Exodus 20: 1 – 26
The Ten Suggestions
20 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “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; 5 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, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 “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. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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. 11 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. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “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.” 18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. 22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. 25 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. 26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’
No I am not talking about a new music group. I am talking about what most Christians call today in place of God’s original title – The Ten Commandments. I think you will find it interesting that the Commandments of our Precious Holy Adoni Yahweh are not all followed today. There are various reasons given for this sin. First of all you may yourself say that these are not for us today. They are just for the Jews. Oh Really? Then I guess it is okay to kill or steal, or commit adultery. I hear your response, ‘Well no, we can’t do those sins.’ So, are we today supposed to pick and choose which ones we are to obey and which ones we are to reject as not being applicable to us?
Another statement I heard is that we are New Testament saints so we do not have to follow the 10 Commandments. A verse that they like to use for this position is from the book of Romans chapter 6 verse 14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Now take a look again at this verse. Is it saying that you do not have to obey God’s Commandments?
What does the Bible have to say about this? First of all let us jump back a few chapters to read the advice of the Apostle Paul. In chapter 3 of Romans we read this, “19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
The 10 Commandments were given to us by our Holy Supreme Adoni Yahweh, to show us our sinfulness. On our own we cannot keep these 10 Commandments. Therefore, our Righteous Sovereign Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High Is Just to Judge us. Our Master and Lord Yeshua was the only One Who was able to keep all of God’s standards. Our Holy Precious King did not come to do away with the law but to fulfill the law as the book of Matthew chapter teaches us, ““Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
By placing our entire lives and faith in the Holy Lamb of God enables us to be eternally forgiven for all our sins and He equips us to obey His Commandments as the book of Romans chapter 2 points out, “12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13 (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”
So, as you can see we have a lot to cover so let’s jump right into today’s scripture.
20 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “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; 5 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, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 “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. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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. 11 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.
As promised our Holy Father God Yahweh speaks to Moses from the cloud which is on the mountain (verse 16) in full hearing of the people, while Moses stands among them. With these words Israel becomes a nation in its own right, a nation with Yahweh as Lord. They become ‘a kingdom’, a theocracy where God Is king and they are designated to become a kingdom of priests. The scope of the covenant is huge and its moral content unique.
The basic principle behind these first commandments is a simple one. It is that our God Yahweh Is Supreme, and that to try to depict Him in any heavenly or earthly form would be to debase Him and misrepresent Him, because He Is over, above and beyond all such representation, indeed such misrepresentation could only be seen as blasphemy. These requirements reveal Him as the active and powerful living God Who Is over all, invisible and unlimited in any way and beyond representation. This latter fact is late emphasized by the mercy seat on the Ark where Yahweh will be seen as sometimes invisibly present.
Thus we may see the covenant as demonstrating:
. That God Is the Redeemer and Deliverer from the bondage of Egypt, thereby proving His superiority to what the nations saw as the mighty gods of Egypt (verse 2).
. That God Is not of this universe. There is no representation in heaven and earth that can depict Him (verse 4).
. That He has deep concern (jealousy) that men should recognize His uniqueness (verse 5).
. That He Is the moral Judge of the world, calling all into account (verse 5-6).
. That His Name, revealing His nature, is to be treated with the utmost reverence because of Who He Is (verse 7).
. That He Is the Creator of Heaven and earth and all that is in them (verse 11).
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
The idea of the honoring (among other things by obedience) of parents was especially strong in patriarchal tribes. The whole basis of their society was founded on it. Without it the system would falter. To refuse to honor father and mother was to refuse to honor the tribe or to honor God. That is probably why this commandment is placed among the first group of five dealing with a man’s relationship to Yahweh. The father and mother stood in the place of God. They were special evidence that they were unique and set apart as His.
The reward for such obedience would be a long life in the God-given land that was yet to be theirs. Some see this as meaning that if Israel as a whole honor their parents then their occupation of the land will also be long. But it certainly includes long life for individuals. Honoring of parents contributes to length of days, and length of days is a sign of God’s blessing.
In verses 13 through 17 we are taught about mankind’s responsibility towards God for his and her neighbor. These commands are absolute. They reveal the sanctity in God’s eyes of a man’s right to fair treatment by his neighbor in all spheres of his life. They are given in the form of a direct command that must be obeyed. Later on penalties for breach of these commands will be outlined, but here the concentration is on what God requires and expects of His people. There is no lessening of that demand. It is sinful man who says, ‘what will happen to me if I do this?’ and God was requiring them not to be sinful.
Some commentators lay stress on the fact that these are negative commandments. But while that is true we must recognize what negative commandments are. What they are really saying is that Israel may live their lives freely and positively, although with the few exceptions then given. On the whole then the thought is positive. It is the exceptions that determine the wideness or otherwise of the rule, and these leave wide scope for positive living. The exceptions simply put certain limitations on excessive behavior.
13 “You shall not murder.
This commandment upholds the sanctity of human life. But as given it has nothing to do with killing in war (a different Hebrew word is always used for that) or the death penalty. Both were sanctioned in the detailed enactments of the Law. The principle of a life for a life held firm (21.23), although in the end it was deliberate premeditated murder that demanded the full consequences so that there was no sanctuary for such a murderer (21.14). The commandment meant no killing apart from judicial killing and the right to defend one’s own life and the lives of one’s family and people. But defense of one’s person or family or land from those who would themselves kill or capture was considered good reason within the law for killing. So was protection of property where the killing occurred during the process of the theft, especially at night (22.2).
It was therefore recognized that a family had a responsibility to avenge the death of a another member of the family. It was a life for a life. That is why ‘cities of refuge’ were arranged where those who had killed, but not deliberately, could flee for protection. No one could be slain in a city of refuge, but the ‘avengers of blood’ had the right to ask for their expulsion if they could prove that they were guilty of deliberate murder.
The forbidding of killing necessarily included the forbidding of the intent to kill, as the principle behind the tenth commandment brings out, and our Lord Jesus expanded this to include destructive anger and contempt against another (Matthew 5.21-22)
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
This commandment upholds the sanctity of the marriage relationship. To make love to another man’s wife or betrothed was absolutely forbidden. Later this would be expanded to allow the death penalty for the offence (Leviticus 20.10), but we need not doubt that it was already so. It was seen as expunging evil (Deuteronomy 22.22). The wife too was to be put to death and a betrothed woman if she was a willing participant (Deuteronomy 22.22-24). This was on the basis that while a wife would not be away from the protection of her husband, a betrothed may be. There were lesser penalties where the woman was not married or betrothed because then the sealed marriage bond was not broken. Marriage and betrothal were seen as resulting in a sacred bond.
15 “You shall not steal.
It must be remembered in all these cases that there were no reliable prisons. It was death or fine, and in the case of murder or adultery a fine was not seen as sufficient. These cases struck at the very heart of God.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
This commandment especially upholds the sanctity of the courts of justice. It refers to giving false testimony in a court of law, or in any situation where a man’s life or reputation could be at stake. If proved the punishment was that which the innocent man would have suffered had he been found guilty, which could include death (Deuteronomy 19.16-21). But it also includes the attacking of another by lies (Proverbs 6.19). The thought is that dishonesty that harms another, whether by libel or slander or whispering, is abhorrent to God.
17 “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.”
This reaffirms the sanctity of a man’s wife and possessions. It is in fact the corollary of all that has been said. All the previous commandments have dealt with men’s actions. Here God probes to the heart, the spring from which the actions come. A man is not even to consider attempting to take such things away from his neighbor. Such an attitude of heart and mind is against the covenant. This remarkable law applies personally and inwardly. It could often not be judged by outsiders. But each person was to recognize that it would be judged by God. God would know. It reveals that every man is responsible for his thoughts as well as his actions. The positive side will later be ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Leviticus 19.18). God is inculcating an open and honest attitude towards one’s neighbor without deceit or guile or envy, because in the end all belongs to God and He gives as He will.
For it is not only the object of coveting who can be hurt by coveting. Coveting hurts the coveter. It is destructive of all that is good. It proceeds from and distorts the heart, causes unrest and trouble within, and produces sin, which comes to completion in the act (James 1.14-15).
Achan was the perfect example of how coveting takes possession of a man by stages. ‘I saw -- I coveted -- I took’, and it finally destroyed him (Joshua 7.21). Proverbs 21.26 contrasts the greedy coveter with the generous giver, the one totally inward looking and turned in on himself, the other outward going and generous and open. The coveter ignores God’s requirements and God’s word, ‘incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness’ (Psalm 119.36). Hebrews summed it up in another way, ‘Be content with such things as you have’ The one who is content is at peace, but the coveter finds no rest. Indeed covetousness is described as a form of idolatry (Ephesians 5.5), and keeps a man from God (1 Timothy 6.10).
A man’s house and wife were of equal importance as against the rest, as is proved by the fact that they were the only two governed directly by a verb. His house was his possession in the land and included his land. It was the mainstay of his family life. It was his inheritance. His wife was a part of himself. But in the end all that truly belonged to him was sacrosanct.
Please take note that this is the only commandment where the verb is repeated. In a sense it parallels the verbs in ‘you shall not bow down to them nor serve them’ (20.3). It has double intensity. Such was God’s warning against covetousness.
This passage immediately follows the glorious and awesome experience that has been theirs in the proclamation of Yahweh’s covenant. The people are trembling in fear, and are not sure that they can bear any more such experiences of Yahweh. So in it Yahweh gently brings them down to earth and assures them that that they need not be afraid.
18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
It would appear that the people heard the thunder but did not understand what God had been saying. We can compare with this John 12.28-29 where again the voice was heard but the people did not understand. But they were very much aware of the external signs. They heard the thunder and the trumpet sound; they saw the lightning and the smoke. And they were afraid. Those who had been growing bolder now cowered back trembling, and drew away. They no longer wanted to climb the mount.
We note that at this stage no response is required to the covenant. They have already made their choice in response to a shortened form of the covenant (19.8). Now the more detail has been laid out with no choice available, although final response will come later once they know the full terms (24.1-11).
19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
So great was the effect that they no longer wanted even to hear the voice of God. They were terrified and pleaded to be spared such an ordeal. Rather let Moses be God’s mouthpiece. They did not want to go through another experience like the one they had just been through. For their fuller speech see Deuteronomy 5.24-27.
The use of the term God is significant. It is the awesomeness and the otherness that has impacted on them. They recognize that they are dealing with the God of all things.
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
Moses tried to calm their fears. He pointed out that the purpose of God in what they had experienced was to test their obedience, whether they would respond to His covenant or not, and to make them aware of His awesome presence so that they would not fall short of His requirements. If they obeyed Him they would have nothing to fear. This was Yahweh’s third ‘proving’ of their obedience.
God wanted them ever to remember what they had seen of His awesome presence so that fear and awe of Him might be constantly before them lest they treat His words lightly. He was giving them every chance.
As a result of God’s awesome appearance ‘The people stood afar off.’ They no longer wanted even to approach the mount, and retired to the entrance to their tents (Deuteronomy 5.30). This was in stark contrast to Moses who advanced into the thick darkness to meet with God. For Moses was unafraid. He responded to God’s command and entered God’s temporary abode
Now in view of their fears, and the commands that He has given in 20.3-5, our Holy God Yahweh now makes provision for their worship. They are to recognize what they have seen of His heavenly nature (23) and, avoiding earthly non-gods, realize that they must not try to climb to heaven by having steps to their altars and thus expose themselves for what they are (26). Rather they are to use basic natural materials through which to worship Him, whether of earth or un-hewn stone. But they are only to do this in the places where He records His name, and there He will come and bless them.
These promises are basic to their future welfare and their special distinction comes out in that 21.1 make a slight separation of this ‘law’ from the ones that follow. The others deal with behavior towards men until we come to the Sabbath and the feasts. This deals with behavior towards God and covers the first two commandments.
22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.
Our Holy Yahweh wants to remind the people through Moses that, although they had not understood His words, He had spoken to them from heaven. Whether Moses has yet told them of the content of His words we do not know. But Yahweh now gives further instruction to back up the covenant and warns them to take heed to the lesson of Who and What He Is. He has spoken to them from heaven. Gods of silver and gods of gold might seem impressive but they must recognize them for what they are, earthly and ineffective. They are made to put on a show but are worthless underneath. Thus they are incompatible with Him. It is quite possible that He knows that what they have seen at the mount has interrupted ideas for false future worship which have been lingering in their minds. So He confirms the position immediately. He Is dealing with one of the major problems that would continually face them, and that was rooted in many of their hearts. Many would never feel quite at home without idols to lean on. Idols required no effort, were morally undemanding and helped to satisfy their need to worship without interfering in their lives.
24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. 25 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.
If they have in mind to worship Him, rather than making silver and gold images they must build an altar made of earth or un-hewn stones, natural materials just as they are, without embellishment or pretence. What they worship through is not to be something made by man’s artifice or which man’s tools have touched. Nothing that they make can be worthy of Him or rightly depict Him. It must be made of materials in their raw state as God made them. And there they may offer their whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
We must take our warning from this that the more ornate the means by which we approach God; the less likely they are to result in genuine worship. We begin to be more aware of our surroundings than we are of God, and to limit God to physical things.
But this making of an altar must only be done under His instruction at each place. Then He will come to them and bless them. At this stage they are on the move. There is no central sanctuary apart from the camp sanctuary. But take note that they may not publicly worship just anywhere, only in ‘the places’ that He chooses.
‘We see Whole burnt offerings and peace offerings.’ The former were wholly burnt up as a sacrifice to Yahweh (the word means ‘that which goes up’), the latter could be partaken of at a feast after they have offered the blood.
‘If you lift your tool on it you have polluted it.’ Anything man made or fashioned cannot reflect the ‘wholly other’. He is not of this world and therefore anything used in His worship must be in its raw state as God made it.
Thus does He bring home the lesson against idolatry and any man made aid to worship.
26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’
Canaanite and other altars were often built on raised platforms (‘high places’) and had to be approached via steps. They may well have seen these as representing the mountains of the gods and seen themselves as entering there. But this is not to be so with them. A simple earthen or stone altar on the level ground is all that is required for they cannot enter into heaven itself to worship God, and therefore such an attempt would be futile. Thus they must not build altars with steps, and ‘go up by steps to My altar’.
Any such attempt would be the utmost foolishness. It would result in their total nakedness being uncovered. This probably refers back to Adam and Eve who ‘knew that they were naked’ before God. In other words in their rebellion their whole lives were revealed to God. The same may happen to the children of Israel if they seek to climb into heaven or enter into the world of man-made images, of false religion and of idolatry. They will become naked before Him. It would not be showing respect to God.
It is often asked in what relationship the Christian stands to the covenant made at Sinai. The answer lies in considering what kind of covenant this was. For the covenant at Sinai was not a covenant of Law, it was one of grace. God did not approach His people on condition that they would agree to follow Him. He carried out His saving act through love and mercy, and then called them into His covenant as an act of love (Deuteronomy 7.6-8), in the same way as today, having carried out His saving work in Jesus Christ, He calls us into the new covenant through His blood (Mark 14.24). And just as they responded, so must we respond,.
The Ten Commandments revealed what God was like and what God required. They are just as binding today as they ever were, and our Lord Jesus made clear in Matthew 5 that His disciples were expected to fulfill them. But the point that God stresses, and that was equally true for Israel then, is that neither they nor we can be saved by obeying them. Rather we receive them, just as they did, because we have been saved. In their case their salvation was expressed through offerings and sacrifices, and the ministry of their priests, and by a mighty physical deliverance. In ours because we have a better sacrifice and a better High Priest Who has made for us a way back to God, our salvation is revealed by that. But once we are His we are as much bound to do His will as Israel was.
So yes, we are responsible to keep all God’s covenant, except in so far as any of it has been superseded, and then it is not that we do not keep it, but that we keep it in its better fulfillment. We do not see ourselves as requiring to be circumcised, because we have been circumcised in Christ. We do not see ourselves as bound to offer the sacrifices because our great High Priest has offered the greater sacrifice on our behalf. We do not look to earthly priests because we have one great High Priest Who fulfils all necessary priestly functions on our behalf, apart from the functions of prayer and praise which He calls on all who are His to perform. We do not carry out the harshest prescriptions of the Law because they have been tempered with mercy and we have new ways of punishment which were not available then. But we still recognize the guilt of them and that they must be punished at the last.
