Called To Be Different.............
The Ark of the Covenant contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments
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...........................................As God's Chosen People
When God rescued his Chosen People Israel from slavery in Egypt and took them to the land of Canaan, which he had promised to Abraham hundreds of years before, he set them apart from the rest of the nations to be his people.
In other words, God wanted them to be different - to reflect his character of holiness to the other nations of the world. He was calling them to be holy LEVITICUS 20:26
God's Boundaries For Healthy & Happy Living
God gave the Children of Israel BOUNDARIES for living lives that would be holy and healthy. These were the TEN COMMANDMENTS for his people to observe so that others would see that God’s children were different.
The Ten Commandments: Boundaries For Holy Living EXODUS 20:1-20
1. NO OTHER GODS than The One True, Living God who rescued you from slavery in Egypt
2.
NO WORSHIP OF IDOLS - creatures or things made by human hands instead of the Creator who made everything
3.
NO MISUSE OF GOD’S NAME - by using it as a swear word; God’s Name is holy and reflects his awesome majesty and power
4.
NO WORK ON THE SABBATH DAY - keep the seventh day as a day of rest and set apart for worshipping God and remembering his love
5.
HONOUR YOUR FATHER & MOTHER by treating them with respect as being God’s representatives when you are a child
6.
DO NOT KILL OTHERS - because God is the Giver of Life
7.
DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY - sex is for marriage, and marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman and God
8.
DO NOT STEAL what belongs to someone else
9.
DO NOT TELL LIES AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOUR because God does not lie and hates liars
10.
DO NOT COVET (ie want) what belongs to someone else