The ‘SIGNIFICANCE’ of the ‘TEN COMMANDMENTS’!
January
24 Bible Reading: Exodus Chapters 19-21
The ‘SIGNIFICANCE’ of the ‘TEN COMMANDMENTS’!
"(1) You shall have no other gods
before Me. (2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image. (3) You shall
not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (4) Remember the Sabbath day,
to keep it holy. (5) Honor your father and your mother. (6) You shall not
murder. (7) You shall not commit adultery. (8) You shall not steal. (9) You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (10) You shall not
covet...anything that is your neighbor's." (Exodus 20:3, 4, 7, 8, 12,
13-17)
In the Law,
God gave the Israelites more than six
hundred specific commandments. All of them were based on the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) mentioned
above, the summary of the Law recorded on stone tablets and stored in the Ark
of the Covenant (25:16)
The Ten
Commandments were divided by the Lord Jesus into two sections, one covering
love to God and the other covering love to one’s neighbor (Matt. 22:37–40). The
first four commandments describe how the people are to relate to God, while the
remainder describe how God’s people are to relate to each other (Deut. 4:13). Through
these, Yahweh summarized for His people the main stipulations of the Mosaic
covenant. Thus, a new age has begun in God’s relationship with His people. These
commandments are not merely a collection of prohibitions and mandates, but constitute
a theological expression of the nature of God Himself as we can see each of the
commandments declaring the character of God.
The Ten
Commandments are still significant and binding
upon everyone today for the following six
reasons:
- It is appropriate that God’s authority should be acknowledged by His children.
- These commandments have been written by the finger of God Himself on tables of stone and have never been repealed until today.
- The Ten Commandments are badly needed in the light of present-day immoral conditions.
- Jesus Himself respected the Ten Commandments, taught them extensively, came to fulfill them and confirmed their timeless application (Matt. 5:21-37)
- The teaching of the New Testament Epistles leads us to obey the Ten Commandments (Rom. 13:10)
- God will chastise those who disregard the Ten Commandments (Psalms 89:27-29)
God
instituted the Ten Commandments knowing full well that humans will be prone to
commit errors like lust, covet, strike out in anger, etc., which will bring
disorder. Each of the Ten Commandments offers a shield of protection against
that disorder – we have the freedom to say ‘no’
and avoid harm. These rules are thus for our
benefit as well (Mark 2:27).
Let us also understand
our love to God is expressed by obedience to His will (Psalms 40:8; John 14:21;
1 John 5:2–3). Under the old covenant, God’s law (through the Ten Commandments)
was written on tables of stone (Exodus 24:12), but under the new covenant, God
writes His word on our hearts (2 Cor. 3:1–3). As we meditate on the Word, the Holy
Spirit will make it a part of our inner being, and we become more like the Lord
Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
