Law is Coeval. Or God is not arbitrary and harsh

so I've been terrible at updating this thing. and I am sorry. And I really haven't been writing much, ok anything at all, about what we've been learning in school. That is not because we aren't learning anything, it's because we are learning so much that I don't even know where to start. So.. I'll start here and we'll see what happens.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourselves any idols
3. You shall not use the name of the Lord, your God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

My Reading Class (Kindergarten) children are learning the 10 commandments and are going to recite them this Thursday night at our spring program. Words cannot describe how proud of them I am.

The Ten Commandments are a huge part of a key foundational truth that I have learned this year. I've always known that these were God's laws and that they were designed for right living. But as to why God picked these 10, I didn't have a very good idea. It seemed that He was God and He picked them, so that ought to be good enough. In my mind, these laws came into being on Mt.Sinai in Exodus when God gave Moses the tablets. But... that is not where they begin.

We have learned that God's law is coeval. Coeval (co-evil for pronunciation) means "brought into existence at the same time as" something. God's law is coeval with the creation of man. It is not a cause/effect thing, and these laws aren't just the arbitrary will of God. They are the description of how we are designed to live. For example, a car engine is designed to use oil. It's not some clever marketing trick by the oil companies, that they threw into the owner's manual of each car, it is the design of the car. A car can run without oil, but not for long. Just as we can live contrary to our design, seemingly with no side affects. For a while. And then... things deteriorate. I love how much more I see God's heart in these commands; how I can see that He isn't harsh and arbitrary, but He truly loves us and wants the best for us. This is the super condensed version, so hopefully that makes sense.