Exodus 20:1-17 (NRSV) Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

So you got a new printer for your computer! One of those “plug and play” models that you just plug in and the computer installs “all by itself”. Oh, there are a few “set up steps” to follow. Eighteen to be exact. But they give you this handy dandy little set up guide. Written in Spanish, French, and Chin – English, it's easy to follow, and in just twenty to a hundred and twenty minutes, and two phone calls to products support in India, you should have your printer printing in no time at all!

Instructions are pretty important aren't they? You need good instructions to set up your printer. You need good instructions when cooking your favorite recipe. You need good instructions for anything challenging and worth doing in life.

Our first lesson for today talks about some instructions from God. In our lesson from the book of Exodus we hear about God's little instruction book for life, known as the ten commandments. Just ten simple little principles to follow, that can protect the most important relationships in our lives. If followed, the ten commandments, will protect our relationship with God. Our relationship with parents, spouse, and family. Our relationship with our neighbor. And God gives these instructions freely. They are part of his grace and love shown to his people Jews.

The Jewish people felt very honored to be the recipients of this instruction. So honored in fact, that when Moses came down from the mountain, they put the two tablets of the law in a golden box. That gold box and its contents was later placed in the most holy place in the land. The Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem. This honored location in the temple was so holy that only the high priest was allowed to enter. And only once each year did he go into this holy of holies to offer sacrifice in behalf of the people.

It was meant to be a place of honor. But what often happens to things that are “put away”? Even when they are “put away” in a place of honor? They often get forgotten, don't they?

The people remembered God's law in the golden box in the holy or holies, for ten or twenty years. But then as time passed so did the memories of what was so important. Like a beautiful family Bible sitting on the book shelf, the ten commandments collected dust and more dust. Instead of instructing God's people, God's Torah, or “Word of Instruction” was forgotten. “Left in the box”, instead of “lived in people's lives”.

How sad, that something that could be so helpful, was so neglected. So forgotten. No wonder Israel declined as a nation. No wonder they eventually were overrun by their enemies. Without God's word of instruction they were like a truck drive without a map. Like seafarer without a compass. Like a Christian without a Bible.

You would think the world would learn from history. That people would learn from the past. But still today, people try to live their lives without God's little instruction book for living. Without God's word of guidance and protection.

Can you imagine, trying to drive through a modern city without some map to guide you? The freeways of Minneapolis are like a maze of spaghetti! In order to go north, you sometimes have to go south. In order to west you sometimes have to go east. And as soon as you take one exit, another pops up before you telling you to cross five busy lanes of traffic, and if you don't you are lost! You might get suck in Minneapolis forever if you don't have a map, to help guide and lead you!

That's why God gave us the Ten Commandments. That's why God gives us the Bible. To keep us from getting lost.

Can you imagine God giving us the ingredients for fudge, but then saying, “I'm not going to tell you how to make it!” Boy, that would be cruel, wouldn't it? Or what about music? Imagine God giving us a trombone, and then saying, “Well world, here's the gift of a trombone, but I'm not going to tell you how to play it!” That would be so mean! Well, God gives us a trombone. And he also gives us all the ingredients for making fudge. But more important, God gives us life itself. And what good would life be, without a word of instruction on how to make the most of it? How to use it wisely? How to live it as it was intended to be lived by its creator?

The ten commandments look so nice on the wall, don't they? And Bibles on bookshelves look kind or pretty to. But what happens if that is as far as God's word gets in our lives? What if God is always on the wall or only on the bookshelf?

I think God's intention was that his word of instruction be a “take it with you” kind of word. A word that is more like a map than a plaque. A word that's more like a day planner than a prized possession. A word that is “lived out”, instead of illuminated by spot lights.

And so important was this living out, that God gifts his people with Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help them live out that word in their daily lives.

Jesus helps us to remember God's instructions for living by giving us a living example to follow. Maybe you remember the phrase, “What would Jesus do?” Jesus puts flesh and blood on the ten commandments. He is the God's little instruction book for living, lived out in a life we can observe and learn from. Jesus doesn't just “tell us what to do” but gives us a model to imitate and follow.

And when it comes to help in living that life, he also blesses us with the Holy Spirit. The same power that enabled and empowered Jesus is available to us, to help and empower us in our living.

God “tells” us how to live in the ten commandments, “shows” us how to live in Jesus, and “gives us the power” to live through his gift of the Holy Spirit.

Some might say, “Aren't there already enough laws and commandments out there?” Don't we have thousands of laws on our books, and thousands of laws in our tax codes and so on and so forth?” Who needs ten more? Who needs even two more?

But what we often fail to realize is how God's law is different. Civil law commands us to “do no harm”. It keeps us from acting like animals that would eat and devour one another. But God's word of instruction takes us one gigant step higher. While civil law commands us to “do no harm” God's word of instruction tells us to “love our neighbor”. To build up our neighbor. To treat our neighbor as we would treat ourselves.

The ten commandments do look good on the wall. They might look ever better engraved in granite out in front of some court house. And Bibles, some of them cost a mint, with gold leaf on the pages and leather binding on the cover. But God's got a better idea for his word of instruction. God's word was never meant to be placed in a box or put on a bookshelf. Instead it was meant to be lived out in the human heart. And that's why God gives us his word. That's why God gives us the ten commandments, the Bible, and Jesus.

God loves us too much to not bless us with his guidance. And part of that guidance is found in his gift of the ten commandments, God's little instruction book for living. May we take God's word of instruction into our work and play, into our relationships with family and neighbor. May we never leave God on the wall, but take him with us, in our hearts, our minds, and our hands.

Pastor Gary