“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute” (Psalm 82:3).

As discussed in yesterday’s devotional, many modern people think the 10 Commandments are random. They also think of them as restrictive rules that are designed to make life worse.

But when you look closely at the content and context of the commandments, you realize there is a lot more going on than what first meets the eye. 

Here’s an example.

The commandments aren’t just for you. They’re for the whole community. In fact, the world improves exponentially when everyone lives this way.

Scholar Terence Fretheim writes: “The focus is on protecting the health of the community, to which end the individual plays such an important role.” The commandments are designed “to protect [the human community] from behaviours that have the potential of destroying it.”*

Just think of a world where everyone honoured God with their whole heart; where his name was beautifully revered; where everyone benefited from one full day of soul-restoring rest; where there was no murder, and not even the threat of murder; where husbands and wives were perfectly faithful all the time; where truthfulness was assumed; and where everyone was totally content with what they had and never looked with envy at others.

What glory!

I hope this is fresh motivation to see how living by God’s commands protects the health of the community, especially from behaviours and forces that have the potential to destroy it.

Faithfulness doesn’t just benefit you. It benefits everyone else too.

Notes:

-*Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1991), 221.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.