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Written by the Finger of God By Robert Berendt God is looking for people who recognize the importance of His law -- who want to have God write it on their hearts.
lmost all of Christianity acknowledges that the Ten Commandments ought to be kept, however, among many the true importance of these commandments is overlooked. It is astonishing to think that humans can presume that God would allow them to change His commandments or add to them in ways that He never intended. There are those who add so many minute details and dos and don'ts to the commandments that they make them a burden and a yoke for people. Then there are those who try to change the commandments such as moving the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday. Another example is changing the Second Commandment about not using physical images to represent God. Some say that as long as what we do is done to worship and honor God, it is acceptable. Thus we have eggs and rabbits, trees and statues deeply involved in Christian worship practices. That violates the Second Commandment. Then we have the great error by teaching that the commandments were "nailed to the cross" and we do not have to keep them at all as they no longer apply. The final result is the alteration of God's law to the extent that mankind has sundered his relationship with the true God. Written by the finger of God It is quite amazing that we humans do not recognize the importance of the Biblical statement that the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God. In the rest of the Sinaitic covenant, the Law of Moses was given by God to Moses who in turn relayed it to the people. Not so with the Ten Commandments! Here we see something so dramatic and forceful that we dare not turn away.
Exodus 19:19 and Exodus 20:1 tell us that God spoke the Ten Commandments to all of Israel. Other than the Ten Commandments there is no record that I know of where God spoke to the whole nation. The voice of God was extremely powerful and authoritative! The backdrop of fire, smoke and deafening trumpet blasts caused everyone to tremble in fear. In Exodus 20:22 we see that the people could not bear the enormity of the occasion and from then on Moses spoke to them as God instructed him. That was after God had uttered the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 31:18, we read that God wrote with His own finger on the tablets that He gave Moses. When Moses broke them (a big mistake) God wrote them again. The record of what God's finger wrote was kept in the Ark of the Covenant for many centuries. The ark and the tablets vanished when God separated Himself from Israel. Do we comprehend the magnificence of the Ten Commandments? Why would God take the time to speak them and then write them twice? There is a huge difference between all that Moses later relayed to Israel from God and the Ten Commandments that were written by the finger of God. The Ten Commandments define sin and give guidelines for humans to live by. We show God our love by carefully obeying Him. Can we humans discard or change that which God wrote? (For a clear and interesting explanation of the meaning and application of each of the Ten Commandments, please request our booklet, .) The tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, along with manna and Aaron's rod that budded, were placed in the ark. In heaven under the throne of God there is an ark. The earthly ark was made as a replica of this ark. What do we find inside the ark that presently sits under God's feet? Hebrews 8:5 reveals that what God instructed Moses to make was a COPY of that which is in heaven! Moses was to be careful of each detail. Can we not see that what was within the ark was also a copy? The Ten Commandments, the eternal laws of God are within the heavenly ark! Why can we not see the importance of that which God wrote with His own finger? God used drama, majesty, fear and power to show Israel the importance of the Ten Commandments. Written on our hearts It ought not surprise us that mankind also misses a most important spiritual event with regard to God's law. God says He will write that law on our hearts. His finger is at work again. Since it is God who calls, Christ who redeems and God's Holy Spirit that guides and leads us, we know that conversion is from God. In Hebrews 8:10, God inspired the repeat of the promise given in Jeremiah 31:33. God says "I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts." God again does the writing with His fingers that wrote the Ten Commandments! Will mankind be given the right to alter those laws? I think not! Can we add to the laws or take away portions? I think not! Can we say the laws are cancelled and now we cannot sin? That is absurd! God forbid!
Stone weathers and can be damaged or lost. The heart provides a writing space that is personal, can be frequently reviewed and can be carried with a person. The law that is written on our hearts is the same as that which God wrote on the tablets. We understand the magnification of the principles as Christ taught them. God always intended humans to live by the intent of the law and not only the letter. Jesus came to magnify the commandments and teach humans the fullness of God's intent. You and I can allow God to write His law on our hearts. He is looking for people who want to obey and who recognize the importance of His Ten Commandments. Do you love God? Look at the strong words in the book of I John. We read in I John 2:4 "He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." In I John 3:4 it states, "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." Finally in I John 5:1-3 John writes "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome". The frightening thing is that these words are so obvious and so clear that we humans are left without any excuses. We cannot say God did not make things clear. We are left with the only hope for mankind -- repent of our sins and accept the justification offered through Christ. That includes recognizing how we have sinned and determining to "go and sin no more" (John 8:11). If we love God, we will be keeping His commandments and we will recognize their beauty and majesty. And we will feel as King David did: "Oh, how I love your law!" (Psalm 119:97). Copyright 2001 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
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Origin of article "Written by the Finger of God"
Keywords: ten commandments God's law heart spirit of law
God's law - individual: