THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

PROCLAMATION

“I am The Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before Me … Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house … nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”  Exodus 20:2-17 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After the Israelites had crossed the wilderness and come to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, they camped near it. (Exodus 18:5 and 19:1)  Moses went up into the mountain of God and came back down with messages for the people several times (Exodus 19:3-7, 19:8, 19:14, and 19:20-22) before coming down with the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:1-18)  The Lord God also gave to Moses instructions and laws for the Israelites regarding idols and alters (Exodus 20:22-26), Hebrew servants (Exodus 21:1-11), personal injuries (Exodus 21:12-36), protection of property (Exodus 22:1-15), social responsibility (Exodus 22:16-31), justice and mercy (Exodus 23:1-9), and the Sabbath. (Exodus 23:10-13)  The Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone. (Exodus 24:12)  The last time that Moses went up into the mountain of God, he stayed for forty days. (Exodus 24:15-18)

 

APPLICATION

When The Lord God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, He knew that the people then and now would not be able to keep them.  We were to use them as a mirror to show ourselves that we were sinners who fell short of God’s Word. (Romans 3:23)  We sin with our actions and words, and even when we have sinful thoughts we have committed a sin. (Matthew 5:28)  Additionally, The Bible teaches us that if we have broken one of these commandments, we are just as sinful as if we had broken all of them. (James 2:10)  The Ten Commandments are: we should have no other gods (Exodus 20:2-3), not make any images of God (Exodus 20:4-6), not use God’s name in vain (Exodus 20:7), remember to keep the Sabbath Day holy (Exodus 20:8-11), honor our father and mother (Exodus 20:12); and that we should not kill (Exodus 20:13), commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), steal (Exodus 20:15), lie (Exodus 20:16), or covet anything that belongs to our neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)  We needed the Ten Commandments because we had to be shown that we were lost sinners and that we needed a savior.