The Ten Commandments

Background Scripture: Exodus 19-20
Lesson Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17

Introduction

As an expression of his great love, God left some instructions for wholesome and happy living. The Ten Commandments were given for the welfare of the human family. Imagine what life would be like if we were left among all the evil influences of a fallen world with no divine guidance! Many people see the Ten Commandments as restrictive and out of date. Those who love God appreciate the directives that were given and will not find it burdensome to conform their lives to God’s plan.

Key Verse

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself (Luke 10:27).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

In the last lesson we studied about the miraculous deliverance of the children of Israel from the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. Today we continue with them on their journey to the promised land. As they traveled, they were divinely led by a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. Eventually they were halted near Mount Sinai. While not all historians agree, some propose that the journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai took about twenty-two days and covered approximately 125 miles.

The children of Israel were at Mount Sinai for about a year, and special things happened while they were camped there. God reaffirmed his plan that these people should be a “peculiar treasure unto [Him] above all people.” In return, the people made a covenant with the Lord: “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exod. 19:4-8). At Mount Sinai, Moses received the instructions for the tabernacle, and it was there it was first assembled. Most notably, it was at Mount Sinai that God gave the law and the Ten Commandments.

While the Israelites were encamped at Mount Sinai, Moses made several trips up the mountain. Exodus 24 gives an interesting account of one of these trips. God called Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders up the mountain, “and they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink” (vv. 10-11). It appears that these men of Israel, while on the mount, saw God in some manner from a distance. Verse 2 of this chapter says, “And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh.” As these elders of Israel descended the mount and made their way back to the desert floor, what must have been their discussion? What a story these men would tell as they returned to the people!

The Ten Commandments, as recorded in our lesson text, were given by God audibly; He actually spoke the commandments. Though it must have been very impressive, God was not satisfied with a mere audible recitation of his most important instructions. God’s people were to have something tangible, something solid, something they could refer to as generations would come and go. So as God unfolded his plan for the people, He again called Moses up the mount. Here He presented Moses with two tables of stone. Written on the stone were God’s laws, inscribed by God’s own hand. As Moses descended the mount again, he found the people taken in idolatry. In anger he threw the precious gift to the ground, shattering these priceless tablets.

After the Israelites repented of their sin, Moses was called once again up the mountain. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest” (Exod. 34:1). Moses recounted these events nearly forty years later, as the Israelites were about to enter the promised land. He said, “And [God] wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me” (Deut. 10:4-5).

The Ten Commandments were not given merely as temporary instructions while the Israelites made their journey to the promised land. Indeed, the patriarchs who lived before Moses’s time were familiar with God’s laws. Somehow Jacob understood God’s abhorrence of idolatry. “Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments” (Gen. 35:2). Job, living long before Moses, understood the danger of taking the Lord’s name in vain. “For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts” (Job 1:5). These passages, together with others, indicate that God had established his precepts long before the Israelites’ experience at Mount Sinai.

Under Moses’s leadership, the children of Israel made the transition from slavery and servitude to becoming an independent nation. Perhaps this was the reason the Ten Commandments needed to be codified. No longer was it sufficient just to pass down God’s laws by word of mouth. God saw that it would be necessary from this time forward to have something in writing regarding his will for this called out nation, his chosen people.

Practical Truths for Today

Just as God’s laws were in effect prior to Mount Sinai, they will remain so until the close of time. “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal. 3:6). While Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law, God’s moral expectations for the human family are still in force. We currently live in a time of deepening moral decay. One need not look far nor long to find blatant violations of each of the Ten Commandments. The precepts of God are being openly discarded for a more compatible and accepting code of ethics.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” It is easy to see that fashion, wealth, popularity, and sports have become reigning gods in the world about us. Perhaps we Christians are not as free of these gods as we would like to believe. Where are your ambitions? What are your goals? Where do you most willingly expend your mental and physical resources? In what areas do you really strive to succeed? Is God really on the throne of your life, and do the fruits of your life reflect the values embodied in God’s law?

In the swirl of conversation at the workplace or in mingling with crowds during a shopping trip, one need not listen long before hearing God’s name being abused and disrespected. Hearing too much swearing and profanity can cause us to lose our aversion to this kind of speech. If we are not careful, we may find words crossing our lips that will be judged by God.

Sunday, once a day of worshipful church attendance and family time, has become a weekly opportunity to pursue unfettered selfish pleasures. When God’s people assemble, a true keeper of the commandments will be there. Skipping out for selfish interests is not a part of keeping the day holy.

The news brings us daily accounts of violence, hatred, and murder. Alternative lifestyles and promiscuity are accepted in our world today. How are these things affecting us?

As we place the trends of modern society against those ancient tables of stone, a striking conflict becomes apparent. Where does the Christian stand in this controversy? As we brush shoulders with the world, have we become more conditioned to accept its philosophies? A subtle spirit may suggest that in this day of grace the Ten Commandments are not quite so important.

We must never allow ourselves the convenience of a compromise with God’s laws. In the past, God has always blessed the people and nations that obey his commandments. This continues today. The Ten Commandments were not given only for the benefit of God’s chosen people. Rather, they are an all-encompassing framework of instructions whereby all humanity can find security and happiness. History gives strong testimony that prosperity ensues when nations uphold God’s laws. When governments and popular opinion ignore his plan, society suffers.

The Ten Commandments are just as important to God today as they were in Moses’s time. It is not mankind’s privilege to adjust God’s laws. It is our responsibility to adjust our behavior and actions to fit within his plan. For the born-again Christian who loves God, this is not so difficult, for the child of God finds security when surrendered to the Father’s will. God’s law was given because He loves us. If we will accept his law as an expression of his love for us, we will experience a deepening of our relationship with Him. When God sees our willingness to embrace the basic tenets of his moral law, He will further guide our steps as we journey through life. Those who are fully surrendered are richly blessed.

As we make our way through life, God is interested in our appreciation, perception, and obedience of his laws. He may well be asking, “Will these people, which are called by my name, remain true to the blueprint I offered for their happiness?”

Questions

1. What role do the Ten Commandments have in the gospel?
2. Why did God not elect to preserve the tables of stone to modern times as a proof of his divine will?
3. The Old Testament ceremonial law was fulfilled in Christ’s death and resurrection. What is the difference between the ceremonial law and the moral law?
4. Which of the Ten Commandments is most difficult to keep?
5. If the misaligned values of modern society have modified our beliefs, how do we come back to wholesome, godly precepts?
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).