We often tend to think of the 10 Commandments as a list of rules God commands us to follow, for most of us have only seen them in their condensed list form from 1-10. It becomes easy for a nonbeliever and to some Christians to get an image of a God who is angry and laying down the law. But if we read the actual passage we see quite a different God than the angry One we may have previously perceived. We often see the 10 Commandments listed as a simple list of "Thou Shall Nots" like this...1. You shall have no other gods before me2. You shall not make for yourself an idol
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not lie
10. You shall not covet
Now let's examine the actual 10 Commandments within the context of their surroundings in scripture...
1 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
God starts with reminding Moses of how much He loves him and the people by recapping on how kind He has been to them. In the previous chapter God instructs Moses not to allow anyone to touch the base of the mountain as they would be killed. God did this to protect them, for He knew nothing sinful could survive in His holy presence. Even Moses was not permitted to see Him face to face while on earth.
Exodus 20:3 says,
Exodus 20:4-6 says,
Exodus 20:7 says,
Exodus 20:8-11 says,
Exodus 20:12 says,
Exodus 20:3 says,
“You shall have no other gods before Me."First of all this isn't even possible to do in the literal sense as there is only one God, but God knew that it was (and still is) entirely possible for His people to worship a false god. A false god at best is nothing, but at it's worst it could be a demon seeking to destroy the person who is worshiping him. Either way, God takes it very personally as He should, being that He is the only God there is! God also knew that Moses and the people were going to the land of Canaan, where there were many false gods (also called idols) being worshiped. Protecting them from this deception of Satan was necessary, so this loving God we serve made this the first commandment.
Exodus 20:4-6 says,
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.God wanted His children to worship Him in the best way possible, and that is hearing and not seeing. If we are hearing God, then we are following more by faith than by sight. This means hearing His written word, but also could mean hearing that still small voice inside - that nudge from the Holy Spirit. This ties in with You shall have no other gods before Me, the first commandment, for it could lead to worshiping a false god if we are placing our trust upon a man-made image of god.
Exodus 20:7 says,
“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.God is holy, and to speak of Him in any manner lacking the respect due to Him is something He takes seriously. He could have left it there and just told Moses that He would not tolerate it, but because He is a loving God, He takes the time to explain it out to Moses saying, " He will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain." The very fact that He gave this warning shows His love for us. Despite the fact that He provides the sun to warm us, the air we breathe, and the food we eat, among the many other blessings, we still hear some people say, "Jesus Christ" as if it's a cuss word, then there's the ever popular "God.... followed by the word damn" that people spout out without a second thought. Of course there is also one I've heard even Christians say, "Oh my God!" or in it's more portable size version, "OMG!" for these days. Being that God gives us the breath that we choose to cuss Him with, is He being unreasonable to ask that we don't speak vainly about Him? He wants to bless us, and show us His love for us. It is for our own good that we don't push Him away with words used against Him.
Exodus 20:8-11 says,
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.God gave us an example for our own good and that was to stop, rest, and take time to enjoy Him. If we follow the very example He gave us then we will see the blessing from it, and not work ourselves to death.
Exodus 20:12 says,
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.Here we see God's love displayed as he wants to see us live a long life. Generally speaking by obeying our parents we are not nearly as likely to place ourselves in danger. I can think of many disobedient teens that went out with their friends partying only to be killed in a car crash or overdose. Sometimes we may not see an early death, but there are other consequences like going to jail, or a teen girl getting pregnant. Disobedience to our parents never produces a good outcome.
Exodus 20:13 says,
“You shall not murder."This commandment clearly shows how God loves us, for He doesn't want us to be killed by another, nor for us to kill anyone else.
Exodus 20:14 says,
“You shall not commit adultery."
How much pain have we seen as a result of this sin being committed? I've watched women on a certain talk show waiting for DNA results to prove who the father of their child is, only to be heartbroken as the results prove negative. many children grow up never knowing who their father is, and many as a result of not having their guidance will sometimes end up in prison. God truly loves us to want us to avoid the consequences from this sin. He has designed marriage Himself, and if a couple makes God the center of this union, it can be like a piece of Heaven on earth. God wants you to experience this kind of happiness, as it is a model of His son Jesus and the Church, his bride. He even gives us detailed instructions in how it can be great, but the sin of adultery can destroy it.
Exodus 20:15 says,
“You shall not steal."Of course stealing is something God doesn't wish to see. We are to honor each other's property and be good stewards of all we have, for everything we have belongs actually to God anyway. He owns everything and wants us to enjoy all He gives us, but to steal from another is not showing love to them, but is causing them problems. God wants us to love one another.
Exodus 20:16 says,
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."Of course if God loves us, then He doesn't want anyone to treat us badly. Those of us who are parents know our children are not perfect, but we also know how it feels when our children are wrongfully accused of something. It makes us angry because we love our children, so how much more does it make God angry? In Proverbs 6:16-19, we see some of the things that God hates, and in verse 19 we can find that someone who speaks lies is a false witness. God hates seeing this done to others.
16
Exodus 20:17 says,
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
God wants us to be thankful and content with the things that He has already blessed us with. How many times have we parents bought the latest, greatest, toy for our child at Christmas, only to see them forget about it for the rest of the year, and want something else? God is willing to bless us with wealth, but it is His ultimate goal to see us fulfill the will He has for our lives. When we covet another's mate, or anything they own, we can interfere with God's will for our own life. This sin can lead to adultery and other sins as well, and ultimately destroy our lives. Consider King David's sin with Bathsheba. He coveted Uriah's wife, committed adultery, told lie after lie, and eventually had Uriah murdered. God's judgment on David was very costly for this, and it began with the sin of coveting another man's wife.
Having a relationship with Jesus is by far the greatest thing I have in my life, and I honestly would not wish to live without Him. I love my wife, my kids, family, and friends. I took me some time, but I've even got to the place where I love people I don't even know. This could not have been possible except for having Christ in my life, and imagining how He sees all people.
An older Christian friend I knew once told me, "If there was no God, no devil, no Heaven, and no Hell, it would still be worth it to live by the same standards of a Christian - that is choosing to love people, help ease people's pain, and show kindness. Why would we want to live any other way?"
To that I say amen! Yet I know there are so many people who have no desire whatsoever to be a Christian, which means simply to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and have a relationship with Him. In my heart I know if they only knew the joy I've experienced, then they would reconsider this.
I have heard of people calling Christianity nothing but "a list of don'ts", or a list of "Thou Shall Nots", but is this really what it is? I can share my own personal testimony of how great it has been to be a child of God, and others can too, but would this alone ever be enough to convince a lost person to repent of their sins, come to Christ, and receive this new life? The answer is no. Just the testimony is not enough, but it does help.
In Romans 2:3-4 Paul asks the question,
He knows that if you cheat on your husband or wife, it will lead you into problems. He knows that if you kill someone, covet someone's property, or steal something, it can ultimately destroy your life. This is why God gave us the 10 Commandments (to some a list of don'ts), which Jesus later summed up in 2 commandments,
Matthew 22:37-40 says,
Having a relationship with Jesus is by far the greatest thing I have in my life, and I honestly would not wish to live without Him. I love my wife, my kids, family, and friends. I took me some time, but I've even got to the place where I love people I don't even know. This could not have been possible except for having Christ in my life, and imagining how He sees all people.
An older Christian friend I knew once told me, "If there was no God, no devil, no Heaven, and no Hell, it would still be worth it to live by the same standards of a Christian - that is choosing to love people, help ease people's pain, and show kindness. Why would we want to live any other way?"
To that I say amen! Yet I know there are so many people who have no desire whatsoever to be a Christian, which means simply to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and have a relationship with Him. In my heart I know if they only knew the joy I've experienced, then they would reconsider this.
I have heard of people calling Christianity nothing but "a list of don'ts", or a list of "Thou Shall Nots", but is this really what it is? I can share my own personal testimony of how great it has been to be a child of God, and others can too, but would this alone ever be enough to convince a lost person to repent of their sins, come to Christ, and receive this new life? The answer is no. Just the testimony is not enough, but it does help.
In Romans 2:3-4 Paul asks the question,
3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?Simply put, it is the goodness of God that leads man to repentance. Some translations say "kindness of God", which means the same thing. This is great news for us because it reveals God not as an angry old man in Heaven wielding a big club waiting for a sinner to smash. This isn't God at all, but we have a very loving God who places restrictions in place to keep us safe from sin. It isn't at all that God is a buzzkill who wants to keep us from having a good time, rather it is that God sees the end result we cannot see.
He knows that if you cheat on your husband or wife, it will lead you into problems. He knows that if you kill someone, covet someone's property, or steal something, it can ultimately destroy your life. This is why God gave us the 10 Commandments (to some a list of don'ts), which Jesus later summed up in 2 commandments,
Matthew 22:37-40 says,
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”So Jesus took this so called, "list of don'ts" we call the 10 Commandments, and showed us what it is really all about - that is LOVE! If you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, then it is much easier for us not to commit a sin. Also if we love our neighbor as our self, then we won't covet him, steal from him, kill him, or commit any evil against him. The"list of don'ts" suddenly has a new meaning to us, for we realize that the 10 Commandments were given out of love, not from an angry God who was fed up with us.
