As we continue our summer series, “Classic Chapters of The Bible,” we come to one of the most discussed chapters of the Bible. Its content deals with personal beliefs and behaviors that are assumed by many to be important ones and have been foundational to our thinking and way of life in this country. However, the challenge of this chapter is in the practice of them. The chapter is Exodus 20 and the content of the chapter are the Ten Commandments.
Sometime back I shared with you a statement from a book on preaching which underlined the importance of the spoken word. It was something to the effect that in preaching pastors have the ability to create worlds or tear them down. I am never more aware of this truth than when I preach from a passage like this because the words of such chapters place us under the microscope of the Holy Spirit – and that is both a blessing as well as a discomforting thing.
I want us this morning to hear God’s word to us on these very important matters. These ten phrases have deep and profound implications for us today. May we hear the voice of God this morning.
I recently received an e-mail that contained the cowboy’s version of the Ten Commandments as they appear at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie, Texas: (Overhead 1)
(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma &Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin’.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin’ before God.
(6) No foolin’ around with another fellow’s gal.
(7) No killin’.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don’t take what ain’t yers.
(10) Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff.
Of course our children have some unique perspectives on the Ten Commandments as well. For example, a Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her 5 and 6 year-olds. After explaining the commandment "Honor thy Father and thy mother," she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" Without missing a beat one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill."
Before we examine them more closely, there is some background information that we need to have from a couple of directions so that we can better understand these important words of God. The first piece of information has to due with the nature of the Ten Commandments. (Overhead 2)
What are the Ten Commandments? Are they law like we think of law? Are they rules of conduct that we must abide by? Or are they something else?
I agree with Gordon Wenham when he says, “The Ten Commandments should … be looked on as a statement of basic religious and ethical principles rather than as a code of law.” He comes to this conclusion by pointing out two important things. First, “no human penalties are specified for their transgression; rather divine curses are pronounced on those who break certain of the laws, and blessings are promised to those who keep them.” Second, “It is misleading to describe the {Ten Commandments} as Israel’s criminal law, for it is not a list of offences that the state would itself prosecute, let alone for which it would always exact the death penalty.”
What does this suggest? It seems that the Ten Commandments are not “law” that we think of when we think of “law.” The Ten Commandments are God’s precise expectations for people who choose to follow Him.
A second piece of background information is an acquaintance with other legal documents of that time period. One important document is called the Code of Hammurappi.
This code was found in the early 1900’s during an archeological dig in the Middle East. Its discovery has been considered a very important one for Old Testament study as it has allowed a comparison of the Mosaic Law with other laws of that time and place.
In an article entitled, “Mosaic and Ancient Near Eastern Laws,” (from the www.theology.edu/Eqypt3) we read that the Code of Hammurappi and the Mosaic code “differ in their moral code.” “In the Hebrew laws a greater value is generally placed on human life, and the Babylonian code has nothing in it corresponding to the twofold golden thread running through the Mosaic legislation: love God and love your neighbor (Mat. 22:37-40).”
The article goes on to say that in the Code of Hammurappi, “There is no control of lust, no limitation on selfishness, nowhere to be found the postulate (or claim) of charity;
every trace of religious thought is absent; behind the Israelite law stands everywhere the ruling will of God; the Mosaic legislation bears a religious character.”
So what this means is that God was giving Moses a set of statements that was consistent with who He, that is God, was, and still is – just, personal, moral, and loving. And just as importantly, who God expected His people to become.
Let’s now briefly look at the commandments themselves. Some Biblical scholars have pointed out that the first four define what the people’s relationship with God is to be. (Overhead 3)
· Do not worship any other gods besides me
· Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds, animals, or fish
· Do not misuse the name of the Lord Your God.
· Remember the Sabbath by keeping it Holy.
All around the Israelite people were people who worshipped many different gods. (Small ‘g’ not capital ‘G’). They had many gods. They worshipped a sun god, a moon god, an earth god, and a whole host of other gods.
So when God gives Moses the first command, it is a statement about who truly is God and that there is only one God. As we read the Old Testament, especially the books that deal with this time of history, we again and again read about the warning to not worship other gods. In fact, we see the consequences of worshipping other gods, in Exodus 32, we read of the people asking Aaron, “make us some gods who can lead us. This man Moses, who brought us here from Egypt, has disappeared. We don’t know what has happened to him.” And so, Aaron makes the golden calf to which the people respond, as stated in verse 4, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” The result of this action was the displeasure of God as we read in verses 7 through 10.
What Aaron and the Israelites did was common in that time and place. Idols, images of animals, and people, made of metal or wood, were a part of the worship practices of the people groups that existed at that point. Except when it came to God’s commandments – no idols of any kind, the second commandment.
And God gives His reasons in verses 5 and 6 for both commandments one and two. I am a jealous God He says. Don’t share your affection, your love, with anyone but me. I will not share my love and affection for you with any other gods.
Then there is commandment number 3 – “Do not misuse the name of God.” What does God mean? Well, the first thing that comes to our minds is swearing, profanity. Over and over in the New Testament, Paul tells the believers in the early Christian church that their language must change and must become more pure and clean. There is no place, he writes in places like Colossians 3:8, for things like slander and dirty language from the mouths of those who profess the name of Christ.
This commandment also gets at the importance of truth telling and follow through on commitments. Jesus will tell the disciples in Matthew 5:33-37, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, don’t swear by your hair or heaven. Let your yes be yes and your no be no!”
Then we move on to the fourth commandment regarding the Sabbath. Matthew Henry, a Bible commentator and preacher of another generation makes the important point, “Six days are allotted to worldly business, but not so as to neglect the service of God, and the care of our souls.” Easier said and done these days, isn’t it? What is necessary on the Sabbath?
I remember watching a program on the Discovery channel several years ago regarding the practice of the Sabbath in modern Israel. One of the things that struck me is the fact there are still those who seek to eliminate as much work as possible on the Sabbath. And I remember that there were some people who were working on a machine or using a machine, I cannot remember which, that tried to do all the work of dialing a telephone on the Sabbath. Where do we draw the line?
In Mark 2:27 we read that Jesus, in response to a charge by the Pharisees that His disciples broke the Sabbath as they broke off the head of some wheat as they were walking through some grain fields, said, “The Sabbath was made to benefit people, not people to benefit the Sabbath.” This fourth commandment is given because God wanted His people to take the time to rest both the body and soul and to worship Him as a critical way to be His people.
Why are these commandments necessary? To some they seem out dated and unnecessary. But, these first four commandments outline God’s expectations of the Israelites relationship with Him.
But, not only is God outlining His expectations of the Israelites relationship with Him He also lays out His expectations for their relationships with one another. (Overhead 4)
The first of this second group of commandments starts with a command that is an important foundation of our lives together – “Honor Thy Father and Mother.” To honor someone is to respect them. To respect someone is to value them.
Now I know, and we know, that respect of parents is something that is considered old fashion and dumb. And granted there are some parents who give those who are good parents and/or are trying to be good parents, a bad name. Their parenting leaves a lot to be desired and respect is the furthest thing from the minds and hearts of their children and family. But, that is no reason to throw out this commandment.
R Alan Cole offers us an important perspective on this commandment when he says, “This is not a popular doctrine in our modern world, where youth is worshipped, and old age despised.”
One of the things that was done again this year as part of the evening worship at our North American Convention in Anderson was the honoring of older church leaders who are called, “Treasures of the Church!”
In the two evening services that I attended, a group of older leaders and their spouses called “The Quest,” were honored for their 20 year long joint ministry and support of one another and those going through difficult times in the ministry and a missionary to one of the Native American tribes in Washington state was honored for her 50 plus years of ministry in that part of the country. A live telephone call was made to her during the service, as she was unable to attend for health reasons.
In keeping this commandment, we honor the created order and purpose of family that God put into operation at the time of creation.
If we believe that God has crated us, if we take seriously and believe the Genesis account of creation, then the next commandment is one that is not optional. Perhaps no other commandment has generated as much discussion during the past 30 years as this one has generated due to abortion and capital punishment. Matthew Henry’s simple statement, “The sixth commandment requires that we regard the life and the safety of others as we do our own,” is a very good way to understand this vital commandment.
Life is sacred because God has made it so. Cole makes an important distinction between the wording of this commandment and the wording of verses such as Exodus 21:15, “Anyone who strikes father or mother must be put to death.” Such verses often use the phrase “be put to death” to describe capital punishment rather than the violent act of killing a personal enemy. How well are we regarding the life and safety of others these days?
I group the final four together because they deal with our relationships with others. God was telling the Israelites that He expected them to show love and respect of other’s property and family and to be content with what they have. And I think that God expects the same thing of us today.
How do you view other people? As pain in the necks? As something to be tolerated? As objects to be possessed?
These commandments prohibit the disrespecting of others and what they own. Adultery is a disrespecting of another’s spouse. Stealing is a disrespecting of another’s property.
Lying by false testimony or slander or malicious envy is a disrespecting of another’s character. Coveting, a yearning for what properly belongs to someone else, is a disrespecting of what God has given to each one of us.
Not much room for maneuvering is there? God was pretty plain when he gave these commandments. We can argue and debate some of them. We have the value, or maybe the curse, of history to look back as we do so. But, we cannot deny or side step the issues that they raise in our lives.
We conclude with a brief comparison of another mountain dialogue between God the Son and humanity that is found in Matthew 5. (Overhead 5)
Jesus begins His comparison in verse 17 with an important statement, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them.”
Ultimately there were three kinds of Old Testament Law; Civil, Ceremonial, and Moral. The Ten Commandments are part of the Moral laws.
By the time Jesus spoke these words the Jewish law had grown to be a demanding group of rules. Jesus, in the verses that are to follow, brings them back to the meaning for which God originally intended them to be. And there are two portions of this passage in which Jesus directly addresses two of the ten things covered by the Ten Commandments: (Overhead 5)
“You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, “If you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment.” You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
What is Jesus saying? Murder and adultery as well as idolatry and disrespect begin in our hearts and the minds. The act of murder and the act of adultery; the disrespecting of people and the failure to take time to rest and worship God starts from within.
Every time He says, “But I say to you,” Jesus raises the bar on what constitutes sin and what God expects from us. Sin, disobeying God, starts with our attitudes and our priorities. Our behavior is simply an outward expression of these attitudes and priorities.
How do we deal with these things in our lives? Two ways. First, through honest confession and repentance of them when we know that they are operating in our lives. Second, through learning to love God and others as God would have us love.
The Ten Commandments are both commandments of obedience and commitments of love. We love when we worship God only. We love when we respect the property of others and keep our hands off of it. We love when we make the time to worship and rest.
It is no coincidence that these Ten Words reappear in Deuteronomy 5 that is followed by Deuteronomy 6 in which we read, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” Jesus would add to this statement “and your neighbor as yourself.”
If we are going to fully follow God – then we must love both God and one another in these ways – not as a way of forced obedience but as a way of expressing love and respect for God and other another.
“We will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand. We will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand. And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
All praise to the Father, from whom all things come. And all praise to Christ Jesus, His only Son. And all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
I think that is what is called Ten Commandment living. Amen.
(For powerpoints to this sermon, please contact me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and ask for 062203 svgs)
