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Introduction to the Commandments People often look at the Ten Commandments as a tool to win God's favor. They think that if they keep the commandments God will treat them as His children and give them the blessings they want or need. But God, like a good father, gives His children commands to follow because He loves them and has their best interest at heart. His love comes first and His commands second. If we reverse this and think that obedience to commands comes first and then love follows, then we do not understand our heavenly Father. God did not give the Ten Commandments with the purpose of giving the Israelites a path to follow so they might become His people. When God gave the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel already were His people. God had made them His people by bringing them out of Egypt. His mighty arm and His outstretched hand had accomplished this. Keeping in mind what God had done in the past, they were to willingly obey the commands that came from the One who had done such marvelous things for them. That this is the case can be seen by looking at Exodus 20, where we find the Ten Commandments. Notice the opening words are not the first commandment. Instead the Lord says: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” God begins by reminding the people of who He is and what He had done for them. He had shown His love and faithfulness by rescuing them from the Egyptians. This is critical for understanding the Commandments. God had promised to be their God, and He had promised to accept them as His people (Exodus 6:6-8). God could be trusted to watch over His people. He would provide for them the good things that they needed and protect them from evil. Since this was true, His people were to follow His instructions. When God’s people did not follow His commands, it was always due to a lack of trust. When they did not believe that God would provide for them, then they tried to bypass God’s instructions. They thought they had a better idea and that the instruments and agents that God was supposed to be using to bless them were not working. And so they turned away from God’s instructions and looked for “better” instruments and agents. As Christians, whenever we look at the commandments, we too should remember who God is and what He has done for us. He has shown us His love and faithfulness by sending Jesus to rescue us. Moses was the servant God used to bring the people out of Egypt. Jesus was the Servant God used to rescue us from bondage to sin and death. He said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). The freedom Jesus gives is a far greater gift than being rescued from the tyranny of the Egyptians. Christ has set us free from the curse that the Law places on all those who disobey its instructions. The Law always contained a burden that was too heavy for God’s people to carry (see Act 15:10). It will crush us also if we try to carry it. The Law will set you free only if you always do good and completely avoid evil. Since we do not do this, the Law, condemns us. We are guilty as charged and deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law. Christ has set us free from the punishment we deserve under the Law. He has cleared the charges against us from God’s books. Christ has set us free not by giving us the power to carry the Law’s burden, but by taking the burden off our shoulders and carrying it for us. Does this mean that Christians are now free to discard the Law? Certainly not. Paul writes in Galatians 5:13-14, “Brothers and sisters, God called you to set you free. But do not turn this freedom into an opportunity to indulge your sinful desires. Instead, serve each other in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” In this passage, Paul is clearly urging Christians to keep the Law. As Christians, we do not discard the Law, but we do see it in a new way. We no longer look at it the way a slave would. Instead, we look at it the way a son or daughter would. God’s Laws are not harsh demands from a heavenly slave driver. They are instructions from our dear heavenly Father. He loves us, and He gave these commandments to us for our good. God delights in giving us good things purely out of fatherly goodness and mercy. To satisfy our every need He has placed various agents and instruments all around us. He uses these people and things as His tools in blessing us. For example, God uses His word, parents, those in authority, spouses, property, and so forth as His instruments and agents. God wants us to treasure these gifts and that is why He has given us the Ten Commandments. As you study each one of the commandments, look for the gift God wants you to treasure. When you see the instruments and agents God has established, you should not try to bypass them. Instead you should trust that God will use these things and people to bless you and those who are dear to you. Therefore, you are to treasure what God has given and not let go even when it seems that the thing you need is a long time in coming and even when the world has long ago turned to a substitute for God’s gifts.