Emphasizing Respect For God

A serious problem in modern society is the number of parents and teachers who are more concerned about being the child’s friend than being a parent or teacher.  Instead of preparing healthy food for the child, the parent allows them to choose what they want.  Since the child doesn’t understand what his body needs, he tends to choose only familiar things and avoid new tastes, becoming a picky eater.  He begins to get the idea he should always get his own way, and gets very angry and rebellious when he doesn’t, having little or no respect for anyone. 

Good parents realize it is their responsibility to develop their children’s physical and social health, even when it is not what the child wants.  They are the parent or teacher, not just another friend.  They have to teach the child to show respect for themselves in order to develop a proper parent child relationship.  If the child does not learn to respect his parents, it will be difficult for him to obey them or to develop a proper attitude toward other people.  The attitude toward their parents tends to dominate one’s attitude toward other people.  In much the same way, our attitude toward God influences our attitude toward other people.   A person who has little respect for God will find obey him, and as we have seen, many of God’s commands have to do with our relationship to other people. 

Knowing this, God deliberately acted in a manner to emphasize his authority and power, and the people were intimidated, as we see in Exodus 20:18-19.  “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 

A recognition that a parent or God can take unpleasant action when we do things that they don’t like furnishes an incentive to cooperate with them even when we don’t understand why they make such demands.  At the same time it is important to know that they want what is best for us.  Exodus 10:20m tells us, “And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.”  God’s purpose was to encourage them to do what was right. He was not just looking for something to punish them for.  He had demonstrated his concern for them by delivering them for Egypt and supplying their needs, but they needed to understand he was God, not just a genie for them to order around. 

God gave some special instructions emphasize their respect for him, in Exodus 20:21-26.  “And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.  And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.  Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.  And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.  Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.”

They had heard God speak to them and seen his power.  They were not to worship any other gods or statues along with him.    As he said in Exodus 20:4-6, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”  Figures of other things would be like a husband keeping a photograph of a former girlfriend in his wallet and spending time looking at it every day.   It implies he is not satisfied with what he already has, and his wife would have every right to be jealous. 

Any altar they used to worship were to be made on natural materials just the way God had made tyhem.  Any attempt to make fit together better implied God didn’t do things well enough.  Finally they were nto to do things that would distract from worshipping.  Steps might allow one to see up skirt, distracting one from focusing on God.  Later, he would demand that priest’s garments included underwear (breeches) for the same reason.