Jamin Rathbun & Superdink.com

Who is this Jamin guy anyway?
I am the husband of one and the father of nine. I was created to sing, to worship, to encourage, and to be steady. I am the Owner & Executive Director of Trinity Arts Center, a multi-disciplinary Arts Center in Eastern Tennessee, and the President of Trinity Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization focused on funding arts education and performance. I've been involved with four music projects in my life -- Hot Pink Turtle, Spin Radio, Stand Like Stone, and of course, Jamin Rathbun.

In 2013, I added my Twitter feed to this site (below). To view the old content, just scroll down past the Twitter timeline. To keep in the loop on new posts, thoughts, and updates, just follow me on Twitter using the button below. Thanks!

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bible

Exodus 20:3-17 (summarized)
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make or worship idols.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false testimony.
10. You shall not covet.

Of course, after that abbreviated list in chapter 20, there are about a gazillion (give or take) more laws outlined over the next 11 chapters, making them actually much more than just 10 commandments. In fact, it isn't very clear to me why there is such a distinction between the first 10 "commandments" verse the following "laws". As far as I can tell, there is not such distinction in Scripture, unless they are labelled as such in the original text. (?)

It's probably also worth noting that the actual biblical account contradicts the popular Charlton Heston-ized version of this event. In 20:1 it says "And God spoke these words." It isn't until 31:18 that God hands Moses the tablets which, I assume, contain everything spoken from chapters 20-31.

Anyway... Those additional laws, which appear to have been written on the tablets also, cover the laws regarding servants, personal injury, protection of property, social responsibility, laws of justice and mercy, Sabbath laws, and annual festivals. In addition, there are instructions about offerings for the tabernacle, the priests, etc...

Then in chapter 34 (after the first tablets were shattered) there are some additional "commandments", spoken by God to Moses as part of the new covenant.

Exodus 34:12-26 (summarized)
1. Do not make a treaty with the people in the land where you are going.
2. Do not worship any other gods.
3. Do not make cast idols.
4. Celebreate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
5. The first offspring of every womb belongs to me.
6. Six days you shall labor but on the seventh day you shall rest.
7. Celebrate the Feast of Weeks.
8. Do not offer the blood of sacrifices to me with yeast.
9. Bring the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord.
10. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

From what God says in 34:1, it doesn't sound like these new words were actually written on the tablets but -- it's interesting that there just happen to be 10 of them, like in chapter 20.

Anyway... I don't mean to get sidetracked from my original reason for posting these passages...

Why is it that we focus so much on those first 10 commandments?
It seems to me that all of the Mosaic law, including both lists of 10 and everything in between, were equally important to the Old Testament saint, in establishing the standard of living in obedience to God.

So what does that mean to me?

I'm not sure... For me, it just paints a more dramatic picture of what Christ freed me from. It's not just a picture of breaking rules... It's a picture of meticulous adherence to an impossible standard. It's a picture of blood sacrifice, of death, and of anything but freedom.

I won't dig into what our New Testament responsibilites are, in regards the the laws laid out by Moses. I'll just quote a few passages, not nearly a complete collection on the topic but -- a place to start. = )

Matthew 22:36-40
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments

Romans 7:5-6
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Colossians 2:13-14
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

And how about one more Old Testament one, just for good measure. = )

Exodus 34:6-7
The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.

stuff

Free mp3 Sermons
SermonAudio.com has nearly 100,000 mp3 sermons from over 3,000 teachers that you can download, sorted by passage, speaker, topic, date, most popular, etc...

I've only used this resource a couple times but it seems like there would be lots of useful reasons to become a more frequent visitor. Take a peek the next time you're looking for perspective on a topic or -- for a particular sermon.