Commandments  to Obey

Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

od’s great love prompted the gift of the commandments. In His divine plan, He wants what is best for you. He knows more than we do. His laws are perfect. They are not suggestions. They are commands. Commands he expects and demands that we obey. How can you obey them if you don’t know them? In today’s lesson we’re going to study the scriptures where God gave His children the Ten Commandments orally. This was even before God wrote them on tablets of stone.

At a Glance

Memory Verse: Joshua 1: 8

The Bible: Mountain Climbing Moses   Exodus 19, 20, 24

From History: Preserved Forever

A Story: Obedience Pays

A Skit: You Can Too!

In Action: Think About It and Discuss It

 Joshua 1:8

Memorize this verse. I divided the verse into thoughts by adding extra spaces. Then picture each phrase. I put some suggestions in parenthesis, but use as many of your own as you can.  Joshua 1:8   "This book of the law     (stone tablets) shall not   (circle with a line drawn through it) depart out of thy mouth;    (huge lips)   but thou shalt meditate    (picture yourself in your favorite thinking position tapping your enormous forehead with a huge index finger) therein day and night,   (crescent moon and sun) that thou mayest observe to do    (DO as large as a ten story building) according to all that is written therein:   (chalk board with words written on it)    for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,   (beautiful roadway)    and then thou shalt have good success." (a broad grin with a full set of teeth)

 Mountain Climbing Moses

 Exodus 19, 20, 24

The Israelites were finally out of Egypt. God had kept his promise. Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to talk with God. God called to Moses from out of the mount. He said, "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." (Exodus 19:4-6) God told Moses to repeat those words to the people.

 Moses went down the mountain. He gathered all the leaders and repeated God's words to them. They agreed to obey God's instructions. So Moses headed back up the mountain.

 God spoke to Moses again. “I want the people to wash their clothes and take a bath.”

 What do you know? Someone besides your mother is saying, "Get a bath." This bath had more significance than just getting clean. God wanted to illustrate the importance of purity. God told Moses to expect a long, loud trumpet blast on the morning of the third day. The trumpet blast was their signal to come to the mountain. It was important that no one touch the mountain. They must stand back from it at a distance. This was a very serious and holy time. It was  too holy for someone to collect rocks or be curious. Anyone that touched the mount or crossed the boundary was given the death penalty. So Moses went back down the mountain.

 Everyone got ready. They washed their clothes and took a bath. I wonder if the children put their hands over their ears to stop the sounds of the terrible thunders and lightning that must have awakened them on the third morning. They were shocked to see the thick cloud sitting on top of the mountain. Then, a loud, a very loud, a very, very loud trumpet blast was heard. The people were so frightened. Even the adults began to tremble. Have you ever been that afraid? Moses brought the people to a low place beneath the mountain. He showed them the boundaries. The trumpet blast grew still louder and louder. Moses spoke and God answered him in a real voice. The Lord descended upon the mount in a fire. The smoke covered the entire mountain and the ground shook violently. God called to Moses to come up to the top of the mountain. Moses was quick to obey. He climbed the mountain.

Now wait a minute! Have any of you ever climbed a mountain? I've climbed a couple little ones, and it's tough. I took a long nap after just one trip. Moses is around 80 years old.

 God told Moses, "Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish." This was not just another day in the wilderness. It was a matter of life and death that they obey God and respect His Holiness. So guess what? Moses went back down the mountain. Moses warned the people not to come up into the mountain or cross the boundary.

 Exodus 20:1 "And God SPAKE all these words saying." Did you ever notice that the people HEARD God give THEM the ten commandments? God spoke verses 2-18. Can you picture this situation? There was a thick smoke that covered the mountain and a bright fire on top of the mountain. The ground shook and a trumpet blew louder and louder. Quaking! Shaking! Smoke! Fire! What does that sound like to you? The exact same adjectives are used for volcanoes. A video of a volcano might give you a small idea of the awesome scene that met their eyes, ears and noses on that memorable morning. (This wasn't a volcano. This was a miraculous revelation of God, but a volcano is given as a frame of reference.)

 The people did exactly what most people I know today would do. They backed away. What would you have done? I can picture them as they grabbed Moses' sleeve, "Come here, Moses. Moses, we're scared. From now on you talk to us. You tell us what God has to say. We'll listen to what you say. Just ask God not to talk to us anymore. It's too frightening. We might die." The people must have shook their heads and clamored in agreement with the speaker's words.

 The people cowered in fear as they stood their distance, but Moses climbed the mountain in the thick darkness to God. (Exodus 20:21)

 I believe God still wants to talk to His children, but we refuse to listen. Are you like Moses that drew near God or like the fearful, unbelieving Israelites? Oh, don't misunderstand me. God still loved them. He wasn't about to leave them in the desert alone, but they missed a prime opportunity to experience God's presence and personal direction.

 God gave Moses laws to share with the people. They are recorded in Exodus 21:22 - 23:33. He told Moses to come back and bring Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the seventy elders to worship from a distance.

 Moses went down the mountain. That makes four round trips, two round trips the same day. He's no spring chicken. That Moses was a mountain climbing man. I believe God supernaturally strengthened him to do it.

 He repeated God's words to the people. ALL (that's what the Bible says) agreed to keep the commandments. Before Moses went to sleep that night, he wrote down all the words that God had spoken to him.

 God gave His people the commandments with an awesome, earth shaking (literally) display of His glory. It was a momentous and serious occasion. God did not want the people to take His commandments lightly. But just a few pages over in your Bible you will find they openly broke His commandments. How foolish these people were. Can you believe after such an awesome display of God's glory, they would deliberately disobey?

 Don't be foolish. Recognize that these laws were not hatched up by some goody, goody that wanted to rob you. Almighty God gave them because He wanted a “holy nation, a peculiar treasure.” The key to being that “peculiar treasure” was and is obedience. These events took place before God gave Moses the stone tablets. That forty day adventure takes place in Exodus 24:12-18.

Preserved  Forever

The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson. It declared independence from England in 1776. It is 29 3/4 inches long and 24 ½ wide. Strong light and careless handling has caused excessive fading in America's founding document. If the document was to be preserved for future generations, steps had to be taken that would protect the document from further fading and destruction. It is enclosed by a glass and bronze case. The air was replaced by helium to protect it. The glass is tinted slightly green to protect it from light. An armed guard stands on both sides of the document. Each night the case is lowered into a concrete vault to ensure no one steals the document.

God spoke to the Israelites giving them the ten laws to live by.  They were frightened. God wrote them on tablets of stone. And Moses broke them when he saw the Israelites breaking God's oral laws. Oral instructions can be forgotten, paper fades and stone tablets can be broken. America wanted to preserve the Declaration of Independence for posterity. God wanted to preserve His laws for the protection and preservation of posterity. God had the perfect solution. Hebrews 10:16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." God wants to write his laws in your heart, a perfect place to keep them preserved for all eternity. And when his laws are written in your heart they will preserve and protect you!

 Obedience Pays

The young twins loved to stay with Grandma and Grandpa, but today it was raining. Even Grandma's was no fun on a rainy day. Tina and Terri had exhausted their imaginations. Grandma didn't have a TV and the puzzle was missing a piece. Who wants to put together a puzzle with a missing piece? Terri decided they should go to the vegetable garden and collect duck eggs. Both enjoyed that delightful chore. The garden had a fence around it to keep out animals, but Grandpa kept some ducks inside to eat the weeds that threatened his vegetables. It amazed the girls that they wouldn't touch anything, but the weeds. How do ducks know the difference? The girls made a decision. They would gather the eggs.

"Can we? Can we, please?" Tina chimed in.

But Grandma remained firm, "This rain has made the garden mushy. You could get stuck in that black gunk. Why don't we fix cookies instead?"

"But we want to collect duck eggs. I'll put on my raincoat and boots. I won't get stuck. I promise." Terri insisted.

"You can't promise something like that. You just don't understand how soft that ground can be after a rain like this. Either help me bake cookies or go read a book."

Both girls shuffled their feet all the way to the bedroom where Terri stomped her small determined foot. "I don't understand why Grandma has to be so mean. I want to get the duck eggs and that's what I'm gonna do."

"You better not, Grandma will be mad at you."

"Well, I don't care. If she wasn't so mean, she would let us go. Come on!"

"Oh, no. I don't want her mad at me. You go. I'm not."

"Promise not to tell."

Tina nodded her head up and down and picked up a book. She lay on the bed and petted her kitty. The sound of the rain and the cozy quilt made her so comfortable, she soon drifted off to sleep. Her granny woke her with a call to come eat cookies.

She poured herself a glass of cold milk and scooted up to the table where Grandma had put a warm stack of her famous M & M cookies. Nobody could bake cookies like Grandma. She timed them and turned the pan and timed them again. Mama always said no wonder they were so good with all the trouble they were to fix. Mama saved the cookie baking for Grandma.

Tina finished her second cookie and was wiping the white mustache from her mouth when Grandma asked if Tina was pouting in her room.

"Oh no, she's not pouting. She's gathering duck eggs." It came out before she realized what she had said.

"What?" was all Grandma replied. She grabbed her raincoat and put it on as she hurried out the door. Outside the door, Grandma heard sobs coming from the garden. "I'm coming honey. I'm coming," Grandma yelled.

"Oh, Grandma, where have you been? I've been calling and calling. Didn't you hear me? Why didn't you come? I'm stuck, just like you said I would be."

Grandma helped Terri get unstuck and carried her inside the house straight to the bathroom. As Grandma hurried Terri through the house, Terri caught a glimpse of Tina at the table eating cookies.

Still crying and sniffing Terri asked, "Where did she get those cookies, Grandma. I smell cookies. Did you bake cookies without me?"

"Terri, I asked you to bake cookies with me, but you went to your room pouting."

"You mean to tell me that Tina was eating cookies and I was stuck in the mud out in the pouring down rain."

"You made that choice, Terri. Now hurry. Get a bath and get into some warm clothes."

 You Can Too!

Can: Hello. We're Twins. I'm Can and this is my twin. Introduce yourself.

Can't: Can't!

Can: Now don't be hard to get along with, just tell them your name.

Can't: Can't!

Can: You're trying my patience. Tell them your name!

Can't: Can't

Can: Yes, you can.

Can't: No, you're Can. I'm Can't!

Can: I'm Can and you're Can't. Where the ten commandments are found?

Can't: Can't!

Can: No, we know your name. Tell us where the ten commandments are found.

Can't: I didn't know they were lost. Maybe their under your bed?

Can: Just tell them where the ten commandments are found in the Bible.

Can't: I can't.

Can: Of course you can.

Can't: I don't know where they're found.

Can: Can anybody tell Can't where the ten commandments are found?

Can't: Can't you tell me?

Can: Of course I can. They're found in Exodus 20.

Can't: Exodus 20. And what makes the commandments so important.

Can: They are God’s laws for people to live by.

Can't: Can't do it!

Can: Oh, yes they can. God's laws protect people like a fence protects a little puppy on a busy street.

 LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!

Name some natural laws? (Gravity, seasons, you reap- what you sow)

How do these laws protect or help you? (Holds you in place, brings greater productivity by allowing creation to go through cycles of rest and production, no surprises-no onions when you plant watermelons.)

Find a video of a volcano in the library? How would you have felt standing at the foot of a mountain that looked like that, minus the lava flow? Do you think you would forget God’s instructions so quickly? We forget sooner than we realize, that’s why we need to keep the Bible as a basics to live by.

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