Exodus 20:1-26 NJKV
20 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to 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 him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness 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 is your neighbor’s.”
18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. 24 An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. 25 And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. 26 Nor shall you go up by steps to My altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed on it.’
Every Christian should know the Ten Commandments. But even more important than knowing them is understanding them in their Biblical and historical context, for which Luther’s explanations in the Small Catechism are an invaluable tool. For now, let’s focus on three things in this chapter.
The first thing to notice is that the Ten Commandments were not dropped down from heaven to all men; they were given specifically to the nation of Israel in the context of their recent delivery from slavery in Egypt. In fact, this is the first word that God speaks to the people gathered in fear and awe at the foot of Mt. Sinai: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Certain parts of the Ten Commandments applied only to Old Testament Israel, while large parts reflect the eternal, unchanging will of God for all mankind. Studying the Law of Moses involves distinguishing between God’s eternal will for all men (often referred to as the “moral law”) and His temporary commands for Israel only (referred to as “ceremonial law” and “civil law”).
The second thing to notice is that, as Jesus makes clear in the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matt. 5), the Ten Commandments govern not only our actions but also the words we speak and the very thoughts and desires of our hearts. The commandments forbidding coveting make this especially clear. God commands not only outward obedience but obedience that flows from genuine love for God and for our neighbor.
Third, notice that the Ten Commandments command well enough, but they do not empower obedience. Many of the same people who heard God thunder down His commandments would soon flagrantly disobey the very first one. Such disobedience became an entrenched pattern for Israel, revealing the utter depravity of sinful man and the need for sinners to be saved in a different way than by keeping the commandments, namely, through faith in Christ Jesus, who has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).
Let us pray: Lord, grant us Your Holy Spirit, that we who trust in Jesus alone for salvation may joyfully and diligently run in the way of Your commandments. Amen.