Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, October 11, 2026
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The Ten Commandments were God’s gift of early governance to a displaced and weary people. We are in an era when society is being dismantled, and we have an opportunity to lean on God to help reshape what this world can be.
When the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, they had never really had an opportunity to govern themselves. They were subject to the will and laws of Egypt. And while they likely had rules and norms that guided them amongst themselves, the forming of this new society was on a whole other level.
The people were given the incredible opportunity to build a society from scratch. They could decide who and how they wanted to be. Wisely, they leaned into their identity as God’s chosen and allowed God to shape who and what they would become. God gave them an initial set of laws to cover the basic needs of a displaced people. They would love and serve God. They would respect their parents, their neighbors, property, and even life itself. God then went on as recorded in further chapters to spell out exactly how they would adhere to these laws, how they would enforce them, and the consequences for failing to do so. With God’s guidance, they created a societal structure that would endure.
Today we are in a precarious time regarding the rules, norms, and laws of society. In the US, the entire government has undergone a dramatic shift away from the laws and norms we had come to expect, and we have not yet entered the era when the rebuilding can begin. It’s important to acknowledge that, whatever one’s ideology, the drastic and rapid change has been destabilizing for most of us. Hold space for your congregation to grieve what was, even as we look toward the future and dream of what could be.
Take this opportunity to dream big about who and how you want to be. Ask yourselves if you, like the Israelites, will lean into your identity as God’s children and allow God to shape the world in God’s image; a world in which all people are free, equal, respected, safe, fed, clothed, sheltered, cared for, and in community. Consider what you could do now to move in the direction of shaping a world that you can be proud of.
