The One With All The Rules

Written ​By: Kevin Jackson
​@kevindjackson

​Rules…. we are surrounded by them everyday. Kids have rules like bed times, chores, respecting others, etc. Adults, well, we have rules too. Things like speed limits, criminal laws, ways to do things…..
Well, this is a story about some rules that are much more important than anything like that. Rules that will save your life if you abide by them. 

Our story begins on a dark and cold night. An old man laid in his tent thinking about all he had been through. You see, his story goes back over 80 years to when he was abandoned by his family as a baby. Fearing for her son’s life, his mother had given him up in order to save him. Although certainly different circumstances, hundreds of mothers give their baby’s up for adoption every day in today’s world. However, this was no adoption; this was straight abandonment. He was a man of forgiveness, but this still affected him and helped create the man he was today.

He lived a lie for so long as a child, knowing he did not fit in. Tonight he was thinking about how he was able to face those challenges and still come out on the other side, some say victorious. He somehow found himself being a leader, even though he never meant to be and never thought he could be. He always viewed himself as that small boy that no one seemed to want.

Was his mother proud of who he had become? Was God? He knew he was on an important mission, but somehow still did not feel worthy. As a man of faith, he wondered why God put him in this position. Was God sure that he could handle this? He had failed God so many times before, even on this journey, that how can he be sure that it was God leading him and not some prideful ego.

However, none of that mattered tonight. Tonight was all about focus, all about the next part in the journey. The next step was showing all of the people that were following him that they were not wrong about him. That he was going to ultimately save them all.

The old man just could not sleep. He felt he had been laying there for hours. “It had to be morning,” he said to himself. “Will this night ever end”?

When the sun finally arose, he knew he did not have a choice. He was going to do what had never been done before. Today, he was going to climb that mountain while everyone watched. He was going to prove to them that they were right, that he was who they thought he was.

The old man started his journey up the mountain. He told everyone he would be back soon. However, honestly he was not sure how long it would take him to climb all the way up to the top and then back down. A week? Two? Who knows, but he pleaded with them to not give up on him and that he would be down soon.

The climb was tough, a lot tougher than he imagined. He kept thinking about what it took to even get here. The faith that these people had placed in him. The trust that God had given him. This was an honor; this was his destiny.

Over a month had gone by and there was no word from the old man. “Had he abandoned us,” they thought. “Did he die?” they worried. Certainly not. He was in good shape for an 80 year old, but geez…. climbing a mountain at his age? Maybe this guy was crazy. Maybe this guy wasn’t who he said he was.
That day they all gathered together with the old man’s brother, who happened to be there and decided that they were on their own. They accepted the fact that the old man was gone. Unsure and afraid, they had lost their faith in him and had lost their faith in God. Oh, how quickly people can change.

After 40 days on the mountain, the old man finally appeared. However, once he saw what was going on, he was very angry. Disappointed that the people had lost their faith in him and God that he threw down what he was carrying, smashing it all to pieces. “What was it he was carrying?” they thought.  “He did not go up the mountain with it. Maybe this guy was right the entire time. Maybe God did talk to him as he said. Maybe he wasn’t crazy.”

As you might have figured out by now, the old man….. well, you know him as Moses. What he carried down that day from that mountain was the foundation of God’s scriptures and laws for us, the 10 Commandments. Although the originals were broken, they were soon replaced and to this day, these are the basic rules that we all know and we all live by. It is the foundation of most societies and cultures in this world. Most governmental laws are based on the 10 Commandments such as do not murder, do not steal. Well, you know them all.

However, it all started with a historical moment when a man who was an orphan obeyed God, dedicated his life to God’s direction and delivered on his promises.

Moses was a man who helped craft faith and religion for the entire world. He lived dedicated to God and following God’s path for him. Maybe there is a lesson there for all of us.

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The story of Moses is described in the book of Exodus in the Holy Bible. The 10 Commandments are detailed specifically in Exodus, chapter 20. Read more on Bible.com. ​