we interact with Zipporah was when they were going to Egypt and she had to circumcise one of her sons.
“Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away…” (Exodus 18:2 NASB)
The word in Hebrew translated as “sent away” or “dismissed” — שָׁלַח shalach (H7971) — also is used to mean divorce. We don’t know for certain if he divorced her but it’s strongly implied. However, whether he simply sent her back to her father’s house because of the dangers in Egypt or literally divorced her, we aren’t certain.
The events of Mt. Sinai and the giving of the 10 Commandments are associated with God’s appointed time for Israel called Shavuot (Pentecost).
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, ‘Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them.’” (Exodus 19:21–22 NASB)
God hadn’t selected the priests yet so who is He talking to? He hadn’t set aside the family of Aaron as priests yet. In most cultures of the Ancient Near East, the first born of the family were also the priest of their families. These first born priests may be who God is referencing at this point.
10 ‘headlines’ of behavior with eternal consequence
The 10 Commandments are “headlines” in a matter of speaking, as there are other rules in the Torah that elaborate on how to keep each of the 10 Commandments.
1st word: ‘I am the LORD Who took you out of Egypt’
We can relate to someone we can see and touch. The God who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, who performed profound miracles. God is also the God who made the aurora borealis, but I live on Earth, not up there. We know and understand our lived experience much more than we understand things that we can’t directly experience.
God is the God of actions, not merely abstract ideas. The Apostles point out the same thing. They struggled with explaining to Greeks the Hebrew concept of God. The cultures are very different. Hebrews experience God, not think about Him while Greeks think about God but don’t experience Him. The Greek gods were not beings you wanted to experience.
2nd word: Idol conversation for today
God tells us we aren’t to seek to experience or interact with gods other than Himself. It’s a matter of discernment for us to learn what spirits are of God and which are not.
“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD 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, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:5–6 NASB)
How does ‘to the third and fourth generation’ compare with Ezekiel 18:1-29?
God tells Ezekiel that the wicked are punished and their righteous relatives are not. How can God curse the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him? What does it mean?
Ezekiel, as a young exile to Babylon, was experiencing the sins of his ancestors. He was a recipient of the sins of his fathers.
Ezekiel, before he was sent into exile, lived in Jerusalem, the land of Judea. At that time, the nation of Judea was not at peace with God.
Part of the answer as to how we “pay” for the sins of our parents is in the prophecy God gave to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 24:1-10 where God tells Jeremiah that the choice, ripe, good figs were transplanted to Babylon while the bad figs would remain in Judea to be crushed.
The ones who were cursed by God were not the exiles in Babylon, but those who were left behind to be crushed. God whisked away the righteous to be safe. Ezekiel didn’t like the exile but God wasn’t punishing him with exile, God was actually protecting Ezekiel by sending him into exile rather than allowing him to remain in Judea to be crushed.
Experiencing the consequences of someones sin is the same thing. If a man goes to prison for a crime, his son has to suffer the consequence of not being raised by his father but God is not punishing the son.
“Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king.”” (1Samuel 15:22–23 NASB)
Obeying God is more important than sacrificing animals. Samuel compared disobedience to witchcraft and idolatry when he rebuked King Saul. What does that mean?
God asked Saul who is he was really obeying, God or himself? Saul put himself over God. He acted like a politician rather than a king. He was doing what was right in his eyes, not what was right in God’s eyes. Saul was worshiping an idol: himself. Saul elevated the man he saw in the mirror to the status of god.
Idolatry is probably more pervasive today than it was in the ancient times. Our secular culture elevates the self and its wants and needs above our fellow human beings as no other culture before it has done.
3rd word: How does one ‘take God’s name in vain’?
Numbers 30 gives an example. A vow is when we dedicate an object or thing to God’s service. An oath is when we swear to an agreement. God hold us to any oaths or vows that we make in His name. If we don’t follow though, we put God’s name into disrepute.
4th word: Remember the Sabbath day
Remembering the Shabbat is not just a mental ascent to the existing of the Shabbat. We remember the Shabbat by doing Shabbat. We are to value it and keep it dear to us.
5th word: How do you honor your parents?
When the children of Israel were sent into exile in Babylon, one of the reasons they were sent into exile is that they didn’t honor their father and mother. Which father and mother did they dishonor?
They “honored” their biological parents in doing evil such as worshipping the “queen of heaven”, but dishonored their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by worshipping other gods.
6th–8th words: Murder, adultery, theft
As there are multiple forms of murder, and adultery, including character assassination and idolatry, there are also multiple forms of stealing, including, kidnapping. The Torah even forbids people from stealing from animals, which is recorded in Exodus 22.
9th word: False witness = no witness
When we are told not to bear false witness, that doesn’t merely mean that we are not to say lies about people. We are also called upon to speak up and defend people when their character is being assassinated. If we know something that will exonerate someone of a crime and we remain silent, we are bearing false witness and we deserve the punishment they will get if we stay silent.
10th word: Covetousness = envy
When it comes to coveting and desiring, this is not referring to “I want a new car but it must be red.” Window-shopping at a shopping mall is not coveting. Surfing Amazon for the best deal on an iPhone cord is not coveting. Coveting is “My neighbor has a nice red car. He doesn’t deserve that car. I deserve that car.” Coveting means you want something that is not yours and can never be yours legally.
10 steps toward life instead of death
God reminds the prophet in Ezekiel 20:10-22 that the children of Israel were told repeatedly that if they lived by Torah, they would have a long life. They always had the option to choose life or choose death, and most of the time, unfortunately, they chose death.
The first thing we do if we want to follow a particular religious path is that we study it. We choose what we wish to follow, whether we worship ourselves or worship a false deity or to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Everyone has the opportunity to make the right decision.
Summary: Tammy