Deuteronomy 5:6 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. I. THE LAWGIVER IS THEIR GOD. Men are naturally religious; that is, they have a fear of, a reverence for, some powerful Being who has power to do them good or evil, and whose favour they wish to enjoy; that Being is their God, and they are His people. The gods of the heathen are false gods. There is but one living and true God, the God of the Bible, the God of Israel. Whom should Israel obey but their God? He has made them, rules over them, has care of them; He knows their nature, knows what is good for them, knows what they should do and be; He will seek only their good and their perfection; He will speak only what it is best for them to hear. II. THE LAWGIVER IS THEIR REDEEMER. This is an additional reason for obedience. For who can so well rule and govern the free as He who made them free? And whom are freemen bound to obey but Him who redeemed them? But someone may ask, Why should there be laws for the free? Why combine law and freedom? Is it for the mere exercise of arbitrary power as sovereign Lord? He is Sovereign, and is the source of all power and law. But He has man's good in view. Laws are needful for the imperfect. Children get rules; as they grow up into the mind of the father, minute and multiplied rules begin to cease, because the law is now in them, and is, as it were, part of them. III. THE LAWGIVER IS JEHOVAH. This name conveys a third reason for obedience. It indicates that God is self-existent, eternal, and unchangeable (Malachi 3:6). Surely, then, Jehovah is a precious covenant for Israel's God, and for Israel to know Him by. It speaks of Him as the eternally unchangeable One, and therefore ever faithful and true, to be trusted most fully. Conclusion — 1. Freedom and law are both of God, and therefore perfectly compatible and harmonious. 2. Freedom and holiness go together. (James Matthew, B. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.WEB: "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. |
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