What are the Ten Commandments?
Most people have heard about the Ten Commandments and some can even name a few of them. These are the original ten laws that God gave to Moses when he fasted forty days and forty nights on mount Sinai with the LORD. There, Moses wrote the words of the covenant on tablets of stone. We see The Ten Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:1-17. The original tablets were destroyed by Moses when he found that the people had turned to worshipping idols and God had Moses make new tablets (Exodus 34). Here is what God told Moses:
Exodus 20:1-17. “And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I [am] the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee 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: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 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: 11 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.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.”
From these original ten laws hundreds of laws were made my the Jewish people. The list of over 600 laws is called the Mitzvot [1].
Products and purpose of the Law
Foundationally, God’s philosophy of education can we summed up as:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9. ” Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”
Phylacteries, (small boxes) used in certain Jewish communities even today, are thought to be a literal fulfillment of God’s instruction to parents. These phylacteries had a small Deuteronomy 6 scroll inside to represent this commandment. While this may be symbolic, God wanted all thinking and actions to be in line with His Word.
In the early church, even some those Jews who believed on Jesus also believed that to be Jewish you must continue to look like a Jew and keep the law as well, especially the ceremonial laws that they made up, like circumcision. Paul wrote the Book of Galatians to emphasize that salvation is by faith in Jesus alone apart from the law.
As believers, even though we do not literally keep the law that law is important to remember. More on this later.
Jesus clarified the law and wrapped all ten of the original commandments into two. The first four remind us of how to love and honor our LORD and the last six remind us how to love and honor our neighbors. Jesus said:
“… Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
What is the controversy over these Ten Commandments?
In 2001 The state of Alabama was all over the news when Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court installed a monument of the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the state’s judicial building. This heavy granite cubed monument has the Ten Commandments engraved on two tablets on the top panel. Other quotes relating to the God’s prominence in society are engraved on the sides of the monument. He installed the monument because he believes these Ten Commandments illustrate “the moral foundation of law” and the need for God in society.
In October of 2001 three Alabam attorneys filed a suit against Moore in the U.S. District Court in Montgomery, alleging that the monument violated the U.S. Contitution’s First Amendment’s Clause because it endorsed religion. They were concerned that religion rather than legal precedents would have too much bearing on their legal cases. Moore’s attorneys argued that the monument simply was in line with America’s long- established tradition of acknowledging God. On November 8, 2002, after a week long trial the court found for the Plaintiffs and Judge Moore lost his case. He was given 30 days to remove the monument.
Moore appealed the decision by the District Court and the monument was allowed to stand pending the outcome of the appeal. Moore lost the appeal and was ordered once again to remove the monument. He refused to do it and the other eight Alabama Supreme Court justices voted to remove the monument fearing heavy fines for disobeying the federal court’s order. Moore was removed from office for his disobedience and the monument was removed from the building on November 14, 2003.
Since his removal from office Moore has toured the country speaking about the Ten Commandments and the law. He often takes that heavy monument with him to his speaking engagements. [2]
Why do people not want the ten commandments displayed?
We live in a Godless world and that is because we refuse to acknowledge that we are wrong and God is right. In early American education, the Bible was one of two books used in school, the other being the New England Primer (which included many sections that were drawn from the King James Bible). [3]
Then in 1963 the Bible was taken out of the public schools in the United States, this came on the heals of a New York public schools ruling that disallowed prayer. Dr. Williams, in his book Silenced in the Schoolhouse (PDF download), cites that Biblical illiteracy is destroying America.
So why do people not want to see the Ten Commandments? It really has nothing to do with the First Amendment’s prohibition on establishment of a religion, instead it is all about God and his word.
The Law reminds us of God’s desires
Proverbs 1:8-9. “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.”
Proverbs 4:1-9. “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. 3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.”
The Law reminds us that our way is not the right way
Proverbs 14:12. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 16:25. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
The Law is a two way street
Ephesians 6:1-4. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
The Law is knowledge of sin
Romans 3:19-20. “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 7:7. “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
The Law teaches us that we need a Savior
Galatians 3:21-26. “Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Final Thoughts
We are in a state of rebellion against God today and have been for decades. People think if they don’t hear about what God wants or read what He says, they can do whatever they see as right in their own eyes. But here’s the thing, the truth is the truth wheather you believe it or not. God’s word is not going away, it always was, it is now, and it will always be (Hebrews 13:8). The Ten Commandment were given so that we might recognize sin and know that we need a Savior. We don’t need to remove the Ten Commandments, we need to install Jesus!
Read more about the truth here: Testifying of truth
[1] “A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) – Judaism 101 (JewFAQ).” n.d. Www.jewfaq.org. https://www.jewfaq.org/613_commandments.
[2] “Ten Commandments Monument Controversy.” n.d. Encyclopedia of Alabama. https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/ten-commandments-monument-controversy/.
[3] “The New-England Primer | Textbook.” 2019. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-New-England-Primer.
