The Thanksgiving Lifestyle (Deuteronomy 5:6-21)

Deuteronomy 5:6-21 is the second telling of what we call the Ten Commandments.  The preface shows us that the reason the people were to strive to do all of the commandments was because they were grateful for salvation from Egypt, the house of slavery.  The commandment to observe the Sabbath day applies this principle to the Sabbath as verse 15 says, “You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and YHWH your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”  Thus the main reason for public worship is to remember our salvation with thanksgiving.  But this is true for all of the commandments — we are to strive to do them each and every day between Sabbaths out of thanksgiving to God for our salvation.  And we have a greater salvation than from Egypt, the house of slavery — we have been saved from our place of exile from God, we have been saved from slavery to sin.  Thus because the salvation in Christ that the exodus pointed toward has come, we have even greater reason to give thanks.  Thanksgiving should be our lifestyle as Christians, not just a day we observe once per year.

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