Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:20-22

20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The signs and wonders had not ceased for Israel. Now they were being led by a pillar of cloud during the day and of fire during the night. The passage gives as a reason that the Israelites could “go by day and night.” The fire was apparently large enough to light their way so that they could continue walking even after the sun had gone down. Some have speculated that the pillar of cloud might have provided shade from the sun, preserving their strength as they walked through the day. It seems that God intended for them to move with great haste, carrying them swiftly towards the Promised Land.

We are also told that the Lord, Himself, “went before them” in the cloud and the fire. Note that it does not say that God was the cloud or the fire, but that He was in them, much as He had been in the burning bush when He first spoke to Moses. Thus, where God went, the cloud and fire went, and where the cloud and fire went, God’s followers went also.

All of this seems representative to me of the commandments and instructions that we receive from God. Like the pillars of cloud and fire, they stand out from the rest of the world, giving a stark contrast to the common, carnal behavior that we would otherwise follow. And while God might not be His commandments, we do say that He is in them, and that those who follow His law are also following Him. Furthermore, we believe that His instructions are guiding us through the wilderness to the ultimate Promised Land: paradise in the hereafter.

We should all consider in what ways we are following God’s pillar in our own lives. Are we truly allowing ourselves to be a peculiar and distinct people, following a different marker than the rest of the world? Are we following instructions that have been given to us by the divine? Are we true and authentic disciples? Or are we following our own opinions and conventional wisdom? Are we just “going with the flow” of the world, secularists who inappropriately claim spiritual titles? Speaking for myself, I am in a strange place somewhere in between, sometimes spiritual and sometimes secular. I still have work to do to be a follower “by day and night,” all of the time.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Commandments and Personal Revelation- Summary

This study was an excellent opportunity for me to dive into a topic that has been a big source of confusion to me, and I am sure to many others as well. It’s important to remember that just because one has questions about the commandments does not mean that they don’t want to keep them. That desire naturally wants knowledge to be able to steer correctly, and so studies like these are important. Though I should add that the greatest understanding of commandments does not come by study alone, but by actively living them.

Commandments are Given and Followed By Love

One of the ways I’ve come to measure my understanding of a commandment is whether I can see the element of love in it. Can I see the love from God in giving it to me, and the love for myself and others in following it? For example, one could view laws of sexual purity as restricting one’s pleasure, or they could see them as protecting oneself from deep wounding and facilitating a more abiding romance.
Jesus came at a time where the law had been inflated into an oppressive and unwieldy mass. I believe a very real part of his mission was to remind his contemporaries of this love that had been originally intended by the law.
John 13:34- A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 14:15- If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Matthew 22:37-39-Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Commandments Should be Personal

There already existed in the Mosaic Law provisions for the poor before Jesus’s ministry. For example, farmers were required to leave portions of their fields for the impoverished to freely glean from.
When Jesus instructed the rich young man to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor, though, he was asking for something that went far above what the law required. Of other people he had different life requirements.
“Go and sin no more.”
“Behold thy mother.”
“I will make you fishers of men.”
In each case Jesus understood that we need the explicitly spelled-out commandments, but that we then have additional personal needs fitted for our individual growth. To each of us he promises this same personalized guidance.
John 14:26- But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things

Commandments, Guidance, and Revelation

I know there all manner of voices that can cast confusion on the commandments. The world calls them unnecessary, the faithful give different interpretations to them, and your own mind may obsess over whether you are following them properly or not.
Even so there are answers if we look for them. There are resources to guide us rightly. Specific injunctions like those in Moses’s ten commandments lay the ground rules for us. General guidance like those in Jesus’s two great commandments explain what our intentions should be. Personal communion from the spirit adds the final element in being able to make personalized and worthy decisions.
And it is alright if our initial thoughts of what we are supposed to be doing are imperfect. We can be sure that God will steer us as needed, just so long as we are trying sincerely.
Isaiah 28:10- For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.

Posted on by Abe Austin · 1 Comment

Commandments and Personal Revelation- Question

I know that the commandments can be a delicate topic in today’s world. Some feel that certain commandments don’t apply anymore and others despair at a world that has abandoned God’s way. We know that Jesus brought a close to laws regarding animal sacrifice, and the question arises whether that is validation for us declaring other laws as out-dated as well. Perhaps God has a more lenient view of society’s current trends than we give Him credit for… or maybe we are just trying to refashion Him into an idol that permits us to do all the things we want to.

Now I do not intend to use this blog to try and argue which commandments still apply and which do not. Rather I want to explore the question of how can a sincere disciple seek to know and follow God’s will in such a puzzling word? With so many competing voices how can we tune into His alone and know what He wants us to do?

That directly leads us to the issue of personal revelation. We pray to God and we want to hear Him speaking back to us, but recognizing revelation as such is a difficult process. How do we know that what we felt was really God’s message to us, and not just us projecting our personal desires onto Him? What if we feel we aren’t receiving any message at all?

The questions are many, hopefully we’ll be able to find some satisfying answers to them. We’ll begin by taking a closer look at the commandments and the purpose of God in giving them to us. In the meanwhile please feel free to share your own journeys in this regard. How have you dealt with confusion in knowing what God’s laws are? What do you do if you feel certain about one of His commandments, and then find someone who feels just as certain in the opposite direction? I’d love to hear about your experiences.