Exodus 18-21:21

The narrative tone shifts suddenly from "I, the Lord, am your healer" to "I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God." It feels very much like God the Parent laying down rules for His children. I recognize that the Ten Commandments have a depth and resonance that has made them timeless guides, so I am not trying to diminish them, but I guess it is more the tone of the whole passage. God lays down rules and establishes boundaries--literally in some respects when He lays out the point beyond which the Hebrews many not venture near Mt. Sinai. He is very prescriptive, setting out His expectations for the way the Israelites must live in their new land. It is both literal and metaphorical as He establishes a new people, a new nation, in a new land. His expectations deal less with how the Israelites are to deal with God, and more about they will live with and treat each other. Similarly, I live out my love for God, my devotion to Him or lack of it, primarily in the way I treat others and myself, the way I treat the least of my brothers as it were.