The privilege of freedom brings with it the responsibility to use that freedom wisely for the glory of God and the good of others. However, the Ten Commandments were much more than laws for governing the life of the nation of Israel. They are part of the covenant God made with Israel when He took them to Himself to be His special people (6:1–8; 19:5–8). In the Abrahamic covenant, God gave the Jews the title deed to the Promised Land (Gen. 12:3; 13:14–18), but Israel’s possession and enjoyment of that land depended on their obedience to the Mosaic covenant. The tragedy is that the nation disobeyed the law, defiled their land, and grieved their Lord, so they had to be chastened.
The law was never given as a way of salvation for either Jews or Gentiles, because “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal. 2:16). Salvation is not a reward for good works but the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:8–9). The law reveals God’s righteousness and demands righteousness, but it can’t give righteousness (Gal. 2:21); only Jesus Christ can do that (2 Cor. 5:21). The law is a mirror that reveals where you’re dirty, but you don’t wash your face in the mirror (James 1:22–25). Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:7, 9; Heb. 10:22).
God doesn’t give His Spirit to us because we obey the law (Gal. 3:2) but because we trust Christ (4:1–7), nor does He give us our inheritance through the law (3:18). The one thing the dead sinner needs is life (Eph. 2:1–3), but the law can’t give life (Gal. 3:21). Then what’s the purpose of the law? It’s God’s way of showing us our sins and stripping us of our self-righteousness so that we cry out for the mercy and grace of God. God gives His Holy Spirit to all who believe on His Son, and the Spirit enables us to obey God’s will and therefore fulfill the righteousness of the law (Rom. 8:1–3).
One of the main ministries of the law was to prepare the way for the birth of Christ (Gal. 4:1–7). The nation of Israel was like an immature child who needed a “guardian” to care for him, to instruct and protect him, the way slaves in Paul’s day cared for their masters’ children. But when children mature, the guardians aren’t needed anymore. The Jewish ceremonial system presented in Exodus and Leviticus was fulfilled by Christ, but the moral content of God’s law still remains, and nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament epistles for the church to honor and obey. The Sabbath commandment isn’t repeated, and we’ll say more about that later.
While all the Ten Commandments deal with our responsibilities toward God, the first four are particularly Godward while the last six are manward. How we relate to others depends on how we relate to God, for if we love God and obey Him, we’ll also love our neighbors and serve them (Matt. 22:34–40; Rom. 13).
Recognizing one true God (vv. 1–3). The phrase “the Lord thy God” is repeated five times in this section (vv. 3, 5, 7, 10, 12) to remind the people of the authority behind these commandments. Moses isn’t reporting “ten opinions” that he heard from a friendly counselor, but ten commandments spoken by Almighty God. The Jews lived in a world of blind and superstitious nations that worshipped many gods, something Israel beheld for centuries in Egypt. Israel was to bear witness of the true and living God (Ps. 115) and invite their neighbors to trust Him.
The phrase “before Me” can mean “in opposition to Me.” For the Jews to worship another god would be to declare war on Jehovah and incur His wrath. Each morning, the faithful Jew declares, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord” (Deut. 6:4).
Worshipping only the Lord (vv. 4–6). An idol is a substitute for God and therefore not a god, for there is only one true and living God. Present-day religious pluralism (“You worship your god and I’ll worship mine, because both are right”) is both unbiblical and illogical, for how can there be more than one god? If God is God, He is infinite, eternal, and sovereign and can’t share the throne with another being who is also infinite, eternal, and sovereign.
“I am the Lord: that is my name; and my glory I will not give to another, neither my praise to graven [carved] images” (Isa. 42:8). The idol worship of the pagan nations was not only illogical and unbiblical, but it was intensely immoral (temple prostitutes and fertility rites), inhuman (sacrificing children), and demonic (1 Cor. 10:10–22). No wonder the Lord commanded Israel to destroy the temples, altars, and idols of the pagans when they invaded the land of Canaan (Deut. 7:1–11).
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21) was the apostle John’s final admonition to Christians in his day, and the admonition needs to be heeded today. If an idol is anything that takes the place of God, anything to which we devote our energy and time, or for which we make sacrifices because we love it and serve it, then John’s warning is needed today. The idols that entice God’s people today are things like money, recognition, success, material possessions (cars, houses, boats, collectibles), knowledge, or even other people.
God is a “jealous God,” not in the sense that He’s envious of other gods, for He knows that all other “gods” are figments of the imagination and don’t really exist. The word “jealous” expresses His love for His people because He wants the very best for them. Just as parents are jealous over their children and spouses over their mates, so God is jealous over His beloved ones and will not tolerate competition (Zech. 1:14; 8:2). In Scripture, idolatry is the equivalent of prostitution and adultery (Hos. 1—3; Jer. 2—3; Ezek. 16; 23; James 4:4–5). God desires and deserves the exclusive love of His people (Ex. 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; 6:15).
God is so serious about receiving exclusive worship and love that He punishes those who refuse to obey Him. God doesn’t punish the children and grandchildren for somebody else’s sins (24:16; Ezek. 18:4), but the sad consequences of ancestral sins can be passed from generation to generation and innocent children suffer because of what their parents or grandparents have done. In Bible times, it wasn’t unusual for four generations to live in the same extended family and thus have greater opportunity to influence and affect one another.
At the same time, the godliness of ancestors can help to bring blessing to succeeding generations. Abraham’s faith brought blessing to his descendants, and David’s ministry helped people long after he had died. My great-grandfather prayed that there would be a preacher of the gospel in every generation of his family, and God has answered that prayer!
Honoring God’s name (v. 7). Your name stands for your character and reputation, what you are and what you do (John 17:6, 26). When you say that someone has “a bad name,” you’re not criticizing what’s written on his birth certificate. You’re warning me that the man can’t be trusted. If God is the greatest being in the universe, then His name is the greatest name and must be honored. The first petition in the Lord’s Prayer is, “Hallowed be thy name” (Matt. 6:9). People blaspheme God’s name by using vulgar language. But using God’s name in making a promise or taking an oath, and then not fulfilling the commitment, is cheapening His name and blaspheming God (Lev. 19:12).
Honoring the Sabbath (vv. 8–11). The word “sabbath” means “rest.” The Sabbath tradition was already a part of Israel’s life (16:23, 25), but now it became a part of Israel’s law and their covenant relationship with God. While the Sabbath was rooted in creation (Gen. 2:1–3), it was also a special sign between Israel and the Lord (Ex. 31:12–17; Neh. 9:13–15; Ezek. 20:12, 20), and there’s no biblical evidence that God commanded any Gentile nation to observe the seventh day (Ps. 147:19–20). Later, Moses associated the Sabbath with Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 5:12–15), a foretaste of the rest they would enjoy in their promised inheritance (3:20; 12:10; 25:19).
When the Jews observed the Sabbath, it was not only a mark of their devotion to the Lord, but it was also a witness to their pagan neighbors to whom the seventh day was just another day. By resting on the seventh day, the Jews were promoting their own welfare as well as that of their servants and farm animals, acknowledging the lordship of Jehovah over time and creation (Ex. 23:12). From earliest times, God’s people assembled on the first day of the week to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ (John 20:19, 26; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2), but the principle of one day in seven still stands (Col. 2:16–17; Gal. 4:1–11; Rom. 14:1—15:7).
It’s unfortunate that the Israelites didn’t honor the Sabbath as God directed and had to be disciplined (2 Chron. 36:14–21; Ezek. 20; Isa. 58:13–14; Jer. 17:19–27). It’s also unfortunate that the scribes and Pharisees added thirty-nine forbidden acts to this commandment so that observing the Sabbath became a burden instead of a blessing (Mark 2:23—3:5).
Honoring one’s parents (v. 12). In a world that worships and imitates youth and uses “assisted suicide” (euthanasia) to eliminate unwanted old people, this commandment sounds like an echo from a time warp. But the Jews were taught to respect age and to care for their senior citizens (21:15, 17; Lev. 19:3, 32; Deut. 27:16; Prov. 1:8; 16:31; 20:20; 23:22; 30:17), a good example for us to follow today (Eph. 6:1–3; 1 Tim. 5:1–2). Someone has said that the elderly are the only outcast group that everybody expects to join, because nobody wants the alternative. But how we treat them today will help to determine how we’re treated tomorrow, because we reap what we sow.
Honoring human life (v. 13). Life is a gift from God, and only He has the authority to take life. Because we’re made in God’s image, murder is an attack against God (Gen. 1:26–27; 9:6). Protecting life is the responsibility of every member of society, not just the public officials (Rom. 13). The issue here is premeditated murder, which Jesus said could have its beginning in anger (Matt. 5:21–26). The Jews were allowed to defend themselves (Ex. 22:2), and the law made concessions for accidental death, but murder was a capital offense (21:12–14).
Honoring marriage (v. 14). So serious was adultery that it was considered a capital crime (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22). The family is the basic unit of the nation, and faithfulness to the marriage contract is the foundation for the family. Adultery is robbery (1 Thess. 4:1–8), but in the end, those who commit adultery rob themselves (Prov. 6:20–35). While the Lord can forgive the sin of adultery (1 Cor. 6:9–11; John 8:1–11), like David, the adulterer and adulteress must live with the sad consequences of forgiven sin (2 Sam. 12:13–14; Ps. 51). Adultery begins with the desire in the heart caused by the second look (Matt. 5:27–30).
Respecting personal property (v. 15). God gave Israel an elaborate set of laws to govern their use of the land, because the land belonged to Him and they were but stewards (Lev. 25:2, 23, 38). This fact is the basis for a sane ecology. Ephesians 4: teaches that there are only three ways to get wealth: work for it, have it given to you, or steal it, and stealing is wrong.
Speaking the truth (v. 16). Speaking the truth and honoring promises is the cement that holds society together. To tell lies in court is to undermine the very law itself, which explains why Moses required the witnesses to be the executioners in capital crimes (Deut. 17:6–13). It’s one thing to lie, but quite something else to kill in order to protect your lie. This commandment also prohibits slandering people (Ex. 23:1; Prov. 10:18; 12:17; 19:9; 24:28; Titus 3:1–2; James 4:11; 1 Peter 2:1).
Controlling desires (v. 17). The first and tenth commandments deal with what’s in the heart, while the other eight focus on outward actions that begin in the heart. Covetous people will break all of God’s commandments in order to satisfy their desires, because at the heart of sin is the sin in the heart (Matt. 15:19). To covet is to feed inward desires for anything that God says is sinful. It was this commandment that “slew” Saul of Tarsus and convicted this successful Pharisee that he was a sinner (Rom. 7:1–14; see Luke 12:15, Eph. 5:3, Col. 3:5).
The Ten Commandments end with an emphasis on being a good neighbor, for the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:34–40; Lev. 19:18). If we love our neighbors, we won’t covet what they have, steal from them, lie about them, or do any of the other things God prohibits in His Word. This is why love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:8–10). But only God can change our sinful hearts (Heb. 10:14–18) and give us the love we need to obey Him and to care for others (Gal. 5:22–26; Rom. 5:1–5).
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