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 not 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.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

Proclamation:

“I am The Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before Me … You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  Exodus 20:2-17 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After the Israelites had crossed the wilderness and come to 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)  In addition to the Ten Commandments, The Lord God gave 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 that 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), should not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), should not steal (Exodus 20:15), should not lie (Exodus 20:16), and should not 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.

GOOD HEALTH A LONG LIFE AND HAPPINESS

Proclamation:

"So be careful to do what The Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.  Walk in all the way that The Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." Deuteronomy 5:32-33 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Prophet Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After Moses had given the Ten Commandments to the people, he told them to be careful and to do as The Lord had commanded them.  Walking in the way of The Lord was likened to following a straight path which they were not to deviate from.  Following God would bring them a long life and prosperity.

Application:

The same thing applies to us as believers today as it did to the believers in the days of Moses.  We need to understand that keeping the Ten Commandments will not save anyone who does not believe in Jesus, The Christ, The Son of God.  However, if we believe and if we endeavor to keep The Commandments and behave in a Christ-like way, we will be blessed with a long life and prosperity.  How we live our lives will determine how long we will live.

One Blessing After Another

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:16-17 (NIV)

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, states that by the grace of God, we all have received blessing after blessing. Not because we were so righteousness or deserving. We were and are utterly unrighteous. The law, the ten commandments which were given to Moses for mankind, were designed to show the unrighteousness of man and our need for a Savior. Grace, the unmerited favor of God, was displayed to mankind by Jesus Christ.

We have all enjoyed countless blessings, one after another, spaced out by trials and tribulations which are, or lead to blessings. Unfortunately, we tend to focus on our troubles and not on our blessings. Every breath and every heart beat is a blessing. Every act of random kindness shown to us is a blessing. Protection from dangers seen and unseen is a blessing. Closed doors to things that we want are blessings that keep us from some things and direct us to open doors that are opportunities for greater and better things for us. Even the death of a loved one can be a blessing, it frees them from suffering and it causes us to look to and depend on The Lord. God has blessed us with one blessing after another. We just need to be thankful for the blessings that we have received because we did not deserve any of them.

Don't Lie

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." Exodus 20:16 (NIV)

The ninth of the ten commandments that God gave to Moses for the Children of Israel and all mankind. One should not speak falsely and lie on or to others, but should tell the truth.

Our legal system, and the legal system of most if not all other societies, is based upon the principal that witnesses should "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Societies and personal relationships fail when people cannot be counted on to tell the truth. It is very upsetting for someone, especially someone that you considered a friend, to look you in the eye and tell you a lie. Some people claim that they tell "little white lies" to avoid hurting someone's feelings. There is no such thing as a little lie, a lie is a lie. A lie is speaking falsely to someone about someone or something. Lying in not Christ-like. Good Christian conversation is not based upon lying. The Bible states that there is a special place reserved in hell for "... all liars ..." (Revelation 21:8) It would be much better for all of us, if we cannot tell the truth, then we should not say anything at all. We need to pray for forgiveness and pray for God to guide our tongue.

Teach Your Children About God

"Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NIV)

After presenting them with the ten commandments, Moses told the people that they were to love The Lord completely. They were to teach The Word of God and the commandments to their children. They were to live them, talk of them all the time, and display them in their homes and on their persons.

Parents are to teach The Word of God to their children. If the children and grand children don't know it, then it is the fault of the parents and the grand parents. (Deuteronomy 6:1-2) If the parents don't know it, then it is our fault for not telling them. If we tell them but they refuse to listen, or refuse to believe, then we have done our part. The Word of God should be so ingrained within us that it should show in our daily lives, in our conversations, in our behavior, in our homes, and in our attire. We should make sure that each day we tell someone about The Lord. Make sure that no child sees or hears us, behaving or speaking, in an non Christ-like manner. We do not want to cause a child to stumble into sin or be led astray. (Matthew 18:6 & Mark 9:42 & Luke 17:2)

Good Health A Long Life And Happiness

"So be careful to do what The Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that The Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." Deuteronomy 5:32-33 (NIV)

After Moses had given the ten commandments to the people, he told them to be careful and to do as The Lord had commanded them. Walking in the way of The Lord was likened to following a straight path which they were not to deviate from. Following God would bring them long life and prosperity.

Keeping the ten commandments will not save you if you do not believe in Jesus, The Christ, The Son of God. However, if you believe and endeavor to keep the commandments, you will be blessed with good health, a long life, and prosperity.

Don't Put Anything In Life Before God

"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?' ... Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven ... Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:16-26 (NIV)

When the rich young man asked Jesus what he could do, Jesus told him to keep the commandments. Then he asked which ones and Jesus spelled them all out for him. He said that he had done that all of his life and asked what else should he do. That was when Jesus told him to sell all he had, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. He left Jesus sad because he valued his money and possession more than he valued Jesus.

Most rich people have more faith in their money than in God, and they value their possessions more than the things of God. Nothing should be more important to us than God. We should not put anything ahead of God. There is nothing wrong with have lots of money as long as the money is not more important to us than God is. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 (KJV) Before we start asking God for blessings, make sure that He is first in our life.