10-COMMANDMENTS-1

.Articles

A BASIC STUDY OF
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
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WHEN ADAM AND EVE sinned, and the human family became a dying race, God’s long-range plan called for a Savior. As God promised, with time there would be born of the "seed" of woman (a virgin birth) one who would "bruise" the head of the old devil in destroying his power over the human race (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7.14; 9:6,7; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:31-33; Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 2:14-17). Many things had to be demonstrated and proved to mankind in preparation for the coming of the Savior, but God moved on in that direction.

In Genesis 12:1-3 we read of the call of Abraham. Through this great man of faith and his descendants God would unfold his great plan of redemption. Finally through him (Abraham), "all families of the earth" would be "blessed." After that great trial of faith as recorded in Genesis 22, involving his son, God again said to Abraham, "And in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed: because thou hast obeyed my voice" (Genesis 22:18; Acts 3:25,26; Galatians 3:8,16).

The Ten Commandments
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When the descendants of Abraham were seemingly sidetracked and enslaved in Egypt for a number of years (Genesis 15:13-16; Exodus), it looked like a regressive interlude in God accomplishing his purpose. But that was not the case. From the Garden of Eden eviction of man, spanning the patriarchal age from Adam to Moses, God had largely left man to himself to do his own thing. Man had a vague concept of right and wrong with no written laws. But by means of himself man did not attain the righteousness of God. He seemed hopeless. He could not, so to speak, lift himself by his own bootstraps. In God’s Providence, with the deliverance of the children of Israel (Abraham’s descendants) from Egyptian bondage, man would no longer be without a legal system; the situation was to change. While encamped at Mt. Sinai (also called Mt. Horeb) in their exodus from Egypt, in an awesome manner they received the Ten Commandments and all of the Old Testament Law that would fully regiment their lives. In view of this, the apostle Paul in Galatians 3:19 puts forth a relevant question about this Law that he proceeds to answer, "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made..." God was getting man ready for the Savior. The Law served as a moral restraint, and at the same time decidedly proved to man by way of experience his inability to be saved by law. It showed just how hopeless his situation really was. Sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4), and "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). In more ways than one "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Galatians 3:24).

The Ten Commandments were given by God three times to Israel, first audibly, and then two times on tables of stone. Their exact words are recorded two places in the Old Testament Scriptures, Exodus 20:1-7 when they were first spoken by God at Mt. Sinai, and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 when Moses reviewed them before Israel just before they went into the Promised Land. The silence of eternity was broken when Cod first spoke them audibly and directly as his voice thundered from Mt. Sinai. This happened in connection with a great commotion in nature that was calculated to put fear into the hearts of these primitive people (Exodus 20:18-21). Then during the forty days that Moses was up in the mountain God gave the Ten Commandments engraved upon tables of stone. But Moses in righteous indignation broke these tablets upon descending the mountain and finding the children of Israel already breaking the first two commandments in worshipping a golden calf. Again God gave Moses a second set of tablets containing the commandments during another forty-day stay on the Mount (making three times altogether that they were given).

Summary of the Ten Commandments
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All of the other laws of the Old Testament rest upon the foundation of the Ten Commandments (and in a large measure, civilized human society itself as well). The Ten Commandments involved God and man, the first four directly tied in with God and the last six having to do with human relationships. Perhaps Jesus alluded to these categories when the lawyer tested him as to "the great commandment of the law." Answering, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:35-40). The apostle Paul said "to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:8-10).

We might summarize the Ten Commandments in another way: Worship God, honor your parents and respect all men (and their possessions). The Almighty and Holy God of eternity, as the Creator and the source of all life, is to be worshipped. This life is passed on through parents to others. So as the secondary source of life, fittingly they are to be honored. (In a sense, they stand in the place of God). This life which has been created by God, and passed on by the parents, is very sacred. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We are not to take human life (kill) because of this. And this sacred relationship whereby this life is passed on to others, marriage, is to be respected (along with our sexuality). If we do not respect our sexuality (giving way to immorality), we will not respect what our sexuality produces (other human beings). This respect for the divine image that is in us will prompt us, by word or deed, to treat one another with decency and respect (and to respect the property rights of others, whether it involves stealing or coveting). All of this is very simple, but, oh, so basic!

That Which Is Commanded
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The Ten Commandments say a lot. But the commands of God, even strictly by a legalistic Old Testament approach, always imply more than is said. If it is a positive command, there usually is a backside negative aspect involved. If the command is negative in nature, there is a positive implication. Then besides the positive aspect and the negative (and vice versa), there usually are other implications that are inherent in the command. The negative command prohibits all that is necessary (detrimental) in fulfilling it, and the positive command allows all that is necessary in its fulfillment. All of this can be seen in the one commandment God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We get the impression that it was basically negative in nature in that it prohibited. God said, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). However, the positive aspect is seen in the preamble to the command, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But…" (2:16). And that which was detrimental to the fulfillment of the command was understood by Eve to be part of the command itself (although unspoken in the record, 2:16,17). Here is what she said to the devil. "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall Ye touch it, lest ye die" (3:2,3). It was not enough not to eat of the forbidden tree; they were not to touch it either. As Paul would say in the New Testament Scriptures, "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (I Thessalonians 5:22). Certain things are outright sin, and others are "weights" that will pull us down into sin (Hebrews 12:1).

New Testament Obedience to Commands
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Although we are not under the Ten Commandments today as such, being Christians, all of them in some sense (except Sabbath observance) are found in the New Testament (this side of the cross of Calvary, Hebrews 9:15-17). John 1:17 makes a profound statement. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." This word translated "truth" means reality (besides being that which is true in contrast with the false). The Law involved a "shadow of good things to come" (Hebrews 10:1; Colossians 2:14-17). This is true regardless how you choose to look at it (the Old Testament was the shadow; the New Testament is the reality behind the shadow that was cast). Even in the way the LORD treated the commandments of God we can see this. Legalism was not and is not enough, although the letter of the teaching must be kept (or it is not kept at all). The heart is involved in keeping the commands of God. Jesus said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill. But I say unto you…" (Matthew 5:21,22). To Jesus, uncontrolled anger and malicious name-calling approached murder. John wrote, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (I John 3:15). Again Jesus said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:27, 28). The Sermon on the Mount (where these words are found) involves the nature of the righteousness that was to be in the kingdom of Christ (Matthew 5:20). It involved the heart. In Romans chapters 7 and 8, Paul puts the law of sin and death and the law of the Spirit in bold contrast. In the midst of this he writes, "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:6,7). The Law of God in its Old Testament application did not subject the "carnal mind." It was very much like handing an unconverted person the Bible externally and, without a change of heart, charging him to keep the commandments of God. The law of the Spirit involves conversion to Christ, getting the inside changed, straightened out, then letting the Holy Spirit control the inner person (and thus the whole person). "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). Cushioned by the grace of God, and empowered by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are in a better position to keep the commands of God.

The Preamble to the Ten Commandments
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With these thoughts behind us, and as we approach each of the Ten Commandments individually for a brief study, we notice (as God began to speak) that the Ten Commandments as a whole were prefixed with what might be called a preamble. "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:1,2). This is the basis (and authority) upon which God gives these monumental commandments with the expectancy that they will be obeyed. The commands actually rest upon the LORD God Himself: (1) Just who He is ("I am the LORD"); (2) Whose He is ("I am the LORD thy God"); and (3) What He had done for them ("which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage"). We are reminded of what God more generically said to Abraham centuries before, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect [upright]" (Genesis 17:lb). All morality must have its roots in God, absolutes, whose unchanging character is the law of the universe. And, as someone has said in reference to the giving of the Ten Commandments, "The manifestation in act of his power and of his love precedes the claim for reverence and obedience." (It almost sounds like the New Testament. "For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s," I Corinthians 6:20). Gratitude would be one of the compelling motives for obedience to the Ten Commandments.

I. "Thou Shalt Have No
Other Gods Before Me" (Exodus 20:3).
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This first and great commandment was given over against the backdrop of a world that was engrossed in polytheism, superstition, and given over to the darkness of idolatry (not that there were in reality other "gods"). This commandment is the very foundation for all of the others that follow. Remove it, and you will have trouble in enforcing the others. In the New Testament Scriptures, the Lord Jesus Christ as he answered the temptation of the devil, summarized various Old Testament references and gave the positive backside of this commandment. "Thou shalt worship the LORD thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Luke 4.8). The forbidding of the worship of "other gods" implies that they should be worshipping the one true God (and Him alone). It is even as Jesus said, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).

Deuteronomy 6:4,5 fits right in with this command further emphasizing its positive side in a most emphatic way. "Hear, 0 Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." This declaration that "the LORD our God is one lord" is capable of several meanings as the Hebrew word for "one" here has various shades of meaning, we understand. The LORD (JEHOVAH) is the only living and true God; He only is God, and He is but one (yes, one, alone, unique, and indivisible). Since He is one, He is all. He is everything. Therefore, the totality of this injunction (and expected commitment and loyalty): "Thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

Monotheism in Nature and Religion
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We make this immediate observation from our present perspective and vantagepoint in passing: The awesome manifestation of power that we see in nature about us (which can be described as nothing less than almighty) harnessed and governed by higher systematic intelligence (which apparently is supreme, as well as being consistent throughout the universe) declares that there is God. And the unity of nature (as seen in harmonious and consistent laws that can be depended upon) points to one God, not many conflicting deities. Monotheism is the foundation of all truth (which is "monothematic") whether it be in "science" (nature) or in religion (and consequently, morals). Yes, there is one God who "hath made of one blood all nations" (Acts 17:24-29). This one God gave his "Only Begotten Son" (just one), John 3:16, to be our Savior. Consequently, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). As there is only one God, and one Savior, there can be only one way of salvation. There is only one church and one system of religious truth (not many). The Bible says, "There is one body [i.e., church---Colossians 1:18], and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). Denominationalism contradicts the oneness of God as seen in nature and as taught in the Holy Scriptures. How tragic (and absurd)!

Consequent Admonitions
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And would that our Jewish friends could see that the one God of the Old Testament has accomplished (past tense) his purpose with Israel after the flesh as outlined to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; Galatians 3:6-29); that Israel after the flesh has been superseded by "Israel after the Spirit" (the church), and that this one God of eternity is to realize his one purpose for all of his creation, one world, through the one universal church (which is for everyone, not just one nation).

Then let us always remember the one true God as He has enjoined in the first of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (and the flip side of this command in serving him only as God, the LORD God). Someone has well said, "He who begins by erasing the first commandment will sooner or later make a clean sweep of all the ten."

II. "Thou Shalt Not Make Unto
Thee Any Graven Image" (Exodus 20:4).
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It is hard for us today to understand ancient man’s predisposition to idolatry, but God knew (and history confirms the reality of this problem). This commandment was not only given, God goes at length to explain what He means (20:4,5). We know assuredly what is commanded on the basis of what is prohibited. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is permitted that might lead into idolatry. With this precept we have a hint as to the penalty that would be incurred with its violation (and Israel would experience this more than once, eventually being carried away into Babylonian Captivity).

The reason for this prohibitive commandment is tied in with the positive side of the first commandment (just who God really is). Reinforcing this commandment, God would soon have Moses remind the Israelites that He talked with them "from heaven" (20:22,23). Then Moses would later remind them that they "saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice" when God spoke to them at Mt. Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:12). In other words, getting right at the positive reason for this command (or the positive backside), Jesus said in John 4:24, "God is Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Yes, man was to make no graven image for he himself was made in the very image of God; God is Spirit, and that image in man has to do with the spiritual (not the physical). Through faith by means of the inner spiritual man we are to draw near to God (Hebrews 11:6). Idolatry has to do with worshipping that which is seen; God and eternal realities have to do with the unseen.

Monotheism, Then Idolatry
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Contrary to what is commonly thought and taught by our "learned" men of today, mankind was first monotheistic and then went into idolatry. Monotheism, with its lofty concepts, did not evolve from a primitive and less sophisticated deification of the elements of nature with a multiplicity of "gods" (and idols). All men originally knew the one God, and those who came along later were "without excuse" (Romans 1:20). Paul tells of their digression. "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain [empty] in their imaginations [thoughts], and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into images made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up…" (Romans 1:21-25a).

Graven images are multiple monuments to the ultimate and total lie (and are representative of total apostasy), cutting right at the heart of all truth (for God is Spirit, God is One, and truth is one). The prophet Habakkuk said that the idol was "a teacher of lies" (Habakkuk 2:18). Resuming Paul’s thoughts about idolatry in Romans chapter 1, it is said that those given to idolatry "changed the truth of God into a lie" (1:26). In the wake of this intellectual and spiritual darkness followed depravity, degradation, and the moral abandonment of mankind. Read about it in Romans 1:18-32. Here Paul repeatedly tells us that "God gave them up" (1:24,26, 28ff). It is not a very lovely picture.

"Unto the Third and Fourth Generation"
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In rounding out our thoughts on this commandment, let us say a word or two about the penalty involved in breaking this negative precept. God declared, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments" (Exodus 20:5,6). God is one and their devotion to him had to be singular. He is pictured as being jealous (zealous or impassioned) when anything takes His place. He is a jealous God because He is God---there is none other. The curse of idolatry is represented as the visitation of "the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation" (and the idolater is seen as one who hates God). At the same time God was showing his mercy unto thousands of them that loved him and kept his commandments (even unto a "thousand generations," Deuteronomy 7:9). (Note: it is called mercy, even though they loved him and kept his commandments. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 17:10). The penalty may sound severe ("unto the third and fourth generation"), but the roots of idolatry are lingering and hard to uproot. However, in contrast with His judgment, His mercy is pictured as extending to a "thousand generations." We are inclined to believe that "unto the third and fourth generation" and "thousands" (or, "thousand generations") are what we call idioms. Notice Psalms 105:8 (50:10). The "third and fourth generation" would mean a long time; whereas in contrast with this, a "thousand generations" would seem almost forever. The penalty was great; but God’s mercy was greater.

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