I have recognized for quite some time that the 10 commandments seem to be divided in half: the first 5 addressing vertical relationships and the second 5 addressing the horizontal.
In fact, when you place the first 5 in order alongside the second 5, you see that the principle communicated is exactly the same. One just deals with how you see God, and the other how you see people.
This past year as we were counting (cephering) the omer between First Fruits and Shavuot, Abba showed me an even deeper picture within these commands.
They aren’t just describing things we are to do, they are describing who we are to be.
Once we see that, it changes how we approach not only the commands themselves, but how we approach that person in the mirror.
We are called to be sons of God and servants to all.
A son has a relationship with his Father that no one else has.
A servant has an intimate relationship with his Master whereas a slave lives in fear of Him. The servant also knows that he is a representative of the Master’s house and acts accordingly.
In light of this perspective, we see that the first 5 commands address us, the son, while the last 5 address us, the servant.
Let’s get to it.
A son: Knows his Father
א “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.”
I once was in bondage like Yosef.
A slave to the ruler of the earth.
But my Father found me and pulled me out of the pit of despair.
He went to great lengths to rescue me, even sacrificing His own fully obedient Son.
Even though I was rebellious and hated Him.
My own lineage will feel the effects of:
- Me abandoning my own Father
- Or loving my own Father
A son: Does not look to other things for provision
ב “You are to have no other gods before me. 4 You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. 5 You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, YHVH your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.”
We are trained from birth to pursue things that give you what you want:
“The world is your oyster”
“You can be anything you want to be”
“You can do anything you want to do”
“You want to be president? You can!”
Not very many people choose to let Abba fully dictate their path and this leads to quite a bit of self-serving.
Even when we follow after Him, we still look for ways to add to ourselves.
The trap here is in serving other gods, no matter how subtly, in order to get what we want.
We think the overt child sacrifice is wrong but the covert ignoring of your child because of provision, power, and comfort is ok.
A wise son knows that the next generation will raise the next so it isn’t enough to train your kids how to do the right things.
You must train others to do the right things.
Someone may feel their work is very important (which it may be important -- to someone else) but what about the work of being a father yourself?
Selling our kids to the culture or passing them off for someone else to instill values is not the mark of a good father.
Do we tend to look at our Father like that also?
Do we assume He has farmed us out to the world to be raised by it?
Is He too busy to be concerned about us because He has other major, very important jobs to do?
No, of course not!
Do we actually view His ways as just?
If so, why don’t we do what He does?
If so, why don’t we view others the way He does?
Before answering hastily because it is the right answer, seriously consider your ways compared against His.
And the cop out of, “well I’m just a fallible human” won’t work here.
We can’t have it both ways.
A son: Honors the family name
ג “You are not to use lightly the name of YHVH your God, because YHVH will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly.”
My character is what makes me who I am.
This is my identity.
My character should carry the family name so anyone that sees me, sees my Father.
He has built a reputation in the earth and it is my responsibility to not embarrass the family name but to honor it.
This isn’t tradition or putting on airs but a true reflection of the sincerity of His family line.
What is the reflection of my family line?
A son: Mimics his Father
ד “Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for YHVH your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, YHVH made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why YHVH blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.”
Create, then rest.
The model is not for Shabbat to allow me to recharge for the next week’s work.
I believed this for a long while.
Instead, we work all week SO THAT we can visit with Him on Shabbat.
The creation we do takes us to Him.
He’s not there to push us into our creation.
He is the end goal -- always.
But that’s not how we are, is it?
What does it look like for your child to be a success?
When someone asks about your kids, how do you answer?
We push our kids into creation instead of letting their work bring them to us.
Would you rather your child be a success in the earth or in a full intimate relationship with you?
How does Abba view our success?
This is the standard we must use for our own children.
The model of my Father is the best role model for me as a son.
A good son will then treat everyone in his own household the exact same way.
A good son will teach everyone else to model his Father because that is THE best model to follow.
Am I teaching my household HOW to follow Him?
The best way is by example.
A son: Honors the stewards Abba has given them in the earth to bring life to them
ה “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which YHVH your God is giving you.”
He chose my parents.
They were given to me in order for me to become the son I need to be.
Whatever the circumstances, these people have shaped me into who I am at the core of my being.
Did they build me up or tear me down?
Were they present or absent?
Were they abusive or nurturing?
Arthur Burk did a great teaching on Sonship and in it he described the 7 stages of fathering. All fathers are responsible for imparting truths and principles in order for you to walk in the fullness of who you were created to be.
Here are a few things to ponder:
Did they introduce my spirit to the Spirit of God?
(legitimacy is established here)
Did they create a safe place for me to explore?
(boundaries and horizons established here)
Did they establish moral and social parameters?
(standards are established here)
Did they teach me to grow in group settings?
(child receives the importance of their name here)
Did they provide outside investment to help grow me?
(understanding of inheritance established here)
Did they teach me to walk in dominion/define enemies?
(passion is imparted here)
Did they embrace me for what I do well, and not assault me for failures?
(acceptance)
Answering these questions (honestly) will shed tremendous light on your own life today. But that is beyond the scope of what we’re covering here.
A servant: Protects and values life
ו “Do not murder.”
The Master has saved you and is protecting you from death.
A grave insult to Him is if you decide someone else’s life is worth less than yours.
Or phrased a bit differently, my life is worth more than theirs.
We are all equal in value in the eyes of Abba.
All.
We are to see others the way He sees them and love them as a result.
We don’t have to agree with their choices but we do have to honor their existence.
A servant: Protects and values the sanctity of marriage
ז “Do not commit adultery.”
The deepest bond between people in the earth is in the marriage union.
Your nakedness is exposed and you are incredibly vulnerable.
A wise servant understands the cause of Isra’el’s pain was due to an adulterous relationship.
Isra’el + the world = divorce from Abba.
Divorce is painful. For everyone.
A servant: Protects and values the things of others
ח “Do not steal.”
Why would you steal if the Master has all you need?
Unless you are an untrustworthy servant and have not yet been entrusted with more.
A servant: Protects and values the reputation of others (no slander or gossip)
ט “Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.”
A servant knows that someone else’s life has tremendous value to their Master.
Falsely accusing them could cause unjust punishment to come upon them and their lives would be impacted negatively.
Now, it does not matter whether I think they are a good person or an evil person.
The Master will judge that since He has far more information than I do.
A servant: Is content and values themselves
י “Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The servant knows none of this is his. But he has full access to the wealth of the Master -- provided he is a faithful and trustworthy servant.
To wrap this all up, let’s look at the Words of the Messiah:
Matthew 22:33 When the crowds heard how he taught, they were astounded; 34 but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: 36 “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” 37 He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’ 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”
In relation to Him, He is my Father.
In relation to others, He is my Master.
Act accordingly.