The 10 Commandments
Read Exodus 20:1-21
This was unique. The rule of law, if consistently applied, keeps government out of the hands of despots and tyrants. America was a product of this tradition, inherited from the Israelites. America was founded on the same basic principle, made quite clear in the Declaration of Independence—unalienable rights and obligations from the Creator God.
But the specific items in this biblical list of commandments have broader application than just civil government. They are laws for the heart and for personal conduct—that is, moral laws.
It is very significant that the first law is, “You shall have no other god’s before me.” What “god’s” do you have in your life that you have placed before the God of the universe—money, pleasure, power, idleness, rock music, people, sports, hobbies, sex? These things are not bad in themselves, but if they supplant God as the most important thing in your life, it is a very serious thing.
You will note that the commandments are not numbered. In fact, there are different ways to come up with ten distinct commandments from this one passage of Scripture. Different faith traditions compile the list slightly differently from one another, but all of the commandments are always all there, though presented a bit differently. The most common delineation of the list is this one:
· You shall have no other gods before me.
· You shall not make any idols.
· You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
· Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.
· Honor your father and mother.
· You shall not murder.
· You shall not commit adultery.
· You shall not steal.
· You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
· You shall not covet.
One reason that some people reject Christianity is simply because they do not want to be burdened with rules! They want absolute autonomy. As we will see later, Christianity is a lot more than just a bunch of rules. But the following point should be made. The only rules God gives us are ones that are good for us (or for our fellow man). The Ten Commandments, and likewise all other instructions God gives us in Scripture, are not arbitrary. They are ultimately for our own good.
Remember that in Genesis 3:3, God gave a reason for his instruction not to eat of the fruit of the tree of life. He clearly gave a very good reason not to eat of the fruit of that particular tree—it would cause death!
We have already noted that a reason one can trust the Bible so much, is that when you compare what Scripture says with the observable real world, they match up. Here’s a little example. In the middle of the Ten Commandments section (Exodus 20:5) there is a statement—which is repeated several other times in the Old Testament—that the sins of the father are felt by the third and fourth generation.
This is an interesting statement. Skeptics will say that this appears unfair. Why should someone suffer for what their great grandfather did?
But the hard facts are that this is an observable truth in the real world. Take for example a man who fathers a child out of wedlock and deserts the woman and child. So often, this action starts a cycle of poverty and family separation that may take generations to overcome. The mother is caught in poverty, the child likewise, and it becomes very difficult for future generations to get out of the cycle.
Another point that should be made about God’s law, is that it begins with LOVE. Note how God prefaces the Ten Commandments. He says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). And then in Exodus 20:6 God put his law in further context, “showing love to a thousand generations.”
The First Commandment is perhaps the most important one—people should have no other gods before Him. This is so important to God that it is more important than life itself. Much of the Old Testament is about the cycles of the Jewish nation turning away from God, suffering the consequences, then returning to God. The consequences of turning away were very often physical, as we will see in the next section about the prophet Jeremiah.
But the specific items in this biblical list of commandments have broader application than just civil government. They are laws for the heart and for personal conduct—that is, moral laws.
It is very significant that the first law is, “You shall have no other god’s before me.” What “god’s” do you have in your life that you have placed before the God of the universe—money, pleasure, power, idleness, rock music, people, sports, hobbies, sex? These things are not bad in themselves, but if they supplant God as the most important thing in your life, it is a very serious thing.
You will note that the commandments are not numbered. In fact, there are different ways to come up with ten distinct commandments from this one passage of Scripture. Different faith traditions compile the list slightly differently from one another, but all of the commandments are always all there, though presented a bit differently. The most common delineation of the list is this one:
· You shall have no other gods before me.
· You shall not make any idols.
· You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
· Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.
· Honor your father and mother.
· You shall not murder.
· You shall not commit adultery.
· You shall not steal.
· You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
· You shall not covet.
One reason that some people reject Christianity is simply because they do not want to be burdened with rules! They want absolute autonomy. As we will see later, Christianity is a lot more than just a bunch of rules. But the following point should be made. The only rules God gives us are ones that are good for us (or for our fellow man). The Ten Commandments, and likewise all other instructions God gives us in Scripture, are not arbitrary. They are ultimately for our own good.
Remember that in Genesis 3:3, God gave a reason for his instruction not to eat of the fruit of the tree of life. He clearly gave a very good reason not to eat of the fruit of that particular tree—it would cause death!
We have already noted that a reason one can trust the Bible so much, is that when you compare what Scripture says with the observable real world, they match up. Here’s a little example. In the middle of the Ten Commandments section (Exodus 20:5) there is a statement—which is repeated several other times in the Old Testament—that the sins of the father are felt by the third and fourth generation.
This is an interesting statement. Skeptics will say that this appears unfair. Why should someone suffer for what their great grandfather did?
But the hard facts are that this is an observable truth in the real world. Take for example a man who fathers a child out of wedlock and deserts the woman and child. So often, this action starts a cycle of poverty and family separation that may take generations to overcome. The mother is caught in poverty, the child likewise, and it becomes very difficult for future generations to get out of the cycle.
Another point that should be made about God’s law, is that it begins with LOVE. Note how God prefaces the Ten Commandments. He says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). And then in Exodus 20:6 God put his law in further context, “showing love to a thousand generations.”
The First Commandment is perhaps the most important one—people should have no other gods before Him. This is so important to God that it is more important than life itself. Much of the Old Testament is about the cycles of the Jewish nation turning away from God, suffering the consequences, then returning to God. The consequences of turning away were very often physical, as we will see in the next section about the prophet Jeremiah.