QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (EXODUS 20:2-17)

Exodus 20:2-17 Here are several questions I have regarding the Ten Commandments.

Two generalities to keep in mind when considering the Ten Commandments:

First, a major purpose of these laws was to help form a united people of God with a strong social structure to keep it intact.

Second, the concept of progressive revelation says that we should consider the New Testament teachings on these same subjects for a more complete understanding of their true implications for today's people of God.

1^st Commandment: This almost seems to imply that other gods exist, which is a bit of an anathema to most contemporary Christians.

The Hebrew in this verse does not necessarily exclude the idea of other gods existing, but it does imply that they should not exist as far as the Jews are concerned. Subsequent passages in the Old and New Testament, however, make it clear that there are no other gods PERIOD.

As early as Deuteronomy 4:28, Moses makes fun of “other gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.” Prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah are particularly sarcastic in describing the other “so-called” gods. In Acts 19:26, Paul is accused by a pagan of “saying that gods made with hands are not gods.” Paul, in Romans 1:22-23, accuses the pagans of exchanging “the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.”

I Corinthians 8:4-6 is a problem passage since on one hand Paul says that no idols really exist and there is no God but one. However, he then proceeds to say there are many gods and many lords, but Christians are only to follow the one God. The best solution to this “contradiction” is to see that Paul, in verse 5, is speaking about the popular conception of polytheism in the Roman world where people follow many “gods” and have many “lords.”

In closing this discussion, it should also be mentioned that the word “gods” is sometimes used in the Old and New Testament to refer to supernatural powers (but not on a par with God and not to be worshiped) such as angels or demons (see II Thessalonians 2:4; Ephesians 6:10-11).

2^nd Commandment: The syntax of this is a bit weird. Is it saying that both carving the image and worshiping it is a sin, or just the combined act of both carving and worshiping?

It is probably meant to be read together as one process: making an idol, bowing down to it, and serving (worshiping) it. Otherwise, just painting a picture of a landscape would qualify as idolatry. The Jews probably overreacted by banning representations of people or animals in the Temple and on their coins. But they did allow images of plants in both places, although a strict reading of Exodus 20:4 would prohibit that as well.

4^th Commandment: Is God saying that we must keep Saturday/Sunday holy, or is he saying that we need to take one day a week and devote that to him? I tend to interpret the latter. What is meant by “do not work”? Would exercising be work? Or is it just practicing your profession? I see this as both taking a day for reverence to God, but also a practical need to recharge batteries.

I think you have the proper understanding of this commandment. The Pharisees in Jesus' time started emphasizing what you couldn't do on the Sabbath rather than what you should do. And Jesus pointedly said that the Sabbath was made for man's benefit rather than man being made for the Sabbath's benefit. One day's rest a week from one's usual profession is needed to be fresh for the coming week.

Christians in Acts were said to meet on the first day of the week rather than on Saturday since that was the “Lord's Day” when he rose. Interestingly, when Jesus addresses the commandments in the Sermon on the Mount, he doesn't even mention keeping the Sabbath.

5^th Commandment: This is vague; what is considered to “honor” aside from the typical mother and father’s day commercialism?

In Jesus' day this meant supporting them financially in their old age and treating them with respect. With old age supposedly came increased wisdom, so children were to listen to their teachings and heed them also. There is an interesting promise attached to this command which may indicate that refusal to honor your parents might result in removal from the Promised Land, perhaps because the people had stopped listening to the godly teachings of their parents.

The problem with this command today is that many people do not have parents worthy of respect. One's parents, in any case, do not take the place of God when it comes to following their teachings.

7^th Commandment: What is the sin of adultery? Is it sex with someone who is married to someone other than you? Is it sex outside of any marriage? God seems to approve of some sex outside of marriage, or at least not come down too hard on it, but severely frowns upon sleeping with someone else’s wife. This is obviously addressed in several places, but one of those things in which it is somewhat difficult to understand the delineation between a “sin” and a “bad idea.”

Strictly speaking, adultery involves at least one of the parties being married. Adultery breaks down the unity of the marriage, the family, and ultimately society and that is why it is so important to God. Also, as Paul and all the Old Testament prophets makes clear, marriage is an image of the relationship between God and his people. Jesus actually expands the definition of adultery in the Sermon on the Mount to condemn just about every warm-blooded male. But this is to show how none of us is really worthy to be saved by our own holiness.

I wouldn't say that God actually approves of sex outside of marriage, but certainly fornication (the technical word for it) is not stressed as much as an affront against God. After saying this, however, one should look at Revelation 21:8 and 22:15 where fornicators are listed right alongside idolaters and sorcerers as those who will be excluded from heaven. Keep in mind that a fornicator in this context probably refers to an habitual fornicator.

8^th Commandment: Biblically speaking, stealing from one another is bad, but conquering and plundering seems to be occasionally acceptable……..as long as the people aren’t Israelites.

These occasions, of course, were directly and supernaturally commanded by God for a particular time period. After the settlement, there were rules assuring that the Jews would actually care for the pagans in their midst. I suppose the time might come in the future when Christians would be told, in some supernatural and unambiguous manner, by God to do the same thing, but I highly doubt it, and it certainly doesn't fit in with Jesus' teaching to love even our enemies as ourselves.

9^th Commandment: Why phrase it this way? Why not say, “Thou shalt not lie”? Is there a significance to this, i.e is it addressing a more specific issue than just lying?

The specific instance being addressed in the commandment was probably giving witness in a court of law—again, a very important issue to assure justice in the community. There were harsh penalties for those caught lying under these circumstances.

Jesus again updates this commandment (in Matthew 5:33-37) to include all affirmations we make; we are to simply state the truth without adding some sort of formula such as “as God is my witness, etc.” James 5:12 emphasizes the same point.

10^th Commandment: This commandment is weird, as it is the only one that doesn’t either show disrespect to God nor does it actually harm anyone else. Why would it make the top ten list? This is also the only one that, in my opinion, is impossible to keep. It is also almost impossible to enforce unless someone talks about it significantly.

You are correct in seeing that this command differs from the rest in being unenforceable and not obviously hurting God or our fellow man. It is strictly a matter of our attitude, not our actions. That is probably why Jesus felt no need to update it in the Sermon on the Mount.

The problem with coveting is that it is usually the direct cause of all the other commandments against our fellow human beings. James 1:14-15 describes the process that coveting initiates: “But one is tempted by ones own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.”

In a way you are also right in saying that this is the only commandment impossible to keep. That was 

possibly why God added it to the other nine—to keep people from being so self-righteous that they felt 

they were perfect. And since that still didn't stop the Pharisees from thinking they could maintain 

spiritual perfection, Jesus went to the root of the sins in the Sermon on the Mount rather than just the 

outward manifestations—to point out everyone's imperfections.