The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20
The God our Lord, in a thick cloud from the top of Mount Sinai, spoke as a loud trumpet His laws so that Israelite people would know how to not sin, but to show their love of God (Exodus 20:1-17). These laws make up what are the Ten Commandments in the Bible.
At the end of Moses’ communing on Mount Sinai, the Lord gave him tablets of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18). These two stone tablets of the ten commandments, held His four laws to love God (commandments one through four), and six laws to love your fellow mankind (commandments five through ten), as identified by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40.
1 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.
Why do we need the 10 Commandments?
Every man and woman is born with a sinful nature and has sinned during their life. Sin is defined in the Holy Bible as the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4). God’s ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) or God’s law of liberty (James 1:25 & James 2:8-12), are given to us by God so that we can be free of sin and be happy.
Being free from hurting others and following God’s law makes you free from God’s judgment and punishment. This works the same way if you break your countries law’s, the authorities might arrest you, you’ll have to go to court to be judged, and there will be different punishments for breaking the law. Just like with God’s law, there are consequences to others for you breaking your country’s laws. There are no victimless crimes.
God’s law is not burdensome but liberates us from hurting others. By keeping them we ensure we do not hurt God or hurt our neighbors. This is how God’s law shows us how to love God and our neighbors. This is how God shows us how to live happily together in peace.
Do we need to still keep God’s law even after Jesus’ actions?
Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death”. Wages means our payment for sin is death. Jesus paid the court fine, or our wages, for our sin on the cross. When you live by faith in Jesus for your salvation, and take the steps needed to accept His gift of salvation, you will be filled by the Holy Spirit and you will want to obey God’s commandments out of love (John 14:15), through your thoughts, words, and actions and love God with all of your heart, mind and soul. You are righteous through Christ only. Not by obeying the law. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, they help you follow God’s law. The Ten Commandments act like a mirror to us so we can see God’s characteristics and follow Jesus’ example, then reflect to others God’s light so that they might see His glory (Matthew 5:15-16). This is how we show we are true followers of Jesus Christ (John 13:32-35). Jesus Christ explained the ten commandants by summing them up into two. Telling us to follow them.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Didn’t Jesus free us from work-based salvation?
Obeying God’s commandments is not legalism or work-based salvation, but comes from a true love of God. All ten commandments are about resting in God’s will and following the Lord. Eight out of ten of the commandments are specific about resting from labors of sin and doing no act of sin. The fourth commandment is about keeping the ultimate sign of rest in God on the Sabbath. The fifth commandment is about honoring your parents by following the other nine commandments. So, no “work” is required to keep the Ten Commandments, as they are about the sinful “work” you should not do. You cannot be righteous by acts alone, because we would still be filthy rags and unclean to God (Isaiah 64:6).
Jesus said in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
The Old Testament is often misunderstood to be work-based, however, the gospel promises existed from the beginning of the first sin as God laid out His plan of salvation. The sacrifices, tabernacle, temple, and ceremonial laws all pointed to Jesus’ coming promise and were a shadow of Him to come. The patterns of the gospel and Jesus are in every book of the Old Testament. The Old Testament teaches us that we can’t save ourselves by works, and why we need Jesus, as none are good but God.
Aren’t the 10 Commandments the Old Covenant, and we are in the New Covenant?
This covenant of ten commandments is not just for the Israelites, Moses’ people, Hebrews, or just for the Jews or Jewish people in the Old Testament. These ten commandments existed before Exodus, all the way at the start of Genesis, and are reinforced again and again in the New Testament. Jesus in His teachings, to His disciples, the Israelites, and Gentiles, expand upon God’s law in more detail on how we should keep them in our spirit and not just in our actions. The Bible concludes in Revelations 12:17 and Revelations 14:12 that to be saved we must obey God and his commandments, hold the testimony of Jesus, and put our faith in Jesus.
By keeping all ten of God’s commandments, we honor God our Father and God our Lord. By keeping the Sabbath holy it is a sign that we know the Lord that sanctifies us.
The ten commandments are so important to God that we follow them, that “commandments” is used 168 times in the Holy Bible, “commandment” is used 333 times, and “covenant” is used 280 times (search King James Version). Throughout the Bible, it shows what happens to those who do and who do not follow them. Fear what will happen if you do not follow these commandments, for fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). For within fear is respect, awe, and rest in His commands.
God’s commandments are so important to Jesus Christ the Son of God, because Jesus wants us all to be a part of God’s Kingdom. Jesus’s teachings in the New Testament most frequently talk about the Kingdom. When Jesus calls us to follow Him, He is instructing us how to love and live under God’s commandments. When Jesus calls us to repent and ask for forgiveness of our sins, if we keep sinning afterward were we really sorry? Did we really repent? Does that show our love to God or Jesus for saving us? When Jesus ministered to people and forgave their sins, afterward did He tell them, it is ok to sin, to sin a little less, or go and sin no more? “Sin no more” (John 5:14 and John 8:11).
Learn More About the Meanings of Each Commandment
- Meaning of have no other gods: 1st Commandment
- Meaning of have no idols: 2nd Commandment
- Meaning of take the name of God in vain: 3rd Commandment
- Meaning of remember the sabbath day: 4th Commandment
- Meaning of honor your parents: 5th Commandment
- Meaning of do not murder: 6th Commandment
- Meaning of do not commit adultery: 7th Commandment
- Meaning of do not steal: 8th Commandment
- Meaning of do not lie: 9th Commandment
- Meaning of do not covet: 10th Commandment
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