Joyful are people of integrity, who follow
the instructions of the LORD. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for
him with all their hearts. ... I have hidden your word in my heart, that I
might not sin against you. I praise you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. ... I
will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. ... Open my eyes to
see the wonderful truths in your instructions. ... Help me understand the
meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.
Psalm
119:1-2, 11-12, 15, 18, 27
God wants us to study His commandments and
to know them. He rewards those who honor Him and follow His guidelines. This passage
in Psalms tells us that those who obey God’s commandments are joyful. Full of
joy—happiness. Consider what the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, and
repeated in Deuteronomy 5, actually say. Read them for yourself one more time.
Study them.
Then God gave the people all these
instructions:
2 “I am the Lord your
God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
3 “You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of
anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You
must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is
affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject
me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those[b] who love me and obey my commands.
7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your
God. The Lord will
not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You
have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but
the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your
God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you,
your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For
in six days the Lord made
the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day
he rested. That is why the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full
life in the land the Lord your
God is giving you.
13 “You must not murder.
14 “You must not commit adultery.
15 “You must not steal.
16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your
neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that
belongs to your neighbor.”
The first four commandments deal with men’s
relationship to God. The other six commandments concern relationships between
people. If we follow God’s way…His plan then will we find joy?
Keep
the commandments and keep your life; despising them leads to death. Proverbs
19:16.
Someone
came to Jesus with this question: "Teacher, what good deed must I do to
have eternal life?" "Why ask Me about what is good?" Jesus
replied. "There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you
want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments." Matthew 19:16-17.
Jesus said it Himself…keep the
commandments. He goes on to say which one…and that list is all about the last
six, those dealing with people relationships. These commandments are at a couple
of levels—physical and spiritual. For example, You must not murder…can mean do not kill physically…and don’t
murder their character.
Joy comes
from obedience.
Prayer
~ Lord, I enjoy studying and reflecting on Your commandments—and they do bring
me joy.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
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