Like many households, I grew up with a plaque of the Ten Commandments on the wall by our back door. It was from the 1970’s. A brass plate engraved with the “ten words” mounted on a darkly stained piece of wood. I read them often. To my kid mind the meanings were quite generic. A bunch of barking mandates and regulations we are allegedly responsible to uphold for no known reason. “The law”. An arbitrary set of rules to subject the people. I know that it says what I should and should not do but why? The plaque doesn’t say why. It does not expound upon the texts.

I am endeavoring to do that now…

The 1st commandment is this text; Exodus 20:2-3. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

What does this mean? It is worth noticing that the first commandment shows how important freedom from tyranny is. God is first The Creator, then he is The God of Your Fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) meaning he is a Promisor and Covenant-Keeper, then God is The Liberator. God is telling Moses and the Israelites that he has set them free. He can be trusted. After all, look what he has done. He has taken his people out of their 400 years of tyrannical bondage, into liberation and miraculously delivered them from the Red Sea. It has been only 3 months since they left Egypt so imagine how vivid that deliverance is. Imagine how vivid the liberation of the concentration camps would have been 3 months later. That kind of trauma is acute. So Moses and the Israelites are enjoying this miraculous liberation and they should see it as a sign of God’s character, his nature. He values freedom and voluntary, reciprocal, love. He is trustworthy. Not blindly trustworthy but evidently trustworthy. Just look at the signs and wonders. So the Lord is saying, remember how I demonstrated my love for you and my incomparable power on your behalf! Trust in me now, and look to no other source for help.

In the book The Truce, by Holocaust survivor Primo Levi, he describes his rescue from Auschwitz by the Soviet army. He is not taken home. He is instead taken on a long sojourn with the Soviets eastward. Now, even though the Soviets were a WWII ally they were not a beacon of salvation. They were ruled by the dictator Stalin. Yet, Levi describes his experiences being abducted by the Soviets with a thankfulness that is fixated on the incomparable power of liberation from the horrors of the Holocaust. This is a dark parallel image of what the pure work of God did in the Exodus of the Israelites but it gives an interesting parallel to how profoundly they should have looked to God with deliverance, trust, love and faith. One can’t help but emphatically conclude of course you are our Lord God.

This commandment is about who we are to worship. The second is about how we are to worship.

The 2nd commandment is this text; Exodus 20:4-6. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

Why isn’t it enough to worship God? Why does it matter how we worship God?

To begin with, the second commandment speaks to us about the true God. He is not the God of our making or imagination, or even of our own discovery. Rather, he is the God who reveals himself to us not only in his world but in his word. He takes the initiative to speak to his people and reveal the truth about who he is, who we are, why the world exists, and how sin has corrupted it. It would be inconsistent with the nature of God, who speaks and takes initiative, to leave it to his people to dream up (or adopt from unbelieving nations) how to worship him.

Two key words are “image” and “likeness”: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness.” This is not the first time this pair appears in the Bible. This is the language of the creation of man. “God made man in his own image.” And likeness? “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.”

David Mathis of Desiring God

Instead of people marveling at and having reverence for being made in the image and likeness of God they set about to, themselves, create an image- the golden calf. They indignify themselves as image-bearers by casting the image on something lesser. They did so because of their impatience waiting for Moses who had been up in the mountain for 40 days receiving the architectural plans on how to build the tabernacle. They had already received the Ten Commandments and had swore to uphold it. It was the priest Aaron, the man one step under the prophet Moses, who in a moment of sympathy-gone-wrong (this goes to show sin can be done with good intentions) set about to create the golden calf to appease the impatient people. He didn’t create it to replace God, he created it to use toward worshipping God. What’s wrong with that? So long as the thing is used for God’s glory what does it matter? The problem is that the people have chosen their own way rather than wait for the will of God. It’s an echo of the garden of Eden.

God is jealous. This is a tricky word in English. It’s best to think of God’s jealousy like a good spouse wishing to be loved back by their spouse. If their spouse betrays them; it is betrayal. It is nothing less than betrayal.

Also notice the statement “visiting iniquity of the fathers on the children to the fourth generation of those who hate me.” Wow! So the children and grandchildren are guilty of the gross sins of the parents. How do we interpret this vicarious punishment? That is a dynamic text to explain given that there are many texts in the Jewish tradition that establish an order in which each is only guilty to his own crime and children are not guilty of their parents crime.

There is some debate about whether the Hebrew word “poked” that is translated as “visiting” rather means “remembering”. As in, the sins of one’s antecedents are passed down to the generations of descendants as if the memory of these sins is encoded in the dna of the descendants. Many expressions reveal this truth: “following in their footsteps”, “cycle of abuse” and the newly coined “generational trauma.” The deferred judgement of the father’s sins also gives each generation time to repent. It is only those generations who persist in hating him that face judgement. Others argue that when “poked” is followed with the preposition “al” it definitely means “punishment” and not “remembrance” as is the case in this text.

Also, notice the word “iniquity”. So this is not merely sin but deliberate sin which God qualifies by emphasizing “those who hate me”. And he also emphasizes his steadfast love for thousands. Notice the unequal distribution of God’s judgement. Visiting iniquity on four generations (about 15 people) of those who hate him vs. steadfast love for thousands who love him and keep his commandments. That’s how deep God’s love goes when we reciprocate.

The 3rd commandment is this text; Exodus 20:7. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

What does this mean? Most people first think of swear words such as “goddamn it”, “Jesus Christ!”, or “oh my God”. In a trivial or peripheral sense these words matter but the primary meaning is much deeper. Let’s explore what God’s name is. Then we’ll explore what is vain.

In the Old Testament the proper name for God is mentioned over 6,000 times. The name is YHWH and it is a proper name like John or Adam. The name is a verb that means “I am”. “I am” means God has no beginning, no ending, no becoming, no dependence on anyone else. He is absolute being. Names, in the Old Testament, weren’t just proper names. They were names that told us the nature of the person. God’s name in Exodus 34:14 IS jealous (jealous to love us and have our love). In Isaiah 57:15 God’s name IS holy. In Isaiah 9:6 God’s name IS Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. In Matthew 1:21 God’s name IS Jesus. In Revelation 9:13,16 God’s name IS King of kings Lord of lords.

What is vain? There are several texts in the Old Testament that describe what is vain. It is futile, meaningless, pointless, empty, wasted. There are examples that show the practice of taking the Lord’s name in vain such as blasphemy, false oaths, heresy, sacrificing to a false God.

Don’t treat me [God]— my name [YHWH; the absolute being of reality] — as empty, futile, pointless, trivial, inconsequential, insignificant. Don’t let your words be empty of my truth. Don’t let your hearts be empty of your affections. Revere me. Love me. Trust me. Treasure me. Satisfy your heart with me.

John Piper of Desiring God

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

It is interesting that this commandment is the only one, if broken, that is explicitly unforgivable. “The Lord will not hold him guiltless.” We can deduce, implicitly, in the text of the commandments, that murder is forgivable, theft is forgivable, adultery is forgivable. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is not. Let’s shed some light on what “guiltless” means in this context. In Luke 6:49 Jesus says, “the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Those who only fool themselves by taking the name of Jesus without fully committing themselves to a life of faith that produce’s obedience will find themselves cast out of His presence in the end. Jesus gave this alarming warning in Matthew 7:23, “Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

The 4th commandment is this text; Exodus 20:8-11. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

What does this mean? There is a lot of depth in this text. First, “remember”. You have to imagine the ancient Hebrews. And these were a lot of former slaves. It wasn’t the work week we’re accustomed to that includes a lot of leisure. It was sun up to sun down labor 6 days of the week. They’re toiling day in and day out. It would be easy to forget how many days have passed, they would all flow into the next. So remember what? The Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. This is the only commandment whose origin is explained. You see, the Lord God made all of creation in six days and on the seventh day he rested. What does “rest” mean? God stood back and savored his creation. The expanse of the universe, the galaxies, the solar systems, suns, light, time, mountains, geysers, waterfalls, 2 million species of underwater creatures, 5 million species of terrestrial creatures, the brain, consciousness, 100 trillion cells of the human body, an unfathomable number of atoms, all working in life-giving harmony. He saw that it was very good. And He blessed this hallowed day of the Sabbath; the day of basking in the glory of The Creator.

Wouldn’t that be enough for The Creator to do? Creation. But He does not only use the Sabbath as a day of recuperation. Deuteronomy 5:15 also says this, “You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstreched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.”

The Creator also saves. He is the source of creation but also the source of salvation. The Sabbath is meant to bask in The Creator and The Deliverer. And something else…

With the Sabbath, God sanctifies time and sanctifies us, his highest creature. God is The Creator, The Deliverer, and The Sanctifier. It is a day that shows us how dependent we are on God. God is the source of all the harmony, the design, the mechanics, the product, the yield of our life. He is also the source of delivering us from suffering into peace. He is also the source of redemption. This is all a foreshadowing of the character of Christ in the New Testament.

Next, it says you shall not exploit a loophole. Don’t take the Sabbath rest yourself but put your son up to finishing your business or your servant or your cattle or the foreigner passing through. He even makes a statement on equality; even the animals make it into the commandment- they are to rest.

Does rest mean to play or sleep or waste the day? What does the Sabbath look like in practice?

We are to make it holy, meaning reverence, worship of God and a set-apartness from the regular routine. Many people think of the Sabbath as what we ought not do when the Sabbath is a day of enjoying and delighting.

Therefore, inevitably people whose hearts are set more on the pleasures of the world than on the enjoyment of God will feel the sabbath command as a burden not a blessing. This is what John says in 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” The measure of your love for God is the measure of the joy you get in focusing on him on the day of rest. For most people the sabbath command is really a demand to repent. It invites us to enjoy what we don’t enjoy and therefore shows us the evil of hearts, and our need to repent and be changed.

John Piper of Desiring God

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath” Mark 2:27

There is a revolutionary transformation that takes place regarding the Sabbath from the Old Testament to the New Testament. In Christ, the new covenant, the Sabbath is fulfilled. The rest is IN Christ. Christ IS the Sabbath. He is the everlasting peace, rest and life. Observing the Sabbath day is no longer a matter of obedience or disobedience. It is about believing in Christ’s Ultimate Sabbath. So in some sense, for Christian’s, everyday is the Sabbath.

Every Lord’s Day, we come again to Jesus, weary and heavy laden (Matthew 11:28). We trace the shadow of the Sabbath to its substance (Colossians 2:17). We hear again in the distance the sounds of the future Sabbath festival; we glimpse again by faith the glow of “innumerable angels in festal gathering” (Hebrews 12:22). We look again into the empty tomb and hear Christ say, “Peace to you!” (Luke 24:36) In other words, we find rest — the kind of rest that remains long after Sunday has passed.

Without regularly experiencing this kind of rest — and with special power every Lord’s Day — it matters little how much rest we give our bodies. Our rest will be restless, and our work will become a desperate attempt to secure for ourselves the rest that we have not found in Christ. Neither the sluggard (who works for the weekend) nor the workaholic (who has no weekend) has yet learned to enjoy the rest of the true Sabbath.

Not so with those who have heard and heeded Jesus’s invitation to “Take my yoke upon you . . . and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). The world and the devil would have us work even while we rest. But Jesus would have us rest even while we work. And here, in this Christ-saturated resting and working, we live out the Sabbath today.

Scott Hubbard of Desiring God

Delight in the Lord. Enjoy the Lord. Set the day apart from your usual goings on. Spend time ruminating on and reflecting on things that matter. For many people it means a long dinner with the family, prayer, a meditating walk, a spiritual book, shutting off things you do the other six days.

This isn’t an indictment, because I am guilty guilty guilty, but I wonder how many Christians honor the Sabbath?

*An aside, the Sabbath for Jews is on the Saturday but early in church history, the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, there is evidence that Jewish Christians had moved the act of worship to Sunday (the Lords Day; the resurrection day of Christ). Just like the work of the first creation was finished on the seventh day of the week, the work of the new creation in Christ was finished on the first day of the week by the resurrection of Jesus. However, it does not say in the commandment that the Sabbath has to be on the first day of the week or the last day of the week. It simply has to be this formula: work 6 days, rest 1 day.

The 5th commandment is this text; Exodus 20:12. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

I break with tradition in placing the first 5 commandments on the first tablet. Rather than 3 & 7 or 4 & 6. The Bible doesn’t tell us how many were on each of the pair of stone tablets. Why I love the first 5 to be together is because the first 5 commandments are priestly, focusing on the sanctuary—worship, images, Yahweh’s Name, the Sabbath, and honor of parents. The second five commandments are royal, having to do with political life in the land.

It is said that the 1st-4th commandments rest on the 5th and the 6th-9th commandments rest on the 10th. Which is such a divine symmetry when you think of it.

The family as the sanctuary:

The family is a microcosm of the headship (authority) of God and body (submission) of His people. If you honor your father and your mother it is a conduit to God. Parents, especially fathers, are an image of your Father in heaven. The family is also an image of God’s creation story. Parents are the first in our lives that are creators setting into being the fabric of reality, shaping it, knowing it, loving it, providing for it and passing on the law to it, like God. How you see your parents is how you see God. Without your parent’s authority you won’t have divine authority.

How do the first four commandments rest in this one? In the fifth commandment the first four are inscribed from the vertical (God to man) into the horizontal (man to man). A hierarchy is inscribed from God into the structure of the family and the family is the bridge to the second tablet. It is worth noting that all cults and tyrannies look to undermine the family. It is where power rests, tangibly. That power also explains why civilizations crumble when the power of the family structure is wielded pathologically. Fatherlessness, that is epidemic, either through absenteeism or pathological dysfunction, causes so many ills in society. There is something to be said about the archetypal “devouring mother” too who coddles and overprotects her children rendering them impotent or resentful.

What does it mean to “honor” your parents who are fallible and sometimes horrible? We are not called to love horrible parents. We are called to love God, our neighbor, the stranger, but not our parents. Isn’t that interesting?! So it doesn’t mean love but the command does not come with a qualifier such as only honor parents who deserve it. You are called to honor your parents no matter what. What is this honor? Honor is a recognition of the role (authority) they hold in the structure of the family and the debt you owe them for life, identity, values, and the humility of knowing your indebtedness to them. Parents, then, become our first education in submission. Will we honor or despise? It is interesting that psychotherapy is so focused on our family of origin. This origin story sets in motion who we become as adults. Honoring parents will be challenging, or there wouldn’t be a command.

This commandment is the first one with promise, “that your days may be long in the land that the Lord God is giving you.” In one way it’s pointing to intergenerational stability. In contrast to generational trauma I spoke of in the second commandment which speaks of visiting the iniquities of the fathers on the next generations of those who hate God, this one speaks of stability unto the next generation of those who are from honored parents. When we are children, honor is obedience. When we are adults, honor is no longer obedience, it means giving them weight, substance and esteem, showing them thoughtfulness, kindliness, mercy. And it speaks to how important the role of parenthood is. All of civilization hinges on it. The relationship between man and God is imitated in it. Parenthood is a pointing toward the Kingdom of God.

I pray that I have given each of the commandments a decent treatment. Interpretation can go so many ways. Obviously I am not a biblical scholar and even the scholars vary but I did put labor into extracting scholarship and aggregating it here. Truths are there and truth should be easy enough to understand that a child could grasp it.

Next project will be the second tablet; commandments 6-10…