The Ten Commandments
October 17, 2019
Commentary
When God spoke the Ten Commandments, He revealed His holy char-acter and His desire for His people to live rightly with Him and one another. These commandments were written by the finger of God on stone tablets, showing their permanence and importance. The first four concern God, the last six concern others. Together, they summarize loving God and people. Je-sus condensed them into two: “Love God” and “Love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:37–39).
1. First Commandment (vv. 1–3): Worship only the one true and living God. 2. Second Commandment (vv. 4–6): Do not make or worship idols. 3. Third Commandment (v. 7): Honor God’s name—do not use it carelessly. 4. Fourth Commandment (vv. 8–11): Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
5. Fifth Commandment (v. 12): Honor your father and mother. 6. Sixth Commandment (v. 13): Do not murder—value every human life. 7. Seventh Commandment (v. 14): Be faithful in marriage and pure in heart. 8. Eighth Commandment (v. 15): Do not steal—respect what belongs to others. 9. Ninth Commandment (v. 16): Speak truthfully; do not give false testimony. 10. Tenth Commandment (v. 17): Do not covet; be content with what God has given you.
Each commandment teaches us how to love rightly—by putting God first and treating others with respect and integrity. The law shows us our need for God’s grace, because no one can perfectly keep these commands apart from Him. Yet they remain a guide for living a life that pleases the Lord and brings peace to our relationships.
Application
When I read the Ten Commandments, I’m reminded that loving God and loving people are deeply connected. Which commandment challenges me the most right now? Am I putting anything above God in my priorities, or am I showing real love and honesty toward others? This week, how can I honor God by obeying one specific commandment more fully in my words, thoughts, or actions?
Exodus 20:1–17 (NET)
1 God spoke all these words:
2 “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, 6 and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. 9 For six days you may labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Ten Commandments in The Jury Room
Four men held up a grocery store in Louisville, Kentucky, and in the process shot and killed two policemen. When the men were brought to trial, their lawyer noticed a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall near the jury box. “Judge Hayes,& … Continue