Deuteronomy 5:6-21 (NRSV)
Read Deuteronomy 5:6-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 6I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; Verse 7you shall have no other gods before me. Verse 8You 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. Verse 9You 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 fourth generation of those who reject me, Verse 10but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. Verse 11You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Verse 12Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Verse 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Verse 14But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work-you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Verse 15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day. Verse 16Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Verse 17You shall not murder. Verse 18Neither shall you commit adultery. Verse 19Neither shall you steal. Verse 20Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor. Verse 21Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife. Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Devotion
I used to think that my parents made rules just for the sake of making them. I thought, “Because I said so” was my nickname, I heard it so often. I once stole something from a friend. I never told anyone because I knew the rule was not to steal…just another way to keep kids from having fun, I thought. I learned, though, that common sense and Jesus’ greatest commandment led to many of the “rules” that I had to live by as a kid, and still do.
Prayer
God, let our whole lives spring from the command to love you and each other. Amen.