THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (EXODUS 20:1-17)
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Marvin and Tina were not a very religious couple but tried their best; they only went to church once a year. As they were leaving the church, the priest said, “Marvin, it sure would be nice to see you and Tina at Mass more than once a year”
“I know,” replied Marvin, “We’re very busy people, leading active lives but at least we keep the Ten Commandments”
“That’s great,” the priest said. “I’m glad to hear that you keep the Commandments.”
“Yes, we sure do” Marvin said proudly, “Tina keeps six of them and I keep the other four”.
The Protestant version of the Ten Commandments are similar to the Jewish version, whereas the Catholic version combines the first two commandments and separate the last one into two – covet another person’s wife and covet goods. The Ten Commandments are universal, unchanging but unpopular, as Ted Turner once remarked, “Nobody likes to be commanded. Commandments are out!” It is, however, meant for all humanity, all cultures and all ages because it is basic, beneficial and befitting to a society.
What kind of a society do you prefer to live in? Do you want to be governed? How would you like to be treated? Why is God’s rule better and not worse for relationships?
Deepen Reverence for God
1 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
During the tenure of the great orator Henry Ward Beecher, a visiting
minister once substituted for the popular pastor. A large audience had already assembled to hear Beecher, and when the substitute pastor stepped into the pulpit, several disappointed listeners began to move toward the exits. That's when the minister stood and said loudly, “All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church. All who have come to worship God keep your seats!”
“Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own.” Harold Coffin
The joke goes like this: A group of computer geniuses get together to build the world's largest, most powerful thinking machine. They program it with the latest heuristic software so it can learn, then feed into it the total sum of mankind's knowledge from every source-historical, scientific, technical, literary, mythical, religious, occult. Then, at the great unveiling, the group leader feeds the computer its first question:
“Is there a god?”
“There is now,” the computer replies.
The title and relationship “the Lord your God” (first commandment) was officially announced after God saved the Israelites from the Egyptians who drowned in the sea, and this is only the second time it’s been mentioned in the book of Exodus, and as much as five times in the chapter. (vv 2, 5, 7, 10, 12) Before God gave Israel his commandments, His utmost concern was His relationship to them - who He was rather than what they did.
You shall have no other gods (v 3, second commandment) because He is the Lord of salvation. He is thy God and He is a jealous God (v 5), jealous being passionate, personal and possessive of His people whom He saved. He does not tolerate competition, comparisons and compromises.
Other gods (v 3) are no more than an image (v 4) – a grave image (KJV), a carved image (ESV) or an idol (NASB) – be it of wood, stone or plastic. An image (v 4) occurs for the first time in the Bible. An image can be an object, a thing or a statute. An idol is impersonal, immobile and idle. An idol is given more power, personality and priority because of its control, command and clout over unbelievers’ lives. An idol bcan be an animal, a person or any possession you hold most dear, most precious and most beloved in your life that it becomes a false god.
Bow down (v 5) is worship (Gen 22:5), head (Ex 12:27), fall flat (Num 22:31), crouch (1 Sam 2:36), do reverence (2 Sam 9:6), humbly beseech (2 Sam 16:4) and fall down (Isa 45:14), while the last verb “worship” (v 5) is the traditional word for “serve.”
Make (v 4)
Bow down (v 5)
Worship (v 5)
Portray
Prostrate
Praise
Another translation for hate (v 5) is enemy (Prov 25:21, 27:6). God considers idolatrous people as arrogant, affluent and authoritative people who disdain and disrespect Him, who disparage and discredit Him, who disobey and dismiss Him. On the other hand, God will manifest His goodness, grace and guidance to all who love Him and listen to Him.
Misuse (v 7, third commandment) is take in vain or false (Ex 23:1). It is to misrepresent Him, mislead others or manage Him. Some people invoke His name as a profane, pointless, patronizing, perverse or provocative expression.
Guiltless (v 7) is clear (Gen 24:8), free (Num 5:19), blameless (Judg 15:3), acquit (Job 10:14) and innocent (Ps 19:13). It means to be free from chastisement, censure and condemnation.
Keep holy (v 8, fourth commandment) means to be sanctified, separated and surrendered for His entire, exclusive. and endearing use. Rest (v 11) does not mean being inactive or idle, ignoring others needs, like the Pharisees. Rest means time for reverence, reflection, reinvigoration, relationships and recreation.
Develop Relationship with Parents
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Mom: Does it look like I’m made of money?
Son: “Isn’t that what M.O.M
Here are some acronyms for M.O.M.”
Multitasking, Overworked Magician
Master of Multitasking
Month on Month
Must Obey Me
Made of Miracles (Yap)
Here are some acronyms for D.A.D:
Daring, Amazing, Delightful
Defend and Defy
Delay and Doze
Drinking and Driving/Drunk and Disorderly
Done and Dusted
Honor (v 12, fifth commandment) is the heaviest word in the passage because it literally means “heavy” and, surprisingly, is the only imperative the passage – the others are “You shall….” statements, which is why the fifth commandment is called the first commandment with a promise (Eph 6:2). Honor means rich (Gen 13:2), grievous (Gen 18:20), glorify (Lev 10:3), heavy (1 Sam 5:6) and even noble or nobility (Ps 149:8) It is in your attitude and action, your availability, your attention and your affection to your parents.
Long (v 12) does not mean your longevity but how lasting, level and livable a civilization is. Parents, and seniors as a whole, are the conscience, the companions and contributors of society. They are the fabric, the framework and the future of society.
Without parents, the young have no esteem, no example or expectations –there is none around to challenge and cajole them to strive and succeed. Parents prompt their kids to do better, pick them up when they fall and part with them when they’re adults or autonomous. Because of that the Bible tells us to honor them in word and deed for their support, sacrifices and struggles.
Demonstrate Righteousness to Others
13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Murder (6th commandment)
Creation care
Children of God
Whole life
Sanctity of life Respect Worth uphold peace Neighbor Care civility conscience companionship creation
Priority of Life
Depersonalization
Destruction
death
Commit adultery (7th commandment)
Core value
Divide life; People
Marriage A
support Community confidentiality
Covenant
Purity of the body
Dishonor
Distrust
decadence
dipossession
Steal (8th commandment)
Roof; Property
Not work
Share
Community contribution
Providing for Others
Ability
Lazy
Give false testimony (9th commandment)
Character First
Reputation
Hear (Job 30:20(, give account (Job 33:13),
Brought low (Isa 25:5)
False:
In vain (1 Sam 25:21), lying (1 Kings 22:22), wrongfully (Ps 35:19)
Deception
Covet (10th commandment)
Lust
Contentment
Craving
Pleasant (Gen 2:9), desired (Gen 3:6), precious (2 Chron 20:25), beauty (Ps 39:11), lust (Prov 6:25), great delight (Song 2:3),
greatly beloved (Dan 9:23), pleasant things (Dan 11:38)
The equivalent for “murder” is kill or slay (sixth commandment). It is the taking of a person’s life, including homicide, suicide, abortion, euthanasia. We are here on earth to enable, embrace and empower lives, not end, exterminate or extinguish lives. We have no moral authority to cause death because of the source of life - God, the sanctity of life – personal and precious - and the sharing of lives (others) – from friends to family who missed the deceased, so it is naturally placed next to “honor your parents,” the ones who will miss and mourn the deceased the most.
In adultery (seventh commandment), unlike fornication, one of the adulterers is married people. Adultery is an act of deception, depravity and disloyalty. It is immoral, insensitive and irreversible, if not irreconcilable. The untold damage to the victim is in the emotional, psychological, mental, domestic and social toll.
A global survey across 40 countries reveals that 78% of respondents worldwide suggest that extramarital affairs are morally unacceptable. A 2016 survey, however, suggested that in more than one-third of marriages, one or both spouses commit adultery. https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/world-agrees-adultery-while-prevalent-wrong
Theft (eighth commandment) – ranges from violence (robbery) or no violence (fraud) and from blue-collar to white-collar - including for instance petty theft (lacerny), identity theft, employee theft, internal theft, auto theft, snatch theft and even animal theft! Theft is to obtain something by unlawful, illegal and illegitimate means.
The roots of theft can be traced to poverty issues, personal greed, peer problems, professional jobs, psychological issue or greed, philosophical or political agendas.
False (v 9) is translated as lie (1 Sam 15:29) and fail (Ps 89:33). None of the translations use the word “lie” because lie is in the intention. False is untrue, unproven, unfounded, uninformed and unsubstantiated
Here are some reminders:
If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything. Mark Twain
Regardless of how far a person runs, a lie will eventually catch up to them. —Donald L. Hicks
Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others. Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Covet (v 17) means pleasant (Gen 2:9), desire (Deut 5:21), precious (2 Chron 20:25), beauty (Ps 39:11), delight (Prov 1:22) and lust (Prov 6:25). Covet is not in the attaining but in the attraction, not in the acquisition but in the adulation, and not in the activity but in the attitude. It is the greed, the gluttony and the gain in the heart.
Conclusion: The New Testament has changed how we see the Ten Commandments. First, learn a trade. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. (Eph 4:29)
“Why did the foreman fire you?”
“Well, the foreman is the man who stands around and watches others work.”
“Yes, but why did he fire you?”
“He got jealous of me. A lot of the fellows thought I was the foreman!”
Second, look inside yourself. Jesus said, “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt 5:28)
Third, love your neighbor. Paul summed up the negative “you shall not” commandments in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Rom 13:9)
