Moses convened all Israel, and said to them:
“Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today; you shall learn them and observe them diligently. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. Not with our ancestors did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the fire.”
Have you ever seen the list of rules at the pool?
Who made up those rules? Showering first just seems silly, doesn’t it? It’s like the pool people are trying to spoil all our fun!
The Ten Commandments can seem that way, too, like a list of rules that God gave us to ruin our fun. But God’s not like that. He gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments to help everyone live together well and to set them apart as his people. He didn’t tack up the Ten Commandments on a wall and leave the Israelites on their own. No, God had already chosen the people of Israel and promised to love them. When he gave the commandments to Moses, he planned to stay with his people and keep loving them.
We should follow God’s commandments not just because they’ll keep us safe, like the rules at the pool. We should follow them because God loves us. And the best news of all is that Jesus helps us to follow them!
Which of the Ten Commandments is hardest for you to follow? Is there a commandment you think is most important?
God, will you remind me of how much you already love me? Help me remember that following your rules doesn’t make you love me. Amen.
This devotion is part of
Each devotion in this family Advent devotional invites you into the story of someone on Jesus’s family tree. These devotions will show young children how God was preparing for Jesus to be born across many generations. Each story pairs with a symbol you can hang on your own Jesse Tree.
