Ken Friesen asked if the number of Commandments given in Ex. 20 was arbitrary. He reminded us that this chapter in which Moses receives the wisdom of the Ten Commandments follows on the previous one where his father-in-law Jethro encouraged Moses to devolve simple judicial tasks to trusted elders, and concentrate himself on the complex ones. Ken contrasted our present system of common law based on ideals or precepts (which renders decisions with relative ease but often inadequate satisfaction from the aggrieved parties) with God’s law, which was based on principles and consequently exceedingly difficult to judge evenly from case to case. Ken divided the Ten Commandments into three groups. The first three commandments comprised God’s vision for creating a state that God can use, not one that uses God. Ken noted that many civilizations today mingle power with religion with tragic results. The fourth and fifth comprised a second group that identified what kind of a society the Hebrews wanted. Honouring God and family was seen as critical. The remaining five illustrated that Israel was to be a society that valued justice highly. Given that a complainant could also be the sole witness leading to conviction and punishment, false testimony was deemed severely punishable, as was destroying all-important family bonds through adultery. Question period seemed to revolve around the dictum "The law, imperfect as it is, is for people. Justice is for God." [AP]

Passage: Exodus 20-21
Communion: No
Ecumenical or Event:
Potluck Lunch: No
Congregational Meeting: No

Speaker: Ken Friesen
Worship Leader: Nathan Schneidereit
Song Leader: Ann Marie Neudorf
Pianist: Cynthia Friesen
Usher:
Zoom Coordinator:
Children's Feature Leader:

Bring Flowers: Annie Funk
Coffee Helper: Heather & Nathan Schneidereit; Kevin Hiebert
Sound Helper:

Child Care Volunteer: Heather Schneidereit