Exodus 20 (Read Here)
Exodus 21:1-32 (Read Here)
Exodus 21:33-22:15 (Read Here)
Exodus 22:16-23:9 (Read Here)
Exodus 23:10-33 (Read Here)
It might seem odd to start an Exodus devotion with the book of Matthew, but it will add some great clarity to what Moses intended to communicate, which is easily misunderstood. The reason why we can do this is because everything that Moses wrote about ultimately pointed to Jesus. In Matthew 22, Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was. He responded, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
At the time Jesus said this, the New Testament didn’t exist. It was being lived out. The Old Testament was divided into two major sections- The Law and The Prophets. Jesus was telling them that everything in God’s Word hangs on love. The 10 Commandments can be split into sections on how to love God and how to love others, and so can the rest of the law.
If it is the most important thing, then we ought to know what love is. I submit to you that the world has redefined love. Scripture teaches us that love is the act of putting God and others above self, even to the point of death. Sin is the opposite. It’s focusing on self over God and others. The reason we can lay our lives down for others is because God is all we need for our soul to be satisfied, and we can’t lose Him (Rom 8).
How does this truth impact hard relationships in your life right now? What are some ways that you might be able to better love others knowing that you are fully and completely loved by God and called to be the physical representation of His love to others, even your enemies?