Today’s Jesse Tree ornament is a piece of stone with Roman numerals I-X on it, representing God’s rules to live by. The Chrismon for today is the six-pointed star with the cross in the middle. It represents the union between the Old Testament and New Testament. This is the meaning of the symbol:
THE STAR AND CROSS
“The origin of the six-pointed Star of David is not clear but it has been representative of the Jewish people for centuries. With the cross of Christ at its center, the Star and Cross symbolizes the statement of Jesus recorded in Revelation 22:15: ‘I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star’”.
The Jesse Tree: SCRIPTURE:[1]
Moses called all the people of Israel together and said: Listen, Israel, to the commands and laws I give you today. Learn them and obey them carefully
The Lord our God made an agreement with us at Mount Sinai. He did not make this agreement with our ancestors. He made it with us. He made it with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face. He spoke from the fire on the mountain .(At that time I stood between you and the Lord. I told you what the Lord said. You were afraid of the fire. So you would not go up on the mountain.) The Lord said:
- “I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves. “You must not have any other gods except me.
- “You must not make for yourselves any idols. Don’t make something that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. You must not worship or serve any idol. This is because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. A person may sin against me and hate me. I will punish his children, even his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But I will be very kind to thousands who love me and obey my commands.
- “You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly. The Lord will punish anyone who is guilty and misuses his name.
- “Keep the Sabbath as a holy day. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. You may work and get everything done during six days each week. But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your ox, your donkey nor any of your animals may work. The foreigners living in your cities may not work. That way your servants may rest as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by his great power and strength. So the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.
- “Honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. Then you will live a long time. And things will go well for you in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.
- “You must not murder anyone.
- “You must not be guilty of adultery.
- “You must not steal.
- “You must not tell lies about your neighbor in court.
- “You must not want to take your neighbor’s wife. You must not want to take your neighbor’s house or land. You must not want to take his men or women slaves. You must not want to take his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The Lord gave these commands to all of you on the mountain. He spoke them in a loud voice out of the fire. He spoke from the cloud and the deep darkness. He did not say anything else. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.
THINK ABOUT IT
God knows we need rules to live by, or we would each go his or her own way and get into real trouble. These laws were given to Moses and to us for our own good. Many laws of our country are based on these original laws of God. They are all important to us, and God’s promises are to those who follow His rules for living.
These are called the Ten Commandments, and are just as important to us now as they were to the early Jewish nation. When Jesus came to earth, He said He came to fulfill the law and the prophets. He added one to this: You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the summary of these laws given to Moses.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father:
We thank You for directing us to follow these laws for our own benefit and for all the people we share life with on this earth. Help us to always consider what is right and wrong by this set of rules, and to remember Jesus wants us to follow these laws because we love You and love each other. Thank You for making it clear to us the standards You want us to follow as we live our lives. Amen.
[1] Deuteronomy 5: 1-22. Ibid. (bullets mine)
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