The two most significant of all commandments are love for God and love for one another. Last, we have treated monthly issues on love for God as stated in Exodus 20:1-12. This month, we shall be looking at some towards one another as commanded by God. What then is love? Also, love is a positive feeling and affection, expressed both in words and deeds towards another person or other people.
According to 1 Corinthians 13, love is a virtue necessary for the survival of any society. Our love for others must be demonstrated in genuine acts of kindness and good acts of gesture. 1 Corinthians 13 explains some of the attributes of love, which include patience, kindness, and endurance. According to this passage, love does not envy, boast, or dishonor others; it is not self-seeking, not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs.. It always protects, always trusts, hopes, and always perseveres.
This month, we shall be looking at the last five commandments God gave to the Israelites through Moses. These commandments deal with the relationships and love among the Israelites. As you teach the lessons forth is month, constantly remind yourself that you must not fail in obeying God’s commands.
You Must Not Murder.
Read Exodus 20:13; Genesis 4:1-12
An incident happened recently in one of the Northern States, a group of terrorists entered a village and killed many people. A lot of families lost their loved ones as a result of the attack. What do you think would happen to the rest of the villages? How would those who lost their loved ones feel after the incident? Can they ever forget the incident at all? Today, we shall consider what God says about killing and back it up from the Bible as we read and meditate on Exodus 20: 13 and Genesis 4: 1-13.
Later as the Israelites journeyed on in the wilderness, God invited Moses to Mount Sinai and gave him the Ten Commandments. These commandments will guide their relationships with Him and with one another. The sixth commandment states: “You shall not murder. “This commandment stands against killing anyone for any reason. God forbids the shedding of innocent blood. He wants us to honor and cherish human lives. What we cannot create, we should not destroy. A good example of this is the story of Cain and Abel.
A long time ago, Adam and Eve gave birth to two sons. Cain was the older one who loved farming, while Abel was the younger one who loved rearing animals. At a time, Cain brought fruit from his farm as an offering of thanksgiving to God. Also, Abel took from his firstborn flock a healthy and fat portion as an offering to the Lord. God accepted Abel and his offering because he had regard for the Lord but rejected Cain and his offering because he had no respect for the Lord.
As a result, Cain was unhappy and devised evil plans against his brother. God warned him to control his bad thoughts and plans. He told him to be careful so that the devil would not use him to do something wicked. But, Cain did not yield to God’s warning. One day, Cain invited his brother to the farm where he attacked him and killed him. After that, he buried his body God knew what he had done to his brother and asked him about his brother.
Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God told him; that the blood of his innocent brother was crying from the ground. No sinner would go unpunished if he did not repent. God placed Cain under a curse that the ground would no longer yield its fruits for him. He was driven from the land where he had stayed so he became a wanderer (moving around aimlessly). He was also sent away from God’s presence. God wants us to love one another and harm no one. Jealousy, hatred, and anger are some of the causes of murder. Be watchful and cherish every human life.
God’s commandment is to love one another. He does not want us to harm anyone, not to mention taking the precious life of another person. Allow God’s love to fill your heart all the time. Do not hate or allow anger to get hold of you. Pray to God now to help you love Him and love for other people.
You Must Not Commit Adultery.
Adultery is when a married person commits sexual sin with another person, whether married or unmarried. Meanwhile, fornication is when an unmarried person commits sexual immorality with another person. Both acts are serious offenses to God and oneself and/or spouse. God wants us to run away from sexual immoralities. Read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 6: 18. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body. Our body belongs to God, and we must keep it holy all the time. Read and meditate on 2 Samuel 11.
David called Joab, his commandant, and sent him and the other soldiers to war, while David stayed back home when he was supposed to go to war. One evening, He was walking on the palace roof when he saw a beautiful woman bathing far off. David called his servants and asked about the woman. They told him she was Bathsheba, Uriah, the Hittite’s wife.
David had just sinned adultery. He also killed Bathsheba’s husband and later married her. God hates the sin of adultery and fornication. God punished David for what he did. The baby Bathsheba gave birth to died, and David’s wives were publicly dishonored. Since David ordered the killing of Uriah, God said that the sword would not depart from his family. God forgave David because he sincerely repented of the sin. He never returned to such sin again, but he still faced the consequences of his actions.
This commandment talks about how God wants us to take care of our bodies. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; that is, our body is where the Holy Spirit dwells. If the Holy Spirit dwells in us, then our lives must be holy and pure. We must not allow anyone to touch it anyhow or give our body to sexual sin. Sexual sins include, among others, touching another person’s buttocks and chest, fondling (holding people in ungodly ways), cuddling (hugging tightly) caressing (touching with a sexual motive), masturbation, oral sex, and intercourse. God hates sexual sins because they are against His laws.
You Must Not Steal.
According to the Dictionary, stealing is taking another person’s property without permission legal right, or intention to return it. To steal is to take something that does not belong to you. It may seem like the one who stole has some present gain, but such a person has caused pain to the one who owns the properties. God hates stealing. God wants us to be content with what He has given to us. Read and meditate on 1 Timothy 6: 6-8. Do not be too conscious of having money by all means.
You work, and you earn money when you grow up. But for now, whatever your parents provide, you should be satisfied and grateful to God and
Read Exodus 20:15; Joshua 7
As the Israelites were going to the Promised Land, the Lord was with Joshua, and everyone knew him well for his success through the help of God. Joshua took three thousand soldiers to attack Ai, for they were few people. The people of AI defeated the strong three thousand soldiers of Israel and struck down thirty-six of them. Therefore, Joshua rushed to God, tore his clothes, and fell to the ground before the ark of the Lord.
Then, the Lord told him that someone had stolen forbidden things and had hidden them in his possession. The Lord asked Joshua to bring out every tribe, clan, family, and person before Him for consecration. As they cast the lot, it fell on the tribe of Judah, the clan of Zerah was also chosen, the family of Zimri was picked, and finally, Achan was chosen. (What do you think the people should do to Achan and his family? Achan confessed that he did it and told them where they could find it.
They brought out the stolen items and took all his family out. Outside the camp, they stoned him, and all his family members were burnt. That was how Achan lost everything, including his precious family, to death. The end of a thief is always bad, except they repent. Be contented with what you have, and by that, you will build your possession with a clean hand and pure heart. More importantly, God will be happy with you.
The eighth commandment is, “You shall then your parents. By that, you will not fall into sin and hurt yourself. Let us look at an example from the Bible as we open to Joshua chapter 7. Achan was a good example of stealing and suffering its consequences.
Be satisfied with whatever you are given, either small or big. Do not look at what others are having as their lunch. If it is Garri (cassava flakes) you are given, be happy. Soon, you too will eat chicken at will. Do not take what does not belong to you or covet your friend’s things, for it will lead to what you don’t want. Learn to ask for your needs from God, and He will supply them at the right time.
You Must Not Covet Neighbors’ Things.
Ada has a bicycle but wants Ola’s tricycle; hence, she was secretly trying to steal Ola’s tricycle. That is a good example of covetousness. According to the Cambridge Dictionary,” Covetousness” is a strong wish to have something, especially something that belongs to someone else. It is also an insatiable desire for worldly gain. It is when one is too conscious of having wealth and riches that belong to others, either by force or deceit. It isRead Exodus 20:17; Matthew 26:1-5,14-25;27:3-5
When Jesus was about to round up His earthly ministry, He called the twelve disciples together and told them He would be handed over for crucifixion. At the same time, He warned them against covetousness when the disciples complained about Mary and the alabaster box. Before Jesus’ prophecy about His death and warning against greed, the Chief priest, Caiaphas, and some elders who did not like Jesus or accept Him as the Messiah were sent from a situation where a person is never satisfied with what he has.
Whether small or big, appreciate God for what you have and pray to God to give you your desire in His own time. He will answer you if He knows you need it. Let us take a good look at the Bible for an example of covetousness as we open to Exodus 20:17; and Matthew 26:1-5;14-25;27:3-5.
God was plotting to kill Him and put an end to His ministry. They took counsel to arrest Him and kill Him, but they also agreed to suspend it until the Passover feast. Shortly after Jesus warned the disciples against covetousness, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, suddenly rushed out of the house and met with the Chief priest, requesting money from him so he could betray Jesus. He was promised thirty silver coins to hand over Jesus to them. Then he began to watch Jesus’ movement and seek opportunities to hand over
his Master to death. Jesus knew all about the plan to kill Him, yet He was not afraid to die. All He did was warn all His disciples not to yield to temptation that will come through covetousness. At the table, while having His Last Supper with them, Jesus tried stopping the one who proposed to betray Him but Judas did not yield to Jesus’ warning. Rather, he denied knowing anything about what Jesus was saying. He pretended to be sad with others, ye he had made up his mind not to heed the Master’s warning.
Jesus dipped His hand into the bowl and put a morsel of food in Judas’ mouth to let him know that He knew who was to betray Him. Yet, Judas did not repent of his decision because he was already engulfed with the spirit of covetousness, and he went ahead and betrayed his Lord with a kiss. When Jesus was to be crucified, Judas regretted his action, but it was too late for him. The Chief Priest and the council of elders refused to accept the money Judas returned. So, Judas threw the money in the temple and hung himself.
God is good to us all and knows what we need. If you need anything and not that you just want it because your friends or neighbors have it, go to God and ask; and He will answer you. Do not allow covetousness to push you to other sins such as jealousy, envy, stealing, hatred, and killing. Be content with what God has given you. But if you have been coveting your friends’ things or neighbors’.
