Introduction
“You must not have any other god but me.
“You must not make for yourself an idol …
“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God…
“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…
“Honor your father and mother…
“You must not murder.
“You must not commit adultery.
“You must not steal.
“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
“You must not covet…”
Exodus 20:2-17
Right from the start, I must confess that I have personally violated every one of the Ten Commandments, with the possible exception of number 1. I have always believed in the God of the Bible and have never really strayed to any other “god” but Him. Although, I have definitely looked to see if there are any other competitors out there. Yes, an argument could be made that I have allowed things to occupy the first-most part of my heart, thereby making that thing my “god”, but that might be more akin to idolatry than what this is.
In the Bible, we learn that these Ten Commandments (also called the Decalogue) were given to Moses directly from God. This happened while the Jews were in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, before entering the Promised Land (current day Israel).
The exact location where these were given seems to be hotly debated. For centuries it was believed to be in the Sinai Peninsula (some people still think this), which really makes no sense, biblically, because the Bible says that they had already exited Egypt by then and the Sinai Peninsula is IN Egypt. To me, the best evidence shows that they were given on a mountain now called Jabal al-Lawz (also known as Gebel el-Lawz), which is in Saudi Arabia. The name has nothing to do with the “law” of Moses. It’s Arabic: جَبَل ٱللَّوْز and means “Mountain of Almonds”.
Read more about Jabal al-Lawz here. Read about the crossing of the Red Sea here.
The Commandments were written on two tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18). Some believe that the 10 were divided onto the two tablets (4 on one; 6 on the other); others believe that each tablet had all 10 (like, “here’s my copy, and there’s your copy”) as would be done with any covenant or contract (even back then). God’s copy would have gone into the Ark of the Covenant, who knows what Moses did with his. Read about the Ark of the Covenant here.
When Moses came down from his 40 days on the mountain, and saw what the Jews had been up to, he got really mad at them and threw down the tablets, breaking them into pieces (Exodus 32:19). So God had to give him another set (Exodus 34:1). If you want a quick laugh, check out Mel Brooks here (then come back).
The Ten Commandments are about how we are to act toward God (Commands 1 – 4), and how we are to act toward each other (Commands 5 – 10). They are listed twice in the Bible, Exodus 20:2- 17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.
Once Moses got the people’s attention and showed them the Ten Commandments, they all agreed that they would follow them (Exodus 24:3).
Application
Today, many people think that if they just follow the Ten Commandments they will be acceptable in God’s eyes. In fact, they tend to boil the whole Bible down to just these 10 things. And some people even boil them down to just this:
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Mark 12:29-31, NLT
But the reality is very different. Yes, God gave us these Commands, but they are not going to make us “right” with Him. They are given to us to show that we need something else – faith.
Let’s look at chapter 4 in Paul’s Letter to the Romans:
1 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us,
“Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
Genesis 15:6
4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous [right with God], not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:
7 “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. 8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”
Psalm 32:1-2 Greek Version
9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. 10 But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.
13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)
16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. 17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” (Gen. 17:5) This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
(Romans 4:1-17, NLT)
Isaiah wrote,
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
Isaiah 64:6, NLT
So, clearly, we are not made “right” with God by living according to the Ten Commandments. In fact, since every religion known to mankind (or at least me) has a factor of human effort used to make us “right” with whatever higher power it is trying to placate, satisfy, or whatever, or reach some higher plain of existence, all of this is completely ruined by that one little verse by Isaiah, because human effort is made null and void in becoming righteous (made right) in God’s eyes.
Paul reiterates this in his letter to the Colossians:
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14, NLT
As I’ve already admitted, I am guilty of breaking all (or nearly all) of the Ten Commandments. And if you are being honest with yourself, you have also broken at least one of them as well. And James tells us:
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
James 2:10-11, NLT
This means that if you have ever told a tiny, white lie, you are a liar and you will not be “right” with God. We could go even further and show that everyone, whether born or not, has inherited a corrupt nature from their parents and are still not “right” with God. It doesn’t even matter what you’ve done, you are (by nature) not right with God. And not just you, but me as well.
So, as we go through these Ten Commandments, let’s not get hung up on keeping them in order to make us right with our Creator – that just isn’t possible. But what we CAN do (and should do) is learn how to live them out in appreciation for what God has already done for us on the cross of Christ. We should still follow these commands. They are still good for us; just not for making us right with God. So get right with your Creator by way of the cross of Christ, THEN follow the Ten Commandments.
In love,
Gary
Next – The 1st Commandment
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Introduction
