“I am the God who brought you out of Egypt”
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means
The public display of the Ten Commandments is a major issue in certain parts of our society. There are those who want them prominently displayed in front of government buildings and in school classrooms as a supposed reminder of our nation’s Christian heritage. There are others who proclaim that as a nation founded on the principles of the separation of church and state, the Ten Commandments and other religious symbols have no place in our public discourse.
While that particular debate is a subject for another day, it is a reminder of just how charged any conversation about the Ten Commandments can be.
Part of the challenge with that particular conversation is the way religious people ourselves sometimes think about the Ten Commandments. Instead of viewing them as God’s formation of a newly liberated people, religious leaders have often reduced them to a list of dry rules designed to limit human freedom. Sometimes we have even imposed this restrictive worldview on others using the punitive power of the state.
Read the whole thing
It does not have to be this way. Rabbi Harold Kushner offers an alternative point of view in Overcoming Life’s Disappointments. He reminds his readers that the Ten Commandments begin, not with a threat, but with a reminder of God’s liberative intention for human beings:
“The opening words, ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage,’ establish that these injunctions were not just a matter of practicality (what kind of world would it be if people were free to kill and steal?) but are the will of a God who had already introduced Himself into the lives of this particular people, demonstrating His concern for them by freeing them from oppression, and who was giving them these law not to restrict their freedom (He reminds us that He is a God who stands for freedom) but out of love and concern for the content of their lives.” (Kushner, 2006, p. 18)
In other words, the very nature of God is to oppose injustice, liberate the oppressed, and restore human freedom. This divine freedom is not a license to exploitatively use and abuse others for our own personal benefit, but the freedom to fully embrace the love of a God who wants the best for us, and (critically) also for our neighbor.
Following a God of liberation
Why does any of this matter in the real world? It matters because if God is always with us, the character of God determines whether that presence is a good or a bad thing.
What is god like? If we view God as liberator, we will seek to liberate others. If we view God as an unforgiving lawgiver, then we will seek to placate that God and control others. Unfortunately, we see precisely those tendencies playing themselves out in political debates all around the world.
Sadly, this is nothing new. Religious people have often misconstrued the purpose of God’s instructions throughout history. Old Testament prophets critiqued the Israelites for falling back into the patterns of Pharaoh by oppressing the poor and needy in their midst.
As a Christian, this is what I believe Jesus meant when he said all the commandments hang on love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus argued with the temple authorities for turning the liberating message of Moses into a means of power and control. He encouraged his followers to look beyond the letters on the page (“you have heard it said”) and consider the deeper meaning behind those words (“but I tell you”). He reminded his listeners that Scripture needs to be interpreted through the twin lenses of love.
This is precisely the kind of love that God showed to the Israelite people by bringing them out of slavery. The loving, liberating, justice-seeking nature of God is highlighted before any suggestions of how the people should live in relationship to that God are provided. None of this is intended to belittle the importance of the Ten Commandments. In fact, recognizing their liberating motivation gives Moses’ message more power, not less.
Today’s prayer
Today I pray that we who value the Ten Commandments take the reminder of God’s liberating nature seriously. I pray that our lives, actions, and words more fully reflect the character of the God who brought the people out of bondage. I also pray for those whose lives have been harmed by those religious people who either forgot, misunderstood, or intentionally disregarded, the just and loving nature of the God we seek to serve.
Reference: Kushner, H.S. (2006). Overcoming life’s disappointments. Alfred A. Knopf.
