Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The Ten Commandments

The ten commandments are part of the Mosaic Laws, see Jesus and the Law.
These commandments are all moral laws, with the exception of the 4th commandment about the Sabbath day which is a ceremonial law.

God first spoke the ten commandments to the people of Israel 
(Exodus (2 Mos) 20:1, 18–19, 22, Deuteronomy (5 Mos) 5:22a, 23–27), see time 11:02–16:16 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON EXODUS 20 I AM The Lord Who Speaks.

Later, God himself wrote down the Ten Commandments twice without using man on two stone tablets (Exodus (2 Mos) 24:12, 31:18, 32:15–16, 19, 34:1, 4, 28–29,
Deuteronomy (5 Mos) 5:22b, 9:9–11, 15–17, 10:1–5). This shows the importance of these commandments. Moses couldn't engrave the tablets of stone without proper instruments which he doesn't seem to have brought with him on the mountain. It was God who wrote on them according to the bible texts.

The ten commandments are mentioned in the Bible in
Exodus (2 Mos) 20:1–17, 34:6–7 and Deuteronomy (5 Mos) 5:6–21,
see Moses; Part 10: The Mosaic Laws.

The following translations of the ten commandments are taken from 
Exodus 20:1–17 (English Standard Version (ESV)):

  1. "And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God,
    who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 
    You shall have no other gods before me    .'    " (Exodus 20:1–3).

    Comment    : God first reminded the people of Israel what he already had done for them, see     Typology. Then he continued with the commandments.
    Not the other way around. First deliverance, then guidance and obedience.

    Idolatry can be the worship of idols, or extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone other than the Christian God:

    1. We shouldn't participate in pagan feasts or festivals (1 Cor 10:14–22),
      although we may eat food that has been sacrificed to idols unless it causes our brothers in Christ to stumble, see Disputable Matters in       The Book of Romans.
    2. A god can also be whatever we focus on as the driving force in our lives, something that dominates our thoughts and desires. Extreme forms of exaltation of idols or sports associations can lead to idolatry. Even 
      covetousness is a form of idolatry (Col 3:5b), see The Love of Money.

  2. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in Heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:4–6).

    Comment    : It doesn't forbid making images for artistic purposes, but worshiping these images. Our worship is a spiritual act only toward God, see
    How should we worship God? in The Woman's Place in the Congregation.

    If we are a born again Christian, we aren't cursed even if we belong to the third or fourth generation (2 Cor 5:17, Rom 8:1, Gal 3:13), see:
  3. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,
    for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain    .    "
    (Exodus 20:7).

    Comment    : God's name is much more than just a title. It's a declaration of his nature and character. To use his name is to speak of who he is. When we use God's name it should be for either prayer, praise, or personal sharing and it should always be spoken with respect and honor. We must not abuse God's name, or use it as some kind of formula. God's name is holy.

  4. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." (Exodus 20:8–11).

    Comment    : It's about rest (Heb 4:9–11). It's we who believe in Jesus in the New Covenant who have entered into it (Heb 4:3, Mat 11:28–30). Jesus has done all the work for our salvation so we can rest in it, see Salvation. 

    Jesus, the Son of Man, said: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for
    the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.    " (Mark 2:27–28,
    Mat 12:8, Luk 6:5). God knows that man needs a day of rest the seventh day. But Jesus also performed miracles on the Sabbath, see Miracles of Jesus. This is because mercy triumphs over the Law, see God's Attributes and the end part of The Book of Ruth. Jesus is also the fulfillment of the Sabbath rest. We rest on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, see The Crucifixion of Jesus. 
    God's rest for us who live in the New Covenant isn't limited to a literal day. 
    In Jesus, God has an eternal Sabbath rest for his people.

    We shouldn't follow this commandment as the Jews do with their man-made rules added to the Mosaic Laws of the Old Covenant (Col 2:16–17, 
    Rom 14:5–6a, Gal 4:10–11), see Legalism in     The Book of Colossians, 
    Disputable Matters in The Book of Romans, and To Heal on the Sabbath.

    This commandment also states that God created heaven and Earth in six days (Exo (2 Mos) 20:11a), see The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man. It means that there were no long periods of time before or after the creation week. 

    See the Sabbath day explained at time:
  5. "Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long
    in the land that the Lord your God is giving you    .    " (Exodus 20:12).

    Comment    : This commandment has a promise (Eph 6:1–3, Col 3:20). 
    It presupposes that parents don't provoke their children to anger (Eph 6:4,
    Col 3:21). The reason for that may be due to physical or verbal abuse of a child or to unrealistic expectations. On the last day people will disobey their parents (2 Tim 3:1–2). See also time 13:45–16:23 in
    Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ August 2023.

  6. "You shall not murder." (Exodus 20:13).

    Comment    : It's wrong to murder a human being, because the human being is made in God's image (Gen (1 Mos) 1:27). Murder isn't the same as killing. All killing isn't murder. Murder is taking a life without legal justification. Murder is taking a life unlawful, for vengeance, or for some other indiscriminate reason. It's not a prohibition on capital punishment, self-defence, or war, see:
    ० Time 30:54–32:57 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │March 2024.
    ० Time 30:05–31:23 in Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul.

    But it's more about this commandment according to Jesus, who gives a correct interpretation of the meaning of it: We shouldn't even be angry with a brother or sister in Christ (Mat 5:21–22, 1 John 3:11–15). By questioning the character of such a person, we are even in danger of ending up in the
    Lake of Fire (Mat 5:22), see What Does the Bible Say about Hell? Apostle John wrote: "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:15). It's more important to reconcile with a person who has something against me than to give a gift (Mat 5:23–26). See also Forgive and You will Be Forgiven. God's divine power has given us Christians everything we need to embrace this
    (2 Pet 1:3–4). However, it's not done automatically, I must choose to embrace it (Eph 4:30). See Jesus' teachings on anger in The Sermon on the Mount.

  7. "You shall not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14).

    Comment    : Adultery is a sexual relationship with someone other than my spouse. Jesus said it also includes looking at a woman with lustful intent
    (Mat 5:27–28, James 1:14–15, Job 31:1 (NIV), 7, 9). As background, see time 14:37–30:25 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON Hebrews 13:1-7 – Jesus Our Lord.

    A wife may not divorce her husband and a husband may not divorce his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality (Mat 5:32a, 19:9, Mark 10:11–12, Luk 16:18a). However, it's OK to let an unbelieving partner divorce a believing partner, but only if the unbelieving partner wants to (1 Cor 7:12–13, 15a). 
    See this further explained in practise at:
    ० Time 46:43–59:02 in Matthew 19:1-15 – Divorce, Marriage, and Children.
    ० Time 10:55–34:41 in Mark 10:10-12 – Jesus on Divorce.

    This means that it's permissible to divorce and remarry someone else if the spouse has been guilty of sexual immorality. A person may marry a divorced person only if the reason for their divorce was because of sexual immorality by that person's spouse (Mat 5:32b, Luk 16:18b), or because that person has been abandoned by an unbelieving spouse. 

    If a divorce occurs because it's not possible for a couple to live together, they should remain unmarried or be reconciled to each other in re-marriage 
    (1 Cor 7:10b–11). An example of such a divorce is when a woman's life or her children have been threatened by her husband in some way, and she has to leave him because of her or her children's safety. However, it shouldn't be for the possibility of remarriage. It shouldn't be "a divorce of convenience".

    It's permissible for a widow to remarry (Rom 7:2–3). It's better for the unmarried and the widows to marry than to burn with passion (1 Cor 7:9), but a believer should marry another believer (2 Cor 6:14, 1 Cor 7:39). God created marriage between one man and one woman (Mat 19:4–6, Eph 5:31, 
    1 Cor 7:2, Gen (1 Mos) 2:24), see what the Bible says about Homosexuality.
    It also prohibits polygamy, see Did God Allow Polygamy In The Bible?

    See also what the Bible says about how to get married in Gods eyes: 
    ० Time 15:54–19:40 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ July 2023.
    ० Time 29:27–34:34 in September 2024 Bible Q&A.

  8. "You shall not steal." (Exodus 20:15).

    Comment    : It establishes and confirms the right to personal property.
    We as individuals but also nations must respect the property of others.

  9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16).

    Comment    : It talks about some kind of legal investigation where false testimony can cause problems for innocent people. It can also be slander.

  10. "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s." (Exodus 20:17).

    Comment    : This talks about wanting something that belongs to someone else. 
    Desire can be expressed towards all sorts of things, based on dissatisfaction
    of what we have and an envy that people have something better.

    Jesus said: "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luk 12:15).
    See The Parable of the Rich Fool.
The Mosaic Laws also say that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves
(Mark 12:29–31, Lev (3 Mos) 19:18). Jesus adds to this that we should also love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Mat 5:43–44, Luk 6:27–28, 32–36), see Love and not revenge in The Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus also gave this new commandment : "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." (John 13:34, 15:12). It's a new commandment in that sense that it will distinguish the Christians from other people in the world, in the love we have for one another as Christ loves us, see The Book of Ephesians. This is how the world will know that we are Christians (John 13:35), see unity. See also about keeping the commandments at time 8:18–10:13 in September 2024 Bible Q&A.

The laws are like our bathroom scales. It can't help us lose weight. All it can do is
to tell us how much weight we need to lose (or gain). As Christians we need the
Holy Spirit within us to help us grow in this to become mature Christians
(Ezekiel 36:26–27, Jer 31:31–33, John 16:12–13), see Sanctification.

See also Some stories close related to the gospels at the bottom of 
The Four Gospels.

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