The epic movie The Ten Commandments was one of the most popular movies of all times. The actual ten commandments, well they are not as popular. Even if they are not as popular as the movie, the ten commandments are epic just the same.
The setting is back at Mount Sinai where Moses received his burning bush call. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. (Exodus 3:2).
It is the same location but now a year has passed from the burning bush call. It was nine months from the burning bush to the Exodus and then three months from the Exodus to Mount Sinai. What a year, the ten plagues of Egypt, the Passover, the parting of the Red Sea, Bitter water to sweet water miracle, the battle with the Amalekites, Jethro’s visit and water from the rock.
The Israelites stayed camped at Mount Sinai for almost one year. Chapter 19 of Exodus describes the great and awesome worship experience there.
God reminds his people of their covenant. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, (Exodus 19:5)
The duty of the Israelites is to keep the ten commandments. They sealed this with blood. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” (Exodus 24:6-7)
In Exodus 20 God gave the ten commandments orally to the people. No stone tablets yet.
• You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
• You shall not make for yourself an image. (Exodus 20:4)
• You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God (Exodus 20:7)
• Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8-11)
• Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12)
• You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
• You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
• You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
• You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16)
• You shall not covet (Exodus 20:17)
After this oral giving of the ten commandments Moses was on Mount Siani for forty days with God. There was an expanding of the law, instructions regarding the priesthood and the Tabernacle. We find this in Exodus chapters 21-31. Moses received the tablets of stone that were broken on the sight of the golden calf.
In chapter 19 before the giving of the ten commandments the Israelites heard God speak from Mount Siani. It put the fear of God in them. The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said. (Exodus 19:9).
Everyone trembled as they stood at the base of Mount Siani. On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled (Exodus 19:16).
The commandments are listed in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. There are two tablets of the ten commandments. The first are the God and Man relationship and the second are the man-to-man relationship. Our relationship with God effects our relationship with people.
Man relating to God
• You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
• You shall not make for yourself an image. (Exodus 20:4)
• You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God (Exodus 20:7)
• Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8-11)
Man relating to man
• Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12)
• You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
• You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
• You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
• You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16)
• You shall not covet (Exodus 20:17)
1. You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 19:3)
There is only one worthy of worship. That is God almighty. Let nothing else have the first priority of our lives we are to give to God. What an experience of worship the Israelites have had in Exodus 19. They had the fear of God in them and for the moment they know there is no other God, like God almighty.
2. You shall not make for yourself an image. (Exodus 19:4)
Making an image to represent the likeness of God dishonors Him. The second commandment is to make no image of stone or wood. There is no room for worshiping statues. God is Spirit and truth.
Archaeologists have never found any picture, image or other visual representations of Israel’s God in any excavation. That does not mean that the Israelites did not immediately break this commandment. They could not have broken it worse when they molded and worshiped the golden calf while Moses was on the mountain receiving the ten commandments.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God (Exodus 20:7)
The Jews did not even pronounce the name of the Lord because it was so holy. We are not to use the name of the Lord in a careless way. We are not to use the name of the Lord like we do profanity. We are not to make a vow in the Lord’s name and break it. If we are followers of Christ we bear the name of Christ. If we live an ungodly lifestyle we are profaning, misusing the name of the Lord.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (Exodus 20:8-11)
Saturday is the Sabbath day for the Israelites. It is their set apart day of worship. After the resurrection of Christ on a Sunday then Sunday became the day of worship for Christians. The word sabbath means rest. This law is rooted in creation where God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day.
5. Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12)
Family values have been on the heart of God and foundation of Israel. We are to respect and honor our mother and father. Children obey your parents "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." (Ephesians 6:1). The parents nurtured and cared for their children when they were too young to care for themselves. With time the roles are reversed, and children care for their parents.
6. You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
Human life is sacred. We are created in the image of God. Only God is to take that life. We should resist and even oppose any philosophy that undercuts the value of human life. Jesus expanded the do not murder to do not hate. He also gave the solution to murder and hate. The solution is love. There must be a respect for human life.
7. You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
There is a sacred honor of marriage. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) Adultery violates God’s plan of marriage. God’s plan is for one man and one woman to be joined together. Sexual purity, that is sex in the context of marriage is the only plan in the will of God.
8. You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
Taking anything that belongs to another is wrong. There is a respect for another person’s property. When someone has something stolen, they feel violated. The Bible protects the property owned from theft.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16)
Thou shall not lie. To speak a false charge against a neighbor is a violation of the ninth command. Our speech is meant to be used for good. Not to harm others. The tongue can be a fire for destruction if there is false testimony. When there is gossip and slander it can destroy another.
10. You shall not covet (Exodus 20:17)
There should be no wrong desire for that which belongs to someone else. The New Testament goes beyond action to what is happening in the heart. Greed, selfishness, and pride are an affront to God. We are called to think of giving not getting.
If you have broken even one commandment even one time you have broken them all. We do not receive salvation through the law. That comes by faith in Christ. That is why Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
How do we sum up the ten commandments? It is with the great commandment. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40).
It is so helpful for us to see what is behind each of the commandments. We do not kill because the value of human life is the principle behind that. We do not commit adultery because the value of a God honoring marriage is behind that. But Jesus said, if you love me obey my commandments.
