Eternal Wisdom – Day 5

₁God spoke, and these were his words: ₂“I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves.

₃“Worship no god but me.

₄“Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. ₅Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. ₆But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws.

₇“Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the LORD your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name.

₈“Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. ₉You have six days in which to do your work, ₁₀but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work — neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. ₁₁In six days I, the LORD, made the earth, the sky, the sea, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the LORD, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.

₁₂“Respect your father and your mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.

₁₃“Do not commit murder.

₁₄“Do not commit adultery.

₁₅“Do not steal.

₁₆“Do not accuse anyone falsely.

₁₇“Do not desire another man's house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.”

₇Shall we say, then, that the Law itself is sinful? Of course not! But it was the Law that made me know what sin is. If the Law had not said, “Do not desire what belongs to someone else,” I would not have known such a desire.

₃₇Jesus answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ₃₈This is the greatest and the most important commandment. ₃₉The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ ₄₀The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”