Exodus 20:1-21

Exodus 20:1-21

When I was a kid and I thought of the Ten Commandments, my mind tended to think of the poster hanging in the Sunday School room. It was a neat listing of ten short commands. Now while there is nothing wrong with the posters we have of the Ten Commandments, if this is all that you know about them, then you are missing out on so much more. Most of Exodus 20 is composed of the Ten Commandments along with some explanations for a few of the commandments. So for this chapter let’s just take a look at these commandments:

• “You shall have not other gods before me” – this commandment is introduced by a reminder of all God had done for the Israelites up to this point. In essence, this command should be our reaction to God’s presence in our life. If we truly say that we are going to follow Him, then our devotion should be solely fixed on Him and no one or nothing else.

• “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” – this second command is an extension of the first. Idols in our lives, whether they be other deities that people have made (which we should not have anyways) or our own hobbies and interests should never have more importance in our lives than God. God should be our first priority in life.

• “You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” – notice that this command has a consequence associated with it. Those who dishonor the name of the Lord are considered guilty before Him. Now of course all sin has a consequence, but this one is pointed out in particular in this listing.

• “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” – again, this commandment has much explanation in the following verses, showing us how to organize our weeks. Furthermore, it makes the connection between our work and worship with the creation account. It shows how our lives should mirror God’s commands.

• “Honor your father and your mother” – whereas the third command had a consequence associated with it, this command has a promise associated with it. God has placed authority in our lives for a reason, and we are expected to honor and obey those who are placed over us. They have experience and can help better our lives if we listen to their advice.

The next set of commands has no other explanation, but they are pretty self explanatory. These four commands show us how we are to treat those around us. Think of the greatest command that Jesus gave us in Mark 12:29-31. He told us that we are supposed to love God with all that we have and then love our neighbor as ourselves. Just as you would never willing do any of these things to yourself, you should not do them to anyone else.

• “You shall not murder”

• “You shall not commit adultery”

• “You shall not steal”

• “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”

• “You shall not covet…” – this command is lengthier for it gives us a series of examples. It really falls into the category above for it too shows us how we are supposed to treat others.

Notice that the people of Israel were still at the base of the mountain at this time, standing in fear. God was laying out His law that He expected all of them to follow. Think of how intimidating that must have been to be standing right at the mountain where God had descended in a cloud of smoke. But also notice how Moses was set apart from the people in verse 21. They stood far off from the mountain, afraid to approach it, but Moses began walking into the smoke toward God. He was going to meet with the Lord, as He gave the Israelites the rest of His commands.

Matt