Do you believe in the value of the Ten Commandments?
Yes.
Do you follow the Ten Commandments?
Well… I try my best.
How many of the Ten Commandments can you name?
(Blank stare.)
That is a conversation that might unfold almost anywhere.
There are few statements of life principle that have the historic influence of the Ten Commandments. Some churches have children memorize them, they come up all the time in literature, and they are sculpted on the north and south friezes of the pediment of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D. C. and in other official buildings.
Some would say that, if you want a moral foundation for all of life, you need look no further than the Ten Commandments.
What exactly are the Ten Commandments? And what significance do they have today?
They appear both in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, described as direct words from God to the people through their leader Moses. In Hebrew they are called “the ten words” (Hebrew: aseret ha-d’varîm.) Later generations described them as commandments because they clearly were a summary of God’s order for life.
But context is everything when we try to understand a biblical text. The Ten Commandments are not merely ten laws dropped into history. They are not a list of top priorities. They certainly are not a formula for manufacturing personal righteousness.
These “ten words” were the central divine voice at a turning point in the life of God’s people. Several months after Moses led the tribe of the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt, they were encamped at the site of Mount Sinai in a desolate wilderness. There God met them. There God spoke to the people through Moses. And there, at Mount Sinai, God established a covenant with his people. It was almost like a marriage at Mount Sinai. Solemn words of commitment were expressed. The “Book of the Covenant” was given. The “blood of the covenant”—coming from animals sacrificed, signaled a most serious commitment, was sprinkled on the altar and the people. In the midst of a complex and awe-inspiring exchange between God and human beings, these ten words became a landmark expression of covenant life with God.
Exodus 20:1-17 says:
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“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. 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, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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. 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.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“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 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.”
(A minor point: there is some disagreement as to how to divide up this passage into ten commands, which is why the numbering of them differs between Jewish, Lutheran, Catholic, and other Protestant traditions.)
Let’s begin with some basic observations.
First, this revelation begins with the character and the saving acts of God. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.” These are not ten abstract laws, or rules of behavior like we find in the Code of Hammurabi or the writings of Confucius. They are expressions of the moral character of God. They are about devotion, respect, integrity, and generosity.
Second, we should not let the formula “you shall not” make us think of the Ten Commandments as negative, limiting regulations. “You shall not” marks boundaries which keep us on the side of life, safety, and prosperity. On the other side of a “no” is an enlivening “yes.”
Third, the “ten words” are all about covenant relationships: humanity with God, and people with each other. The Ten Commandments define a lifestyle of harmonious relationships. They describe the good life, and the safe life.
[to be continued]
I knew it
One can search for truth and violate no commandments
He said search for me
Fulfilled them all
Poetry deniability
Nine
I look at these instead of being Commandments they are like instructions, they’re like plans to build something and if you don’t follow the plans on how it’s supposed to be built then there is no reward for it.
I look at the 10 Commandments as 10 commands meant. God meant for His people to follow these 10 c0mmands. It is that simple, but in reality it is not simple at all. It is most profound, because it came directly from God. How can we put the commands of God in proper perspective when we are not putting God in proper perspective at all? How can we respect the 10 Commandments when we do not respect the Creator of the 10 Commandments? Common sense should lead us to believe that the 10 Commandments (obviously) can lead to a better way of life for mankind. However, common sense might not lead us to faith, and we cannot please God without faith. It all starts with God (the Alpha) and ends with God (the Omega). God gives us the gift of faith (Romans 1: 18-20), but He also gave us free will, by which faith is not forced upon us, just offered to us. The world has yielded to the desires of the flesh (Romans 1: 21-32), and continues to follow these desires, thus moving away from God and the 10 Commandments, and God has shown us that He is not pleased, but so many are not listening and not seeing, because they are not believing. We want to know so much, but really, we know so little.
This is what I believe and would I be cast out of elm brook church for saying this as I believe the true Christian is led by the spirit…
What gender is the spirit?
I do believe that the spirit leads to truth and to the most important concept of all …
Peace
I deney ever;ything i say as its poetery you know…
I look forward to reading more of brother Lawrenze’s writing on the 10 commandments!
My take is a little different.
1. “I am the Lord, your God…” It’s important to respect the fact that God does not bend to human “logic.” This is the most important commandment, even if it does not fit English’s definition of a “command”. So this is the first commandment. It establishes the order of the universe. First exists God. God does not depend on the existence of “you”, like the word “command” does. He is the Lord (ruler) of all else. Without this first commandment, no other commandment means anything. It lays the foundation of faith.
2. You shall have no other gods before me. Emphasizes the hierarchy. No idols, no false worship. Not even the Bible should come before the one, true, Living God. Too many people put a book before life (for some, a wooden idol if there ever was one), the law before the living.
3. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain. In Hebrew, the phrase “in vain” is le-shoah. Shoah is also the modern word for the Holocaust. One possible translation might be “Don’t put the Lord’s name to destructive ends.” Or “Don’t be nihilistic or cynical.” It’s much broader than avoiding profane or vulgar language.
4. Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. The Sabbath is not the day of Resurrection (Sunday). Jesus did not rise from the dead on Saturday *because* it is the Sabbath. There is an irony here. Jesus was crucified on the grounds that he violated the Sabbath (see what I wrote for the 2nd commandment about wooden idols) yet he avoided “working” on the Sabbath after his crucifixion. Modern “Christians” work on the Sabbath because they choose to worship money and thereby put a false idol before God.
5. Honor your father and mother. Respect your roots. God created Adam and Eve and they created us. They are the first people you know. If you don’t respect them, then you can’t respect anyone, including yourself. Just as spirituality is meaningless without God, your physical life is meaningless without respect for your parents.
6 – 10. Respect others. Don’t violate people physically; respect their bodies, lives, and livelihoods. When you use your words, hands and privates, do so with good intentions and in peaceful ways. When you relate to people, remember that God is your Lord, and restrain your anger, jealousy, desires and fears.
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