In Exodus 20:2, God says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
These words are his introduction to the 10 Commandments. Notice it’s a SHORT introduction. Before he lays out the ten most important commandments for the Israelites, he simply says, “Hey, I am the Lord.”
The English word that we translate into “Lord” is the Hebrew word Yahweh. Yahweh is God’s “personal” or “proper” name. Just like my proper name is “Kyle”, God’s proper name is “Yahweh.” So the person speaking is not saying in a generic since that he is Lord. He is saying he is THE Lord. The God of heaven and earth.
And then, just in case they forgot, he reminds them what he did for them. He tells them he brought them out of Egypt. Out of the land of slavery and into the land of freedom.
Now why is all of this important to know before giving the Ten Commandments? In essence, verse 2 is his credentials. He didn’t need to, but he generously reminded them, “Hey, the one who is giving these rules, he is THE ONE you should be listening to!”
Israel heard what he said, but they did not listen to it. Very soon after, the nation would be entangled in continual sin.
But what about you? Just like back in Exodus 20, God is still THE God. He is still the most important person to listen to in the midst of all the noise and messages out there. He is the one who brought you out of spiritual slavery (if you have put your faith in him), or he is the one who CAN bring you out of slavery (if you put your faith in him now).
The short: God is still God. And he is still worthy of our attention and obedience. Let’s give him that today!