The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 NKJV)
1 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2 “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 nor 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 fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments.
3 “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.
4 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
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 your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.”
5 comments:
I've been thinking. It is interesting that Moses came down off the mountain after his conference with God carrying 2 tablets containing just 10 laws. When he saw the depraved behavior of the 12 tribes of Israel, the corruption of an ungrateful people, he smashed the tablets in a fit of rage. What followed then were hundreds of laws in Dueteronomy and Leviticus (Laws of Moses). Then Jesus came into our midst. He proclaimed only 2 laws: Love your God with all your heart, mind and soul. And love your neighbor as yourself. Truly, if all people followed just those two Laws, we would need nothing else. We would self-govern successfully. It is not our nature to function in that capacity. Hence dissatisfaction, envy, covetousness, etc. etc. etc. Afterall, look at those Israelites...God just took them out of bondage, led them and fed them as they travelled the desert on the way to a land of milk and honey. Still they built a gold plated wooden calf to idolize, to worship in place of the God who freed them. People are still doing that today.
Isn't that the truth?
Thanks for posting the ten commandments, Karen. And the 2 commandments where Jesus summed up all of the others! It's so true, that if we people could only grasp this truth - oh how much better our world could be. I do believe that the first 3 of the 10 are "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul", and the next 7 are"Love your neighbor as yourself". Something for us to concentrate on as we live our life day to day, huh?
Excellent summary, Michelle. Thank you for that. I agree with you and Mom, even though I wish I too could simply follow these laws. I try hard, but do stray and forget!I wonder why it is so hard.
It is hard because we are merely human, fallen beings, with the awesome gift of free will. It is hard to emulate Jesus, yet that is what we are to do, every single day. We won't truly be good at it until we live in the Kingdom. What a glorious future to look forward to, don't you think. I thank God everyday for being a merciful, forgiving Father. I know I fail daily in one area or another, but my heart belongs to Jesus and He knows the struggles we all have, after all, He was one of us in the full sense of the word human being. Thank God!
Yes, very true, Michelle. Good stuff here.
Post a Comment