There’s an old saying that good fences make better neighbors. There was a time in this country when many people didn’t even lock their doors at night. They knew their neighbors and trusted them. Where I grew up, we helped each other at planting and harvest. We had community picnics and town hall dances. If there was a disaster, we all pitched in to help. If someone was out of line, you can bet there was accountability. But it was done in a respectful way. And, quite frankly, while we all didn’t go to the same church, we went to church or at least believed in God and Christ. Think about this picture then fast forward to today. How many neighbors do we actually know? What is God’s will toward this?
Exodus 18-20 recounts the giving of the Ten Commandments. With the Israelites camped across from Mount Sinai, God was about to establish a covenant with the them based on the covenant He had made with Abraham (Genesis 15). This covenant was similar to a marriage contract (ketubah), or vessel treaty between God as husband/king, and Israel, His wife/people. Called the Mosaic Covenant, it came with an agreed list of requirements that included blessings for keeping it, and curses for breaking it. Also, the Mosaic Covenant held the promise of the land for faithful obedience, or exile for unfaithfulness. This was the first covenant ever made between a God and a whole nation, and that nation was to be as God proclaimed in Exodus 19:6, “a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”
Then the LORD gave the Ten Commandments, or literally the Ten Words, or Sayings. These Ten Words are spoken in the third person singular, which is, attah–“you”–in Hebrew, and they apply to each one of us TODAY as if we were standing at the foot of the mountain right along with the Israelites. He began with, “I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of slavery.” This is foundational: to know that God exists and to believe in Him. If you don’t believe in Him and love Him, then how will you even care about His commands? As Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” The last commandment was “do not covet your neighbor’s house, do not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that belongs to your neighbor.”
Contrary to what is often taught, a central theme of Torah is love–God’s love for us, and our love for Him. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “And you shall love the LORD your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your strength.” Jesus tells us the two great commandments in Matthew 22:37, “You are to love the LORD your God with all of your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it, You are to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Interesting that “I Am,” is the beginning of the commandments, and the end is, “your neighbor.” In this case, putting a fence between God and us, by not obeying his commandments, does not make for a better neighbor.
