How Can You Apply Them Yourself
Today, you can apply the Ten Commandments in the same way Jesus showed us. Live your life striving to not only keep the letter of the Commandments, but also to fulfill them in spirit through a life of service and love for others. To help you keep them fully from your heart, God promises to give you His Holy Spirit. He gives His Spirit to those who obey Him that is, to those who have a desire to keep His commandments.
When God gave His commandments to ancient Israel, He realized they didn’t have what it took to obey. God lamented, Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” . The sad story of Israel is that they did not want to obey God. Their unwilling heart caused them to forfeit the blessings that come from obeying Gods commandments.
You Shall Make No Idols
Bible reference – Exodus 20:4-6:You shall not make for yourself a carved imageany likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth 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, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Explanation: Is there anything wrong with this commandment? Millions in the world need to hear this commandment. Jesus said in John 4:24, God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
All representations of the true God or false deities for the purpose of worship are forbidden. An idol image degrades God and it degrades man. God’s jealousy against false gods is but infinite love which allows no rival for our heart’s affection.
Chapter 7: Moses Gave Israel The Ten Commandments
The Myth: 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.
The Reality: The bible has several contradictory accounts of what laws the Israelites were given, how many they received, and where and when they got them. The traditional version of the Ten Commandments as given above was a late invention created no earlier than the seventh century BC.
The traditional view of how Israel received the Ten Commandments goes something like this. God verbally announced Ten Commandments to the people of Israel and they were later reduced to writing on stone tablets. Moses received the tablets on Mount Sinai and brought them down to the people. When he returned to the Israelites he saw the golden calf built by Aaron, became angry and smashed the stones. He returned to the mountain and obtained a new set of tablets. These he passed on to the people, placing them in the Ark of the Covenant for safekeeping. Thereafter, the Ten Commandments served as a sacred bond between the Israelites and the Hebrew god.
The Hebrew or Greek word translated as commandment actually means word. So, despite the rather verbose content of the Ten Commandments, originally, there should have been just Ten Words on the stone tablets.
Another distinction between Exodus and Deuteronomyappears in the last commandment about the coveting of other property. The Exodus version reads:
The Deuteronomy version reads:
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Ancient Near Eastern Laws And The 10 Commandments
The ancient Near East was a culture based upon image. In this regard, the region was no different from any other parts of the world in that era. The powers of nature , worship, communication, and, indeed, every other aspect of human endeavor was represented by iconography carved wood or stone, clay, or other materials used to make representation. The Decaloguethe Ten Commandments, or literally in Hebrew the Ten Wordswas an unprecedented and extraordinary break from the culture of created image. The late Dr. Neil Postman wrote the God of the Jews was to exist in the Word and through the Word . . . An unprecedented conception requiring the highest order of abstract thinking.
The Ten Commandments required the conception of God by the highest order of abstract thinking and in doing so began to train the mind to think thoughts after God. This approach to God, revealed by the Lord to humankind, allowed for an intellectual curiosity that would eventually send machines into interstellar travel, beaming photographs of deep space back to earth on radio waves.
The Decalogue was a major step in Gods mission in the world in restoring that image to do good. The Ten Commandments literally changed the world. If you fear I exaggerate, consider these six phenomenal ways that demonstrate how the Decalogue transformed the world.
The 10 Commandments In The Bible Transformed The World By Human Government
We have talked about the Ten Commandments and the rule of law, but we might also apply the rule of law to the larger framework of human government. Each of the commandments carries within it principles that when studied and applied, create human government that is taught in Scripture. In this day and age where there is talk of so-called benefits of socialism, we would do well to return to the biblical principles for human government that are clearly revealed in the word of God. Our founders certainly did.
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The Tenth Of The Ten Commandments
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbours.
It is Gods will that we keep His commandments, and the Bible even says that we show our love for God by keeping them.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
For a detailed article on why the ten commandments are still valid and important today, see: Do Christians Have to Keep the Commandments? Did Jesus Abolish the Law?
Why Should You Care
The reason why some people oppose the Ten Commandments is that their lives are out of harmony with God’s will as expressed in them. Paul says in Romans 7:12 that the commandment is holy, and just, and good. And in verse 14 he says that it is spiritual.
You see, our obligations are not merely to a law, but to Him who enacted that law. God is good, so His commandments are also good. The evil is in us, not in God or in His commandments.
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The Ten Commandments: Find Freedom
The Ten Commandments: Applying the Foundations of Living to My Personal Life
Living Free Every Day
Today’s Scripture “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” 1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT
Thoughts for Today Are you living with enslaving hand-me-downs? Perhaps a series of relationships ending in heartache a cycle of career failures an addiction poor self-esteem depression or other life-controlling issues.
No matter what your situation, there is hope. You can find freedom from enslaving hand-me-downs through Christ. He paid for your release from these bondages with His precious blood. And He promised, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” .
Consider this … So how can you find this freedom for your life? The first step is to confess your sins to Jesus, ask His forgiveness, and invite Him to be Lord of your life. “But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive Gods promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ” .
Then you can find help for your walk in freedom in the Bible. Its words are God’s special message to us. In it you will find truth. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” .
These thoughts were drawn from …
The Ten Commandments: Applying the Foundations of Living to My Personal LifeLiving Free Every Day
The Ten Commandments Animated Video Series
An excellent resource to support you in teaching the 10 Commandments to your children is a set of mini-movies called Kids 10 Commandments. Each mini-movie focuses on two commandments for a total of five films. If you are interested in the films you can watch the first one on youtube. It is called The Not So Golden Calf. Enjoy!
If you interested in learning more about this DVD set, or on the image. The set is inexpensive if you consider what you are getting.
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The Commands Reveal Sin
In the same way the Ten Commandments were given so that a problem deep within us could be revealed our sin. Sin literally means missing the target that God expects from us in how we treat others, ourselves and God. The Bible says that
The Lord looks down from heavenon all mankindAll have turned away, all have become corrupt there is no one who does good,not even one.
We all have this inner corrupting problem of sin. This is serious enough that God says of our good deeds that
All of us have become like one who is unclean,and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags we all shrivel up like a leaf,and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Our righteous merit in religious observances or helping others are only filthy rags when weighed against our sins.
But instead of recognizing our problem we tend either to compare ourselves with others , strive harder to obtain religious merit, or give up and just live for pleasure. Therefore God instituted the Ten Commandments so that:
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in Gods sight by the works of the law rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
If we examine our lives against the standard of the Ten Commandments it is like looking at an X-ray that shows the internal problem. The Ten Commandments do not fix our problem, but reveals the problem clearly so we will accept the remedy that God has provided. Instead of continuing in self-deception, the Law allows us to see ourselves accurately.
The Content Of The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:3-17
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make to you 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. You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: why the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long on the land which the LORD your God gives you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
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The 10 Commandments In The Bible Transformed The World By Revelation
The Ten Commandments came to Israel by direct revelation from Almighty God. Because of the fear of Israel, Moses became the intermediary who received the stone tablets on which were recorded the Commandments. Until this point, ancient Near Eastern pagan religions were disseminated to people for practice by the cult of priesthood. Only the priests had access to the deities. The Ten Commandments is a significant part of the narrative that God has revealed to humanity about Himself, about ourselves, and the awful loss of relationship lost by sin. In short, to quote the late great Dr. Francis Schaeffer, There is a God and he has spoken.” This revelation from God to man was something altogether different than the superstitious, nature-power-focused cults of the Near Eastern world. Quite simply, mankind could think thoughts after God because God had revealed His mind to humankind. And everything changed.
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Like all Scripture, the Commandments need to be interpreted in order to be understood and used by the Church and by individual Christians. Our understanding of the Commandments is informed by other parts of the Bible. They especially need to be interpreted through the life and ministry and teaching of Jesus.
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The 10 Commandments List Catholic Numbering Short Form*
The Lutherans follow a similar numbering, but reverse what the Catholics call the Ninth and 10th Commandments, following the order in Exodus 20.
Learn more about the 10 Commandments by studying each commandment and committing to strive to obey them. For further study, read the articles in this section: The 10 Commandments and God’s Way of Life.
Youll also want to see our helpful video series The 10 Commandments: A Matter of the Heart.
*See The 10 Commandments and Gods Way of Life for a discussion of the different numbering systems and the potential dangers of neglecting commandments by using only short form lists.
About the Author
Mike Bennett
Mike Bennett is editorial content manager for the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in the Dallas, Texas, area. He coordinates the Life, Hope & Truth website, Discern magazine, the Daily Bible Verse Blog and the Life, Hope & Truth Weekly Newsletter . He is also part of the Personal Correspondence team of ministers who have the privilege of answering questions sent to Life, Hope & Truth.
The Fourth Of The Ten Commandments
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.
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The Ten Commandments In The Calendar
Along with that first Passover and Abrahams test which stamp Gods signature on this Plan so we can be assured it is really His, the specific day when the Ten Commandments were given to Moses also point to the coming of the Spirit of God. The Jewish Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, is timed to the giving of Ten Commandments, which also coincides with the exact day of Acts 2 Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came.
Giving of Ten Commandments shown in relation to Feast of Weeks and coming of Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Feast of Weeks, Ten Commandments and Coming of Spirit are all on the same calendar day.
That the day when the Spirit came to indwell repentant people comes on the same day commemorating the giving of the Ten Commandments is Gods answer to Christopher Hitchens complaint. God is taking care to invent a different species one indwelt by His Spirit, so that we will have the ability to live differently. The precision in their timing is, once again, His Signature written on the canvas of time so we can be assured that both the Law and the Spirit are really from God.
Why Do Lists Of The Ten Commandments Differ
The Bible does not assign a number to each commandment. Consequently, opinions differ on how the commandments should be arranged. The list above is a common arrangement of these laws. However, some list the Ten Commandments differently. The differences in grouping involve the first, second, and last commandments. *
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A Closer Look At The Ten Commandments
Recently, it came to my attention that The Ten Commandments may not apply to us today. It is humbling to admit that even though I have been a Christian for nearly 30 years, there are many theological topics that I have never questioned or looked into for myself. When I became a Christian in high school, I can remember helping in the 2-3 year old Sunday School class where I taught toddlers about the Ten Commandments. Fast forward a couple of decades and I found myself still teaching the Ten Commandments to the same age classroom. Not until as of late, I have never questioned who Moses was talking to or who the Ten Commandments applied to. So, how have my thoughts changed on the validity of the Ten Commandments and do they apply to us today?