I Do!

Scripture: Exodus 20 Key Verse: 20:18-19

"All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram's horn and saw the mountain covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, "You speak to us,and we'll listen. But don't let God speak to us, or we'll die!"

Objective:

This chapter is the Ten Commandments. These are the basic rules to live by. According to some scholars many of the Jewish hearers would have heard this as as Ketubah, or wedding vows. This is because of the set up that is told before the commands were given sets up the scene as a Jewish wedding. The groom being God and the bride being the Jewish people.

Application:

It's funny how we want to act as if God wasn't around or at least wasn't around when we did/do bad things. It's as if we only want God to be around when we need him, kinda like our personal Genie. Rub the lamp and *poof* out comes God to answer our wish. For other spiritual matters we want to talk to the middle men. We ask for forgiveness by talking to a pastor or seek guidance by listening to a Sermon. We sound a lot like the Israelites in verse 19, "Don't let God speak to us..."
The problem is that God wants a relationship with us, not just to be our Genie. Its no surprise to me that this is a marriage ceremony, because its all about the relationship between us and God. I think it is time for us to do what Aladdin did with his last wish, and set the Genie free. We need to set God free in our lives. We need to stop holding back from this relationship, and live fully in it.

Prayer:

Lord, I do. I take you as my groom. I yearn for this relationship. I need the two-way conversation. I promise to listen as we as speak. Speak to me directly, I don't want to go through the middlemen anymore.