Recently Donna and I consulted an attorney to update our will. There were a series of documents that passed back and forth over a few weeks until the final document was completed. We sat across the desk from the attorney who had become a friend over this period of time, as he gave the final document to us and called his secretary to witness our signatures. It wasn't official until it was signed. Until then it was so many words on paper that had no power.

The force of this came to mind as I was reading the account of Moses receiving the tablets of stone from God containing the Ten Commandments. The phase that struck me was "...written with the finger of God." (Exodus 31:18) As I read this out loud to Donna she said, "It is just like our will. His handwriting made it legal."

There is a movie called "National Treasures" revolving around the theft of the Declaration of Independence. It centers on the value of documents that are the cornerstone of our civilization. At the bottom of the Declaration of Independence are the famous signatures of our founding fathers. This document had absolutely no value until it was signed, after which all of the words in the manuscript became the words of those signing it.

Many Americans have made pilgrimages to the national capitol to view these documents. Imagine what it must have been like for the High Priest of Israel to see the handwriting of God on tablets of stone. From the time of Moses until the time Solomon's Temple was destroyed the Ark of the Covenant could be approached by the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement. A mere human could enter the room containing a document written by God, the words that established the foundation of the Kingdom of God. Even today, many homes display an icon representing these tablets giving testimony that they remain the foundation of the Christian ethos. The Supreme Court Building has such an engraving over the entrance.

How ironic that so few Christian churches believe the Ten Commandments still have the force of law. It is a privilege to be one of those few congregations. Tomorrow we will celebrate one of the commandments written by the finger of God.

Until next time,