Rules to live by
Read
Reflect and prepare to discuss
Introduction
We encounter many rules and regulations in everyday living.
- Think through the areas where you must obey these instructions, and the consequences if you do not.
- In what aspects of life do these seem trivial and petty?
The passage
What parts of this chapter appear out of context with 21st Century Christian faith?
How would you re-phrase the first verse in the context of your personal faith today?
The 10 Commandments are very ‘black and white’ - in what circumstances do you think this is appropriate and in when does this seem inappropriate?
These were written for a very different society about 3 000 years ago. How has society evolved in the intervening time?
Reflect on each commandment in a modern context. How would you adjust each to make it simpler, more relevant, and appropriate to contemporary living?
- 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. For six days you shall labour 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.
- Honour 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 neighbour.
- You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
Are there further commandments should we consider adding for 21st Century life?