"I Am the Lord Your God"

(Exodus 20:1-2)

Introduction: Over the past several weeks we have seen how broad the
commandments of God really are, and how we are to apply them to our lives. We
have seen how the commandments are to illumine His path before us in the
darkness of our minds and guide us into all the will of God. This evening, we
will begin to turn towards the commandments themselves.
But before we do, I think it will help you to better understand the
commandments if you first understand the way they are to work in the covenant
of God. We must never impose our thoughts on the Bible, but let it speak for
itself, in its own culture, in its own historical setting. When God made His
gracious covenant with Israel, He didn't just find a group of people wandering
somewhere out in a desert wilderness, take them aside and give them a list of
His holy and righteous commandments. Rather, God Almighty gave these
commandments to them as the holy requirements for a people whom He had
redeemed and with whom He was entering into a sacred covenant. He was binding
them to solemn obligations to fulfill that covenant. This was not a strange
thing to the Israelites, as it might seem to us. It was the kind of covenant
which these people would be familiar with, for it was often used in their
culture. Just as the Israelites of that time would not understand our
practice of shaking hands, or merely signing a piece of paper to bind
ourselves to some commitment, we often find their practice of making covenants
strange. But it was not strange to them. To help you to better understand,
think of the covenant as a legal document, a contract, which is binding upon
them. It is a form of legal agreement, like the one you would make if you
were to go out and purchase a home. There are certain agreements which must
be made between the buyer and the seller, such as the price, who is
responsible for any repairs to the property before it changes ownership, the
time at which it actually becomes the property of the new owner, and many more
things. All of these agreements are included in a legally binding contract.
And once the contract is signed, it obligates both parties to faithfully
fulfill what they have promised to do. Any failure to hold up your end of the
bargain would result in legal penalties. The same was true of the covenant
which God made with Israel. It was a legal document which bound both parties
to the fulfillment of their obligations. God made certain promises to His
people, and His people were bound to give to Him certain things in return.
What we will look at this evening are the first two parts of this
covenant of God, which will help us to see how the commandments fit in the
covenant. And next week we will begin to look at the commandments
themselves. And what I want you to see from this passage is that

God made you for Himself, and He redeemed you from your
bondage to the devil, so that you might serve Him alone.

I. First of All, God Is the One Who Made You and Therefore You Are Bound
to Serve Him.
A. The Covenant Treaty Which God Used Here Begins with What Is Called
the Preamble, Which Are the Opening Words: "I AM THE LORD YOUR
GOD.'9
1. Though there were different kinds of treaties being made at this
time, God chose to use the Suzerain Treaty.
a. Two of the most common were the parity treaty and the
Suzerain Treaty.
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b. The parity treaty was made between two equals. They both
entered into an agreement for what they might both hope to
gain. Such was probably the covenant of Mizpah made between
Jacob and Laban. They both agreed not to pass by the altar
they had set up in order to harm each other.
C. The Suzerain treaty, on the other hand, also had two
parties, but one was the superior Lord, the Suzerain, and
the other was the servant, or vassal.
d. Usually when a king was conquered by another king, he became
his vassal, or his servant, and the conquering king became
his lord.
e. In God's covenant with Israel, He is the Suzerain Lord, and
Israel is His vassal, or servant.

2. The Suzerainty Treaty was divided into five parts.

a. The first part was called the preamble. It was a simple
statement of who the lord was. For instance, a king might
introduce himself as King Ramses, ruler over the great realm
of Egypt, conqueror of the Ethiopians, etc.
b. The second part was called the historic prologue. This was
a short statement of history, declaring what it was that the
lord had done, and the reason why his new servants ought
to be thankful to serve him. For example, "I have conquered
you and yet I have allowed you to live and return to your
lands and plow your fields and raise your families."
C. The third part of the treaty contained the stipulations.
These were the requirements which were imposed upon the
servants, such as, "You will pay me one-fifth of all of your
crops, and all of your eldest sons and daughters shall be my
slaves."
d. The fourth part contained the sanctions. These were the
blessings for obedience, and the threats for disobedience.
"If you faithfully carry out my will, then I will protect
you from any threats from invading armies, and I will
provide you with food during a famine. But if you do not
then you shall surely be destroyed."
e. The last part was called the disposition of the covenant.
It included instructions on where to put the treaty document
and how often to bring it out to be read. "You shall put a
copy of this in the temple of your god, and you shall have
it read publicly once per year."
f. This is virtually the pattern of the covenant which God made
with Israel, and in understanding this, we may not only
understand the commandments better, but also all of the
covenants of God, as well as the whole Bible, which is a
covenant document.

3. But now let me turn your attention to the first part of the
covenant, called the preamble, and show you what it is that God
reveals about Himself here.
a. He says, "I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD."
b. First, He calls Himself the Lord.
(i) This is the Hebrew word Yahweh, or Jehovah.
(ii) God Himself told us what it meant when He spoke to
Moses on the Mount of the Burning Bush. In Exodus
3: 13-14, we read, "THEN MOSES SAID TO GOD, 'BEHOLD, I
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AM GOING TO THE SONS OF ISRAEL , AND I SHALL SAY TO THEM

”THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS HAS SENT ME TO YOU.'^ NOW THEY
MAY SAY TO ME, ”WHAT I S HIS NAME?” WHAT SHALL I SAY TO
THEM?’ AND GOD SAID TO MOSES, I AM WHO I AM’ ; AND HE
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SAID, ’THUS YOU SHALL SAY TO THE SONS OF ISRAEL, ’ I AM

HAS SENT ME TO YOU. ’ ”
( i i i ) T h e names o f God a l w a y s r e v e a l something about Him.
Yahweh i s the covenant name o f God. I t i d e n t i f i e s the
O n e who i s entering i n t o covenant w i t h the sons o f
I s r a e l . I t e m p h a s i z e s the f a c t t h a t God i s e t e r n a l .
H e forever r e m a i n s the same. And b e c a u s e H e d o e s H i s
p r o m i s e s never f a i 1 . T h e I s r a e l i t es had a l r e a d y
e x p e r i e n c e d H i s f a i t h f u l n e s s f o r the Lord had j u s t
brought t h e m out o f Egypt t o f u l f i l l t h a t p r o m i s e .
( i v ) And b e c a u s e H e i s their g r e a t covenant Lord, t h e y a r e
t o o b e y Him.

c. But H e i s not o n l y the Lord, H e i s the Lord YOUR GOD.

( i ) T h e Hebrew word here i s E l o h i m , w h i c h r e v e a l s God a s
the O n e who made the h e a v e n s and the e a r t h .
( i i ) Even i f H e had not e n t e r e d i n t o covenant r e l a t i o n s w i t h
t h e m , t h e y would s t i l l owe H i m a b s o l u t e o b e d i e n c e , f o r
H e c r e a t e d t h e m . H e made t h e m and therefore t h e y a r e
H i s . H e made t h e m , and therefore t h e y a r e t o serve H i m
i n the way t h a t H e commands.

B. But the Lord S a y s t h i s t o Y o u T h i s Evening a s Well. T h e Lord I s the

One Who Made You. T h e Lord I s the O n e Who Has Brought Y o u I n t o
Covenant W i t h H i m s e l f and Has B e e n F a i t h f u l t o You. Therefore H e
Has the A u t h o r i t y t o R e q u i r e o f Y o u W h a t e v e r H e Desires.
1 . And isn’ t t h i s r e a s o n a b l e ? Isn’ t t h i s true a t a human level, a s
w e l l a s a t a d i v i n e level? Don’t y o u h a v e the f u l l r i g h t over
what y o u own t o d o w i t h i t what y o u w a n t ? And d o e s n ’ t God h a v e
a t l e a s t the same rights a s you?
a . I f y o u h a v e a house or a c a r , don’t y o u h a v e the r i g h t t o
k e e p i t or t o sell i t ?
b. I f y o u h a v e some p a i n t and a c a n v a s s , don’t y o u h a v e the
r i g h t t o p a i n t and m a k e a n y k i n d o f a p i c t u r e t h a t y o u w a n t ?
c. And w h e n y o u h a v e someone u n d e r y o u r a u t h o r i t y , such a s y o u r
c h i l d r e n , or p e r h a p s e m p l o y e e s , don’t y o u h a v e the r i g h t ,
w i t h i n c e r t a i n b o u n d a r i e s , t o require o f t h e m what y o u w a n t
t h e m t o do?

2. God h a s these same rights over y o u , f o r y o u a r e H i s . H e made

y o u , and y o u belong t o Him.
a . W e h a v e a p o p u l a r song w h i c h w e s o m e t i m e s s i n g , w h i c h s a y s ,
”Have thine own way Lord, h a v e thine own way. Thou a r e the
Potter, I am the c l a y . Mold m e and make me, a f t e r T h y w i l l ,
w h i l e I am w a i t i n g , y i e l d e d and s t i l l . ”
b. T h i s i s nothing more than what the B i b l e t e l l s us i n Romans
9 : 2 1 , ”OR DOES NOT THE POTTER HAVE A RIGHT OVER THE CLAY, TO
MAKE FROM THE SAME LUMP ONE VESSEL FOR HONORABLE USE , mn
ANOTHER FOR COMMON USE?’
c. These rights w h i c h God h a s over us, H e d o e s not h a v e b y
virtue o f the f a c t t h a t H e i s good, or t h a t H e i s h o l y .
Even i f H e were an evil God, H e would s t i l l h a v e these
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rights, because He made us. We would still belong to Him.

d. But how thankful you and I should be that He is a holy God,
that He is a good God. He has made you for Himself. He made
you to glorify Him. He enters into covenant with you to draw
you sweetly to Himself with His cords of love, His eternal
love. And He faithfully upholds the covenant, overlooking
your sins for Jesus sake and keeping you in His grace. What
greater reason do you need to love and serve Him in return?
What more could He do to win your affections?
e. But how will you treat Him in return? Will you let His love
win your heart? Or will you refuse to submit to Him and rebel
against His loving authority? May God grant you to see how
horribly unthankful and unjust such behavior would be.
f. And so first see that God made you, He entered into covenant
with you, He is faithful to His Word, and therefore you
ought to obey Him without question.

11. Secondly, God Redeemed You from the Power of the Devil and Brought You
Into the Kingdom of His Son, Thereby Placing an Even Greater Obligation
Upon You to Serve Him.
A. As I Said, the Suzerain Treaty Had Several Parts. The Second Part
Is Called the Historic Prologue, and It Is Given to Us in These
Words, ”WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF THE HOUSE
OF SLAVERY.”
1 . As I’ve already told you, the prologue was given to reveal what
the Suzerain Lord had done, and why it was that His servants
ought to be ingratiated to Him and to serve Him.
2. What God is saying to the Israelites here is, ”I BROUGHT YOU OUT
FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT FROM THE HOUSE OF SLAVES.”
a. He is saying, ”I am the One who saw your affliction in the
iron furnace. I am the One who saw what evil the Egyptians
had done by oppressing you. And when I blessed you for the
sake of My name, and made you to prosper and to multiply
exceedingly, I saw what they did in trying to kill your
sons.”
b. He said to Moses on that holy mount, ”I HAVE SURELY SEEN THE
AFFLICTION OF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN EGYPT, AND HAVE GIVEN
HEED TO THEIR CRY BECAUSE OF THEIR TASKMASTERS, FOR I AM
AWARE OF THEIR SUFFERINGS” (Ex. 3:7).
C. And so God remembered His gracious promises, the promises
that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He did not
forget the words which He had spoken to Jacob, as Jacob was
on his way down to Egypt, ”I AM GOD, THE GOD OF YOUR FATHER;
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO GO DOWN TO EGYPT, FOR I WILL MAKE YOU A
GREAT NATION THERE. I WILL GO DOWN WITH YOU TO EGYPT, AND I
WILL SURELY BRING YOU UP AGAIN; AND JOSEPH WILL CLOSE YOUR
EYES” (Gen. 46:3-4).
d. And so He said to Moses, ”I HAVE COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM
FROM THE POWER OF THE EGYPTIANS, AND TO BEING THEM UP FROM
THAT LAND TO A Goon AND SPACIOUS LAND, TO A LAND FLOWING
WITH MILK AND HONEY” (Ex. 3:8).
e. And the Lord did deliver them. He brought them out from
under the tyranny of the Egyptians with a mighty hand and
with an outstretched arm. He redeemed them from all of
their troubles. And He brought them to Himself on His holy
mountain in order that they might serve Him in His kingdom
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with thankfulness of heart for His great deliverance.

B. But the Bible Tells You that God Delivered You As Well. He Redeemed
You out of the House of the Tyrant, out of the Dark and Evil Kingdom,
and Has Delivered You into the Glorious Kingdom of His Beloved Son.
And He Calls You to Serve Him Out of Thankfulness as Well.
1 . You ought to be deeply thankful for what the Lord has done for
you.
a. You were born into this world bound in the chains of the
devi1.
He was a cruel taskmaster to you. He tried to afflict
you in every way that he could.
He tried to rob you of all joy and any consolation.
He did everything in his power to keep you out of the
church and away from the people of God. He even tried
to keep you who were born into covenant household from
seeing and loving the truth. Indeed, he is still
trying to do so. He tried to keep a blindfold over
your eyes so that you might not see the glory of God in
the face of Christ.
He intended to tempt you into as much sin as he
possibly could, so that he might gain some consolation
in hell by watching God pour out His wrath upon you, a
creature made in His image, the wrath that you stored
up for yourself, so that he could see you writhing in
pain and cursing your Creator because of the greatness
of your agony.
He well deserves the name of a tyrant, for he inflicted
you with his tyranny. Indeed, he still does.

b. But God interposed by sending His champion to rescue you.

Bound fast by Satan’s power, you had absolutely no
hope of escape.
Your first father Adam handed all of you over to the
enemy in his first sin. Even he himself had no
possibility of escape.
But God sent the Second Adam, the Prince of Peace, the
Captain of the Hosts of the Lord, to do battle with
this evil usurper of God’s dominion.
He laid hold of that serpent and bound him in prison.
He also dealt a mortal wound to his head and sealed
forever his fate in the lake which burns with fire.
Through His blood and righteousness, Jesus overcame the
devil and set His people free from his power. He laid
a foundation for your hope, one which is solid and
sure, and which enters within the veil of the holiest
place of all in heaven to appear before God for you.
He even sent forth His Spirit to breathe into your soul
the breath of life, and to give the blessed
commandment, ”Live.”
And you began to live. His beauty was opened to you.
You saw His glory, the glory which the world is blind
to. You came to Him willingly, embraced Him as your
Savior, and trusted in Him to save you.
You turned from all of your evil practices which you
learned from your former master, the devil, and sought
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to imitate the holiness of life which you saw in Jesus

your Lord.
(ix) You gave up yourself, to take Jesus as your all and
all, and to have Him as your Master, as your Ruler,
as your Head.

2. And now the Lord bids you to live by the holy standards which
are fitting for His children bearing His name.
a. He gave you His code of conduct, that list of qualities and
characteristics which He loves and delights in.
b. And when you keep them out of a heart filled with love for
Him, it delights His soul, it fills Him with pleasure.
c. How He weeps for you when you turn aside into the things
which He hates. But how faithfully He disciplines you in
order to bring you back to the place of blessing.
d. People of God, seeing that the Lord is your God, seeing that
He has redeemed you for Himself, will you serve Him with
holiness of heart and life? Will you give yourself to Him
fully in the covenant into which He has called you? Will
you walk with your Lord as His friend? Then give yourself
fully to Him. Hold nothing back. Jesus wants your heart to
be inflamed for Him. He doesn’t want your coldness, or your
lukewarmness. He doesn’t want your heart to be divided
between Him and the world, nor between Him and yourself.
You must take yourself off of the throne of your life, and
abdicate for Jesus. You must offer yourself wholly to Him
on His altar with loving obedience. Will you give yourself
to Him? Will you let Him be the Master, and will you submit
to Him as His servant? Jesus doesn’t want you by halves, or
by quarters. He wants all of you, or He will take nothing
of you. Give yourself wholly to Him in faithful obedience.
This is what you owe to God. This is His will for your
1if e. Amen.