The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20
1Then God spoke all these words:
2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.
3“You must not have any other gods except me.
4“You must not make for yourselves an idol that looks like anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the water below the land. 5You must not worship or serve any idol, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God. If you hate me, I will punish your children, and even your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 6But I show kindness to thousands who love me and obey my commands.
7“You must not use the name of the LORD your God thoughtlessly; the LORD will punish anyone who misuses his name.
8“Remember to keep the Sabbath holy. 9Work and get everything done during six days each week, 10but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the LORD your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, your male or female slaves, your animals, or the foreigners living in your cities. 11The reason is that in six days the LORD made everything—the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. On the seventh day he rested. So the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother so that you will live a long time in the land that the LORD your God is going to give you.
13“You must not murder anyone.
14“You must not be guilty of adultery.
15“You must not steal.
16“You must not tell lies about your neighbor.
17“You must not want to take your neighbor’s house. You must not want his wife or his male or female slaves, or his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18When the people heard the thunder and the trumpet, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke rising from the mountain, they shook with fear and stood far away from the mountain. 19Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20Then Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so you will not sin.”
21The people stood far away from the mountain while Moses went near the dark cloud where God was. 22Then the LORD told Moses to say these things to the Israelites: “You yourselves have seen that I talked with you from heaven. 23You must not use gold or silver to make idols for yourselves; do not worship these gods in addition to me.
24“Make an altar of dirt for me, and sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. Worship me in every place that I choose, and I will come and bless you. 25If you use stones to make an altar for me, don’t use stones that you have shaped with tools. When you use any tools on them, you make them unsuitable for use in worship. 26And you must not go up to my altar on steps, or people will be able to see under your clothes.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version
SITUATION
God formed a covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments changed history, giving us timeless truths and clear moral standards.
OBSERVATION
God demands total devotion. The Ten Commandments govern the relationship between God and those who love him.
INSPIRATION
Only 297 words are required to sum up in English all of God's moral law in the Ten Commandments. God distilled it even more when He said, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind: This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39).
Only sixty-five words make up the definitive teaching on prayer-the Lord's prayer-in Matthew 6:9-13.
Man doesn't have that capacity for essential brevity. There once was a government study to regulate the price of cabbage that ran over twenty-six thousand words!
Thank God for the provision of His profound Word. (From Truth for Today by John MacArthur)
APPLICATION
Who has kept the Ten Commandments perfectly? To seek forgiveness, the Israelites offered animal sacrifices. But God provided a better way through Jesus Christ's sacrifice.
EXPLORATION
God's Law - Psalm 119:12-24; Matthew 5:17-19; Luke 16:16-17; 1 John 3:19-24.
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