God revealed himself to his people not only as a great Judge and Lawmaker but also as One who is full of mercy, the shelter of his people. “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Ex. 20:2. He whom they already knew as their Leader and their Savior, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, who had made a pathway through the sea for them and had destroyed pharaoh and his armies, who had shown himself to be supreme over all the gods of Egypt – it was He who was now declaring his law.
Therefore, the law was not given exclusively for the good of the Jews. God honored them by making them repositories of his law, but it was to be considered a solemn heritage to the whole world. The precepts of the Ten Commandments are for all men, and they were given for the instruction and edification of all.
The Ten Commandments – short, meaningful, and necessary – contain the whole duty of man toward God and toward his fellow men. They are all based on the two great principles: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27. In the Ten Commandments, these principles are presented in single terms and are made applicable to man in every situation and circumstance.
The First Commandment
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Ex. 20:3.
Jehovah, the Eternal One, the Omniscient One, the Uncreated One, the One who is the Source and Upholder of all things, only he has the right to receive the highest honor and worship. It is forbidden for a man to give the first place to any other object in his affections or service. If we are connected with something that tends to lessen our love for God or the service that is due to him, it becomes a god to us.
The Second Commandment
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…” Ex. 20:4-5.
The Second Commandment forbids the worship of the true God through images and pictures. Many heathen nations claim that their pictures were only representations or symbols through which they honored their god. But God declares such a service to be a sin. The attempt to represent the Eternal One through material objects lowers man’s notion of God. The spirit that has thus been led away from the infinite perfection of Jehovah, would be attracted more to the created things than to the Creator. And the lower his notions for God become, the more man humiliates himself.
“…for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God…” Ex. 20:5.
The heartfelt and holy relationship between God and his people is represented by the symbol of marriage. Because idolatry is spiritual adultery, God’s disapproval of this is also represented as jealousy.
“….visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me…” Ex. 20:5.
Inevitably, children suffer the consequences of their parents’ errors, but they are not punished because of their parents’ guilt, except in the cases when they themselves take part in their sins. And it is usually the case that children walk in the way of their parents. By inheritance and by example, sons become partakers of their father’s sins. False inclinations, perverse propensities, lustful passions, and physical infirmities are transferred from father to son to the third and fourth generation. This terrifying truth should be of great force to keep men from living sinful lives.
“And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Ex. 20:6.
While it forbids the worship of false gods, the Second Commandment also enjoins the worship of the true God. And those who minister faithfully, are promised mercy – not only to the third and fourth generation, as it is with the wrath, which threatens those who hate him, but to thousands of generations.
The Third Commandment
“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” Ex. 20:7.
This commandment forbids not only false oaths and common curses but also forbids the use of God’s name with frivolity and carelessness, without taking into consideration its terrible meaning. We disgrace the name of God when we mention it, without thinking about it, in our common talks, when we call it for ordinary things and we constantly repeat it without considering it. “Holy and reverend is his name.” Ps. 111:9. All should think about his majesty, about his purity and holiness, in order to feel in their hearts his lofty character and his name to be pronounced with awe and solemnity.
The Fourth Commandment
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Ex. 20:8-11.
The Sabbath is not introduced as a new precept, but it is a day of rest that was instituted as far back as Creation. We must remember this day and keep it, as a day of remembrance for the Lord’s work. Because this day points to God as the Creator of heaven and earth, it distinguishes the true God from all the false gods. All who celebrate the Sabbath day, show by this that they revere Jehovah. Thus the Sabbath is the sign of man’s loyalty to God, while there are such people on earth who worship him.
The Fourth Commandment is the only one among the ten that contains the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It is the only one which shows by whose authority the law is given. Therefore, it contains the Seal of God, by which his law has been sealed, as evidence for its truthfulness and validity.
God has given men six days for labor and he demands that their personal toils should be finished in the six days for labor. On the Sabbath we are allowed to do necessary and charitable work – we must always take care of those who are sick and suffering – but unnecessary work must be strictly avoided.
“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13, 14.
Those who talk about their business transactions or make plans on the Sabbath are regarded by God as transgressors of the commandment. To keep the Sabbath holy, we must not even engage our thoughts with things of a secular nature. And this commandment applies to all who are in our house. The inhabitants of the house must leave their secular engagements during the sacred hours. All must be united in a sacred service to God, and to honor him on his holy day.
The Fifth Commandment
“Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Ex. 20:12.
Parents have a right to a certain degree of love and respect which are not due to any other person. God himself, who has laid upon them the responsibility about the souls that were entrusted to them, has commanded that in the first years of the life of their children, parents must occupy to them the place of God. And he who denies the lawful authority of his parents denies God’s authority.
The fifth commandment demands not only that children should give their parents respect, subjection, and obedience, but that they should also give them love and kindness, relieve their cares, keep their name in honor, and also support them and comfort them in their old age. This commandment demands also respect for ministers and rulers and – most of all – for all whom God has honored with authority.
The apostle says that this “is the first commandment with promise.” Eph. 6:2. To the Israelite nation who expected soon to enter Canaan, this was a token that those who would be obedient would live long years in the good land. But there is also a wider meaning which applies to the whole Israel of God and promises eternal life on the new earth which will be freed from the curse of sin.
The Sixth Commandment
“Thou shalt not kill.” Ex. 20:13.
All deeds of iniquity which result in the shortening of life, the spirit of hatred and retaliation, or the indulgence in any kind of passion which leads to harming others or leads us to desire evil – because “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15) – the slothfulness because of selfishness to take care of the needy and the suffering, every desire for pleasure, or any unnecessary depriving of the things that are needful for life, or excessive work that is detrimental to health – all these things are, to a greater or lesser degree, violations of the sixth commandment.
The Seventh Commandment
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Ex. 20:14.
This commandment forbids not only unclean acts but also all passionate thoughts or desires, or habits, which tend to lead to such actions. Purity is required not only in the outward life but also in the secret intents and agitations of the heart. Christ who was explaining the broad requirements of God’s Law, taught that evil thoughts or looks are as much actual sins, as the forbidden acts themselves.
The Eighth Commandment
“Thou shalt not steal.” Ex. 20:15.
This commandment includes sins of both public and individual nature. The Eighth Commandment condemns the stealing of men and the trade with slaves, and it also condemns wars of conquest. It also forbids theft and robbery. It requires strict justice in the finest details of the different occurrences of life. It forbids excessive gains in trade and it demands just payment of debts or salaries. It explains that every attempt to receive gain because of the ignorance, infirmity, or misfortune of others is recorded in the books of heaven as deceit.
The Ninth Commandment
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Ex. 20:16.
This commandment includes every false speaking of anything, every attempt or intention to deceive our neighbor. The lie is nothing else than a desire to deceive. By a single nodding with our eyes, by a single movement of our hands, by a single expression of our face, we can lie just as well as with words.
Every willful exaggeration, every nodding or suggestion aimed at causing a false impression, even the presentation of facts in a way that is aimed to deceive is a lie. This precept forbids all attempts to harm the reputation of our neighbor through twisting the truth or evil insinuations, through slander, or the spread of hearsay. Even the willful concealment of the truth to injure the other is a transgression of the Ninth Commandment.
The Tenth Commandment
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.” Ex. 20:17.
The Tenth Commandment covers the root of all sins, forbidding selfish desires which can lead to wrong actions. He who in obedience to God’s law refrains from every covetousness of that which belongs to someone else, will not fall into any other bad action toward his fellow man.
These were the holy precepts of the Ten Commandments which were spoken amid thunders and lightnings and with a wonderful revelation of the power of the Great Lawgiver. God attended the giving of his law with a revelation of his might and power so that his people would never forget this scene and so that they would be filled with deep reverence to the Author of the Law, the Creator of heaven and earth. He wanted also to show fallen man the importance, sanctity, and everlasting nature of his law.