seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land 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 give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Here's the link to the commentary.
God spoke all these words: The following laws were not invented at Mount Sinai. A few aspects of the Mosaic Law show new revelation, but for the most part it simply clearly and definitely lays out God’s law as it was written in the heart of man since the time of Adam.
You shall have no other gods before Me: The first commandment logically flowed from understanding who God was and what He had done for Israel. Because of that, nothing was to come before God and He was the only God we worship and serve.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image: The second commandment prohibited not only idolatry regarding false gods (overlapping with the first commandment), it also forbids with making an image of any created thing that we might worship (you shall not bow down to them nor serve them).
Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me: This does not mean God punishes people directly for the sins of their ancestors. The important words are of those who hate Me. If the descendants love God, they will not have the iniquity of the fathers visited on them.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain: There are at least three ways this command is commonly disobeyed.
- Profanity: Using the name of God in blasphemy and cursing.
- Frivolity: Using the name of God in a superficial, stupid way.
- Hypocrisy: Claiming the name of God but acting in a way that disgraces Him
You shall not murder: In Hebrew as well as in English there is a distinction between to kill and to murder. As opposed to killing, murder is the taking of life without legal justification (execution after due process) or moral justification (killing in defense).
All the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning: Awesome sights and sounds came from Mount Sinai together with the speaking of the law. All of the phenomenon together made for an overwhelming scene.
That His fear may be before you: This distinguishes between two kinds of fear. Do not fear speaks of the tormenting fear that comes from both guilt and danger. That His fear may be before you speaks of the attitude of honor and reverence that leads to respect and obedience.
How ironic. I wonder how Thor would convey the basics of civility. Would Thor and Jupiter have conferences about how the sky and thunder would have us act? Would Ra and Surt have to agree on the heat of the sun would affect forest fires in California and Arizona?
God said.... "I'm your God. Don't bring any of those wannabes around me. I'm God! That's it and that's all"
God said.... "Remember the Sabbath... and keep it holy".
Take a day off and rest. God rests. Are you better than God? I'm pretty sure God really enjoyed making the heavens, the earth, and all the creatures. I'm pretty sure He will go on creating and monitoring civilizations forever, but He makes Himself take a break. Are we better than God? Can we work non-stop, never taking time off to rewind and refresh?
God said.... "Don't make a thing and cherish that thing more than God." The Israelites had been around the Egyptians for over 400 years. The Egyptians would carve themselves a stick and put it on a mantle with a candle and worship it. So, the Israelites learned to worship the stick more than God who actually changes the stick into a snake. The Egyptians would say the stick led the people and provided water and manna for the people... not God. God warned us to "stop it".
Give God the credit... not the stick. Catholics get a lot of grief over all the statues and stuff. It's ok to wear a cross... it's ok to have a cross on the wall... as long as the cross is just a reminder that God sent His Son to save us. I think it's ok, as long as I don't go using the cross like a god. Of course, what do I know... I'm just an old human with an online Bible and some online commentary. I have a couple of crosses in my jewelry box. I don't "worship" them.
God gave the people Ten Commandments... to teach them to be civil to one another.
Life is easy when we all get along!
