The Laws That Lasted Forever
The Laws That Lasted Forever
Now a lot of important things happened to Moses and his people as they wandered through the wilderness, but one of the most IMPORTANT things, was what happened in this story.
It was BEFORE the spies went into the Promised Land. And before Moses whammed the rock.
Do you remember way back when Moses came down from that huge mountain* and told the people God wanted them to build a tent-church? [*Mount Sinai] Well, God wanted them to do something else, too. And this is what it was.
"You know how good God has been to us," said Moses. "He has helped us every time we've been in trouble. NOW - "
"Now - WHAT?" the people wondered.
"NOW - " said Moses, "he wants US to do something for HIM. He wants us to belong to him in a VERY SPECIAL way. And he wants to give us a SET OF LAWS - so we will know how he wants us to live. And you may have your CHOICE. Do you want these laws or not?"
Did they want the laws? Oh YES! "Tell God we'll do anything he says!" they cried.
So Moses went back up the mountain to tell God. And when he came back down he had something even MORE IMPORTANT to say. "You must get all cleaned up," he said, "and wash your clothes. For in three days God is coming right to the mountain. He'll be RIGHT HERE."
Oh MY!
Everybody got busy at once. They cleaned the camp. They washed their clothes. They washed themselves. And then they waited. And sure enough -
On the morning of the third day, suddenly -
The lightning FLASHED!
The thunder CRASHED!
A mysterious trumpet BLEW!
And the mountain SHOOK!
And SMOKED!
And TREMBLED!
The people trembled too. They backed up and BACKED UP - until they were a safe distance away. And there they waited - frightened.
But Moses went right up into the mountain and INTO THE SMOKE, to get the set of laws from God. And when he came back -
Sure enough, he told them all the laws God wanted them to obey. "We will obey!" they shouted. "All that God says we will obey!"
And do you know, those laws have lasted right up until today - for they are the TEN COMMANDMENTS we have in the Bible! They are lasting forever - or at least until Jesus comes back again!

THINK!
Does God give us rules and laws to make us miserable? Think of some commands God has given us in the Bible. Then think about why he gave them. What are some rules you have at home? At school? At church? If you love God, what will you do about rules and laws and commandments?
A VERSE TO LEARN
"The law of the LORD is perfect" (Psalm 19:7).