Exodus 20:1-17
A Pharisee lawyer asked Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Matthew 22:37-40 gives Jesus’ answer. “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.” The entire law can be summed up in two commands. The most important is to Love God with all our heart. The second is to love other people. All of the laws and teachings of the prophets are about demonstrating that love. God started out with the outline of the law, known as the Ten Commandments. The first group relate to loving God.
“And God spake all these words, saying, 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.” (Exodus 20:1-3)
God had delivered Israel from Egypt and from slavery in a miraculous way. Based on what he had done for them they were to acknowledge no other gods. Romans 1:23 and 25 describes the sin of other groups. “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things…. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator…” Israel was not to idolize any person, animal or created thing, including the sun, the earth, or anything else.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 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 showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6)
Not only were they not to consider anything else as a god, they were not to make any picture or figure of anything in heaven, on earth or under the earth to be worshipped. They were not forbidden to make such things, as we see later in the descriptions of the tabernacle but they were forbidden to bow to or obey or worship them. As Acts 17:29 advises, “… we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s devices.” The best picture or statue is only a poor caricature of what God is really like.
“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)
Word translated vain means uselessly or in a evil or destructive manner. His name is never to be used frivolously. Neither is it to be used as a curse word or to make fun of people.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11)
The Sabbath day was set aside as a time for celebrating and enjoying what God has done. It was instituted on completion of creation. It should not be wasted on everyday chores. Speaking specifically to Israel, Isaiah 54:5 declares, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” Perhaps this gives us the clearest understanding of why these commandments so relate so completely to loving God. Just as a wife who truly loves her husband is not going to be involved or even flirting with or kissing other men, people who truly love God are not going to be involved with other gods. Nothing is more indicative of a lack of love than being involved with someone else.
Guys who hang pictures of some actress or model imply they are not satisfied with their wives and would like to mess around with someone else. Just as a wife has every right to be jealous if her husband is keeping pictures of other women, and especially pornographic pictures, God has every right to be jealous when people are focusing on and worshipping other beings. Real love will keep people from wanting to focus on another lover to the point that as Abimelech told Sarai, in Genesis 20:16, “…behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other…”
Taking God’s name in vain is much the same as running down your mate to other people or calling them derogatory names. Such disrespect is just as offensive to God as it is to one’s mate. It clearly shows one has no concern for their feelings, no real love. Finally, real love is demonstrated by a desire to spend time together. The person who is so caught up with his work, earning a degree, spending time with their friends or at a hobby that they won’t put it aside for their mate has said their mate is less important to them than those other things, and it really doesn’t matter what the other thing is. While we don’t need to drop everything every time we see our mate, there ought to be a time when we put aside daily things to spend time with our mate. If we love the Lord we will be willing to put aside daily chores to spend time with him.
The second principle of the law is “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The next six commandments lay out the basic principles of loving our neighbor. Later God will go into specific details but for the moment he just lays out the principles.
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:12)
To honour someone is to show them respect. If we love someone, we will show them respect . Our parents are the people we are most closely associated with during our childhood. A failure to learn to love our parents and show them respect will hamper our showing love to others as well. One primary way of showing respect is yielding to the wishes of others. Since the parent ought to be concerned about the child his wishes ought to be centered on what will be best for the child. A simple example is the parent who insists their child stay right beside them walking down the street to prevent their being run over or kidnapped. The child who learns to honor their parents wishes in such matters increases his chances of survival. Simply learning to show respect for others may also keep them from trying to kill you.
“Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13)
Love for others is going to be concerned for their well being. It’s not going to intentionally hurt or kill them.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
If one is really concerned for the feelings of one’s mate, they are not going to cheat on them, and if they are concerned about other people mate they will not cheat with their mates. Adultery is a clear indication that one is only concerned with their own self.
“Thou shalt not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)
Love of another person will not want to deprive them of their belongings or their pleasure in them. Stealing is a clear indication of selfishness.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” (Exodus 20:16)
Love is not going to want to destroy the other person by telling lies to discredit them or cause trouble. Gossip is evidence of a lack of real love for the other person.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.” (Exodus 20:17)
In Matthew 5:28, Jesus said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” When we begin to crave what the other person has, whether his wife or his home or his car or his job, and think what it would be like if we had it we have in our minds taken it from him. While he may never know we felt that way, because we never act on the craving, it is in our mind, and if opportunity presents is likely to be a fact. Love will not focus in that manner because it does not want to deprive the other person.
While these are the basic principles of the Old Testament law, most of it will be devoted to specific actions demonstrating that love. The New Testament focuses on the attitude or spirit that motivates a person, rather than the specific actions. Just as a kiss is supposed to denote love, but Judas used a kiss to betray Jesus to death, people can perform the actions of the law without loving God. If the motivation is not right, the actions are basically meaningless. As Paul points out in Galatians, while it is possible to make and enforce laws about actions, it is impossible to make enforceable laws relating to attitudes. The law against covetousness was only enforceable when it was acted upon, by stealing or adultery. As long as it was only in thought mankind cannot enforce it.
Many scholars point out similarities between Hammurabi’s code and the Ten Commandments. Since his code was established about fifty years before Ussher’s proposed date of the Exodus, many believe the Ten Commandments were derived from his code. Using the archaeological and biblical evidence, we find that in fact the Exodus was approximately three hundred years before Hammurabi set up the stele with his code. Hammurabi would have lived during the period of the Judges, about the time of Gideon.
A Pharisee lawyer asked Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Matthew 22:37-40 gives Jesus’ answer. “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.” The entire law can be summed up in two commands. The most important is to Love God with all our heart. The second is to love other people. All of the laws and teachings of the prophets are about demonstrating that love. God started out with the outline of the law, known as the Ten Commandments. The first group relate to loving God.
“And God spake all these words, saying, 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.” (Exodus 20:1-3)
God had delivered Israel from Egypt and from slavery in a miraculous way. Based on what he had done for them they were to acknowledge no other gods. Romans 1:23 and 25 describes the sin of other groups. “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things…. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator…” Israel was not to idolize any person, animal or created thing, including the sun, the earth, or anything else.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 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 showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:4-6)
Not only were they not to consider anything else as a god, they were not to make any picture or figure of anything in heaven, on earth or under the earth to be worshipped. They were not forbidden to make such things, as we see later in the descriptions of the tabernacle but they were forbidden to bow to or obey or worship them. As Acts 17:29 advises, “… we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s devices.” The best picture or statue is only a poor caricature of what God is really like.
“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)
Word translated vain means uselessly or in a evil or destructive manner. His name is never to be used frivolously. Neither is it to be used as a curse word or to make fun of people.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11)
The Sabbath day was set aside as a time for celebrating and enjoying what God has done. It was instituted on completion of creation. It should not be wasted on everyday chores. Speaking specifically to Israel, Isaiah 54:5 declares, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” Perhaps this gives us the clearest understanding of why these commandments so relate so completely to loving God. Just as a wife who truly loves her husband is not going to be involved or even flirting with or kissing other men, people who truly love God are not going to be involved with other gods. Nothing is more indicative of a lack of love than being involved with someone else.
Guys who hang pictures of some actress or model imply they are not satisfied with their wives and would like to mess around with someone else. Just as a wife has every right to be jealous if her husband is keeping pictures of other women, and especially pornographic pictures, God has every right to be jealous when people are focusing on and worshipping other beings. Real love will keep people from wanting to focus on another lover to the point that as Abimelech told Sarai, in Genesis 20:16, “…behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other…”
Taking God’s name in vain is much the same as running down your mate to other people or calling them derogatory names. Such disrespect is just as offensive to God as it is to one’s mate. It clearly shows one has no concern for their feelings, no real love. Finally, real love is demonstrated by a desire to spend time together. The person who is so caught up with his work, earning a degree, spending time with their friends or at a hobby that they won’t put it aside for their mate has said their mate is less important to them than those other things, and it really doesn’t matter what the other thing is. While we don’t need to drop everything every time we see our mate, there ought to be a time when we put aside daily things to spend time with our mate. If we love the Lord we will be willing to put aside daily chores to spend time with him.
The second principle of the law is “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The next six commandments lay out the basic principles of loving our neighbor. Later God will go into specific details but for the moment he just lays out the principles.
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:12)
To honour someone is to show them respect. If we love someone, we will show them respect . Our parents are the people we are most closely associated with during our childhood. A failure to learn to love our parents and show them respect will hamper our showing love to others as well. One primary way of showing respect is yielding to the wishes of others. Since the parent ought to be concerned about the child his wishes ought to be centered on what will be best for the child. A simple example is the parent who insists their child stay right beside them walking down the street to prevent their being run over or kidnapped. The child who learns to honor their parents wishes in such matters increases his chances of survival. Simply learning to show respect for others may also keep them from trying to kill you.
“Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13)
Love for others is going to be concerned for their well being. It’s not going to intentionally hurt or kill them.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
If one is really concerned for the feelings of one’s mate, they are not going to cheat on them, and if they are concerned about other people mate they will not cheat with their mates. Adultery is a clear indication that one is only concerned with their own self.
“Thou shalt not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)
Love of another person will not want to deprive them of their belongings or their pleasure in them. Stealing is a clear indication of selfishness.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” (Exodus 20:16)
Love is not going to want to destroy the other person by telling lies to discredit them or cause trouble. Gossip is evidence of a lack of real love for the other person.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.” (Exodus 20:17)
In Matthew 5:28, Jesus said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” When we begin to crave what the other person has, whether his wife or his home or his car or his job, and think what it would be like if we had it we have in our minds taken it from him. While he may never know we felt that way, because we never act on the craving, it is in our mind, and if opportunity presents is likely to be a fact. Love will not focus in that manner because it does not want to deprive the other person.
While these are the basic principles of the Old Testament law, most of it will be devoted to specific actions demonstrating that love. The New Testament focuses on the attitude or spirit that motivates a person, rather than the specific actions. Just as a kiss is supposed to denote love, but Judas used a kiss to betray Jesus to death, people can perform the actions of the law without loving God. If the motivation is not right, the actions are basically meaningless. As Paul points out in Galatians, while it is possible to make and enforce laws about actions, it is impossible to make enforceable laws relating to attitudes. The law against covetousness was only enforceable when it was acted upon, by stealing or adultery. As long as it was only in thought mankind cannot enforce it.
Many scholars point out similarities between Hammurabi’s code and the Ten Commandments. Since his code was established about fifty years before Ussher’s proposed date of the Exodus, many believe the Ten Commandments were derived from his code. Using the archaeological and biblical evidence, we find that in fact the Exodus was approximately three hundred years before Hammurabi set up the stele with his code. Hammurabi would have lived during the period of the Judges, about the time of Gideon.
Even if Hammurabi and Moses were contemporaries, or Moses was born later, the similarity only demonstrates God's law written in the hearts of the Gentiles as it was with the Jews. But God actually gave the written law to the Jews, which made them more accountable than the Gentiles. As far as aI understand it, there are vast dissimilarities between the codes as well.
ReplyDeleteI really like your treatment of the Decalogue, and how it translates from action to attitude in the NT. Thanks for the encouragement.
You're right that even if the Moses and Hammurabi were contemporaries, the basis and laws are quite different. However, the Biblical history makes it clear that even the proposition by supposed experts that the Mosaic law was somehow based on Hammurabi's code is untenable. It is the failure to accept the Biblical record completely that has given them credence.
ReplyDelete