THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - part 2

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17)

The first three of the Ten Commandments, as found in Revised Standard Version (RSV) Bible.

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. You shall not make for yourself a graven 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 upon 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".

If we look at our hearts instead of the words written here, it would seem to be common sense that we accept the lordship of God. If we truly love the Lord, why then would we even want to worship anything else, or hold anything else in a higher position?

And there is a warning here. “I am a jealous God, inflicting punishment …” Our Lord is not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, too many people in the world today seem to think they can get away with it.

2.
"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”.

It’s bad enough when we think there’s a need to curse someone, but to use the Lord’s name to do so is really asking for trouble. I find that it is not difficult to personalize this commandment because I simply need to ask myself: “How hurt would I feel if people equated my name with trivia or nonsense?” How much more, then, does it hurt God to hear His name being wrongly used, especially by those of us who claim to love Him?

3.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall , and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, 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 the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it”.

This is another one that strikes me as being common sense; a commandment that says “Rest” and “Worship”. In other words, don’t burn myself out by working seven days a week. My body needs to rest and recuperate so that it can function properly in the coming week. The same goes for my soul, which needs to be nurtured so that I can grow into the sort of person that would be pleasing to the Lord. It means spending quality time with God.

One of the great things about being a parent is that you get to see things from a totally different point of view. I think about the wonderful time I spend with my little boy, whether I’m reading to him at bedtime, or playing games with him, or just sitting side by side watching TV. How much more, then, does God enjoy our company when we take the time to be with Him? That, I think, is one of the reasons for the sabbath; that we put aside all distractions and just focus on Him.

I don’t believe that the ten commandments were given to us in order to restrict our lives, as some people might think. Rather, when I look at the different ways they can be applied in my daily life, I find that they are good guidelines on living a decent and civil life.

Published: January 15th, 2006

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