20:1ffWhy were the Ten Commandments necessary for God's new nation? At the foot of Mount Sinai, God showed his people the true function and beauty of his taws. The commandments were designed to lead israel to a life of practical holiness. in them, People could see the nature of God and his plan for how they Should live. The commands and guidelines were intended to direct the community to meet the needs of each individual in a loving and responsible manner. By Jesus’ time, however, most people looked at the law the wrong way. They saw it as a means to pros- Perity in both this world and the next. And they thought that to Obey every jaw was the way to earn God's protection from foreign invasion and natural disaster. Law keeping became an end in itself, Not the means to fulfill God’s ultimate law of love.
Life Application Study BibleExodusChapter 20
Exodus 20
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 127, 128
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
Ten Commandments for the Covenant Community
120 Then God gave the people all these instructions*: 2"T am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. J lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. SBut I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those* who love me and obey my commands. 7*You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. 8“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work,!°but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any Pn foreigners living among you. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the Gen 2:2-3 sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD 90:12 blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. *Matt 15:4 tMark 7:10 12"Honor your father and mother. Then you will live along, fulllifein the landthe LORD sue 48:20 your God is giving you. *Eph 6:2 13“You must not murder. 20:18 5:21: 19:18 14You must not commit adultery. Rom 13:9 15“You must not steal. ‘Jas 2:11 16“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. ‘Matt 5:27 17"You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor's wife, 20:15 male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” ‘Matt 19:18 20:16 18When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when Matt 19:18 20:17 they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at pon 7.7 a distance, trembling with fear. 20:18 19And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak Exod 19:98 directly to us, or we will die!” 20:19 20“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and Deut 5:23-27 so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!" 20:21 21As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud whereGodwas. peg7> Proper Use of Altars 20:28 22And the Lor» said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: You saw for yourselves that Deut 29:17-18 i i 20:24 I spoke to you from heaven. 23Remember, you must not make any idols of silver or gold to 200 0.05. 18:42: rival me. 24:5 Lev 1:2 24"Byild for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to me—your burnt of- peut 12:5 ferings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and Iwill come to you and bless you. 25If you use 20:28 75-6 stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones witha tool, Josh 8:31 for that would make the altar unfit for holy use. 26And do not approach my altar by going 20:26 up steps. If you do, someone might look up under your clothing and see your nakedness, °°? 78:4 you may covet someone's success, not because you want to take
Textual footnotes
- it away from him, but because you would like to feel as appreci-
- To five in peace for generations in the Promised Land, the Israel-
- ites would need to respect authority and build strong families. ated by others as he is. If this is the case, pray that God will help
- But what does it mean to “honor” parents? Partly, it means you deal with your resentment and meet your basic needs.
- speaking well of them and politely to them. It also means acting 20:18 Sometimes God speaks to his people with a majestic
- in a way that shows them courtesy and respect (but not to obey —_dispiay of power; at other times he speaks quietly. Why the
- them if this means disobedience to God). It means following difference? God speaks in the way that best accomplishes his
- their teaching and example of putting God first. Parents have purposes. At Sinai, the awesome display of fight and sound was
- a special place in God’s sight. Even those who find it difficult to necessary to show Israel God’s great power and authority. Only
- get along with their parents are still commanded to honor them. then would they listen to Moses and Aaron.
- israel could not survive unless its system of justice was incor- afraid.” God wasn’t trying to scare the people. He was showing
- ruptible. We should be honest in our private dealings as wellas —_ his mighty power so the Israelites would know he was the true
- in our public statements. In either situation, we “testify falsely” God and would therefore obey him. If they would do this, he
- by leaving something out of a story, telling a half-truth, twisting —_ would make his power available to them. God wants us to follow
- the facts, or inventing a falsehood. God warns us against decep- him out of love rather than fear. To overcome fear, we must think
- tion. Even though deception is a way of life for many people, more about his love. First John 4:18 says, “Perfect love expels
- God’s people must not give in to it! all fear.”
- It goes beyond simply admiring someone else's possessions God's people had no Bible and few religious traditions to learn
- or thinking, “I'd like to have one of those.” Coveting includes from. God had to start from scratch and teach them how to wor-
- envy—resenting the fact that others have what you don’t. God ship him. God gave specific instructions about building altars
- knows, however, that possessions never make anyone happy because he wanted to control the way sacrifices were offered.
- for long. Since only God can supply all our needs, true content- To prevent idolatry from creeping into worship, God did not
- ment is found only in him. When you begin to covet, try to deter- allow the altar stones to be cut or shaped into any form. Nor
- mine if a more basic need is leading you to envy. For example, did God let the people build an altar just anywhere. This was
- designed to prevent them from starting their own religions or
- making changes in the way God wanted things done. God is not
- against creativity, but he is against us creating our own religion.
- 20:1 Hebrew aif these words.
- 20:6 Hebrew for thousands of those.
- 20:12 This is the first commandment with a promise attached.
- 20:16 To testify falsely means lying in court. God knew that 20:20 Throughout the Bible we find this phrase: “Don’t be
- 20:17 To covet is to wish to have the possessions of others. 20:24-26 Why were specific directions given for building altars?
Life Application Notes 4 notes
20:1-6The Israelites had just come fram Egypt, a land of many idols and many gods. Because each god reoresented a different aSpect of life, it was common to worship many gods in order to get the maximum number of blessings. When God told his people to worship and believe in him, that wasn't so hard for them— he was just one more god to add to the list. But when he said, OU must not have any other god but me.” that was difficult for the people to accept. But if they didn’t tearn that the God who led them out of Egypt was the only true God, they could not be his people—no matter how faithfully they kept the other nine commandments. Thus, God made this his first commandment. Today we can allow many things to become gods to us. Money, fame, work, or pleasure can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security. No one sets out with the intention of worshiping these things. But by the amount of time we devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts and energies. Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods.
20:7God's name is special because it carries-his personal identity. Using it frivolously or in a curse is so common today that we may fail to realize how serious it is. The way we use God's name conveys how we really feel about him. We should respect his name and use it appropriately, speaking it in praise or worship rather than in curse or jest. We should not take lightly the abuse or dishonor of his name.
20:8-11The Sabbath was a day set aside for rest and worship. God commanded a Sabbath because human beings need to spend unhurried time in worship and rest each week. A God who is concerned enough to provide a day each week for us to test is indeed wonderful. To observe a regular time of rest and worship in our fast-paced world demonstrates how important God is to us, and it gives us the extra benefit of refreshing our spirits. Don't neglect God's provision. Matthew 10:37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine.” Matthew 5:22 “If you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!” Matthew 5:28 “Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:40 “tf you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.” Matthew 12:36 “You must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.” Luke 12:15 “Guard against every kind of greed.”