The Three Ten Commandments

THE THREE TEN COMMANDMENTS

By Marc Heatherington

The Ten Commandments were given to Moses three times. The first time, the Ten Commandments were first spoken by God in Exodus 20:1-17.

And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

These were given to Moses orally. At this point, they were not written down on a scroll or stone.

The second time, the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on two tablets of stone.

And when He (God) had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Ex 31:18.

This set of stone commandments was broken by Moses when he brought them down from the mountain and found the Israelites worshiping a golden calf. The third time, God gave Moses a second set of the 10 commandments on stone. .

And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.” So, he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. Exodus 34:1-4

Why would God present the Ten Commandments three times? The scriptures don’t answer this question. But Jesus said the scripture speak of Him. The three presentations of the Ten Commandments do give us a picture of Christ.

In the first presentation, the commandments are given by the spoken word. This represents the prophecies of Christ. Without any physical presentation, holiness is spoken to Israel.

In the second presentation, the commandments are engraved on two tablets. When Moses sent down to present them to the Israelites, he found them worshiping a golden idol, and involved in sexual immorality. A sinning people were confronted by the holy law. And here we have a picture of Christ. Moses broke the stones, which represent Jesus Christ dying for our sins.

In the third presentation, the Ten Commandments are rewritten on stone. This time, they are placed, and hidden inside the Ark of the Covenant. This represents the resurrection of Christ, who rose from the dead, and was taken up to heaven. He now sits in heaven on God’s throne, where we can’t see Him.