There is something I never noticed for many years.
The commandments were not given in Egypt.
That may seem obvious, but I had never stopped to consider its significance.
God could have spoken from the midst of Israel’s slavery.
He could have handed Moses tablets while the people were still making bricks.
He could have said:
“Obey these commands and I will rescue you.”
But that is not what happened.
First came the Passover.
First came the blood on the doorposts.
First came the deliverance.
First came the sea opening before them.
Only then did they arrive at Sinai.
Only then did God speak.
And what were His first words?
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Before there is a command, there is a reminder.
Before there is instruction, there is rescue.
Before there is obligation, there is relationship.
The people standing at Sinai were no longer slaves.
They were a liberated people learning how to live under a new King.
As I sat with this, another thought occurred to me.
The people who arrived at Sinai were not merely travelers.
They were former slaves.
Generations had lived beneath Pharaoh’s power.
Generations had known fear, uncertainty, and oppression.
And I find myself wondering about the order of events.
Before the commandments were spoken, there was the mountain.
The thunder.
The lightning.
The fire.
The cloud.
The sound of the trumpet.
An entire nation standing together in the presence of something far greater than themselves.
Perhaps Sinai was not only about receiving a covenant.
Perhaps it was also about becoming a people—
a people gathered together by a shared encounter with God.
I cannot say for certain.
But as our understanding of human beings continues to grow, I find myself increasingly struck by the wisdom woven into God’s ways.
Again and again in Scripture, He seems to establish relationship before instruction, belonging before responsibility, rescue before expectation.
Only then does the King begin to speak.
Ancient kings often announced the laws of their kingdom when they established their reign.
The laws revealed the character of the ruler and the kind of world he intended to create.
What if Sinai is something like that?
What if these words are not merely restrictions, but a vision of life under God’s rule?
You shall have no other gods before Me.
No more bowing to the gods of Egypt.
No more serving masters who cannot love you.
Remember the Sabbath day.
No more endless labor.
No more bricks without rest.
The servant rests.
The stranger rests.
Even the animals rest.
You shall not murder.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness.
What kind of kingdom would this become if these things were true?
What kind of world would emerge if people honored life, spoke truth, and cared for one another?
Perhaps the commandments are more than rules.
Perhaps they are windows—
a glimpse of life as God intends it to be.
Centuries later, Jesus would reveal the heart of that vision.
Love God.
Love your neighbor.
On these hang all the Law and the Prophets.
Then, on the night before the cross, He would take us even deeper:
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
James calls it the royal law.
Paul calls it the law of Christ.
The King Himself becomes the interpretation of His kingdom.
The commandments are no longer words carved in stone alone.
They become flesh and blood.
They become a life laid down for others.
And perhaps that is why this pattern matters still.
We too were not rescued from Egypt, but from sin and death.
We too are freed before we are taught how to live.
Perhaps that is why the story begins with rescue.
Because slaves cannot understand freedom until they have been freed.
And perhaps that is why love stands at the center of everything.
Because the goal was never merely obedience.
The goal was always a people who reflected the heart of their King.
—
Thank you for reading.
If this opened something in you too, I’d love to hear: how does the order of rescue and response change the way you hear God’s commands?
—
© Gilda Wray. All rights reserved.
Amen! The old covenant and new covenant laws describe who God is, His character. God wants us to be like Him. The old covenant law demands it but gives nothing to enable us to be like him. The new covenant law comes with His spirit to empower us to love as He loves. As we allow His spirit to operate in us He begins to change us, transform us into His image to be like Him.