BibleWorm

This week we’re reading the story of Israel receiving the Ten Commandments at Sinai in Exodus 19:1-8 and 20:1-21. We discover that these commandments, which have become a political lightning rod, in fact envision a radically countercultural world in which God refuses to be allied with any political agenda. Rather, God demands a radical resistance to the ways of Pharaoh and all human empires, casting an alternative vision of a community life based on rest, respect, and the well-being of all members of the community. We insist that these commandments cannot be flattened out onto a piece of paper but must be understood within the smoke and fire erupting from Sinai and the liberating power of God in Egypt. And we appreciate the response of the people, who  agree to obey the commandments before they even know what they are, so great is their desire to be God’s precious possession that they will do anything God asks.