www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
THE DECALOGUE
THE ALTAR
EXODUS 20:1-26
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 2 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
THE DECALOGUE
THE ALTAR
Text:
Exodus 20:1-26,
1. God spoke all these words:
2. “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the
land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
3. “You shall have no other gods before me. 4. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any
likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on
the earth beneath or that is in the water below. 5. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I,
the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the
transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the
third and fourth generations of those who reject me, 6. and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand
generations of those who love me and keep my
commandments. 7. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.
8. “Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. 9. For six days you may labor and do all your work,
10. 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, or your male servant, or your female
servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in
your gates.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
11. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the
earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on
the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. 12. “Honor your father and your mother, that you may
live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to
you. 13. “You shall not murder.
14. “You shall not commit adultery.
15. “You shall not steal. 16. “You shall not give false testimony against your
neighbor.
17. “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 belongs to your neighbor.”
18. All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the horn, and saw the
mountain smoking—and when the people saw it they trembled with fear and kept their distance.
19. They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.”
20. Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has
come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin.”
21. The people kept their distance, but Moses drew near
the thick darkness where God was.
22. The Lord said to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have spoken
with you from heaven.
23. You must not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
24. ‘You must make for me an altar made of earth, and
you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your
peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be honored I will come to you and I will bless you.
25. If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build
it of stones shaped with tools, for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it.
26. And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that
your nakedness is not exposed.’ (NET)
Introduction:
I. The Decalogue (or Ten Commandments):
1. Monotheism
2. Idolatry
3. Blasphemy
4. Sabbath observance
5. Parental respect
6. Murder
7. Adultery
8. Stealing
9. False testimony
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
10. Covetousness
II. Key quote: Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me. (NET)
Commentary:
The Decalogue
I. The decalogue: . . . Greek for “The ten words” – deka logos.
Exodus 20:1-2, God spoke all these words: “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt,
from the house of slavery. (NET)
A. This was God’s statement to the Israelites outlining his
expectations for the conduct of his chosen people.
B. If they chose to faithfully follow his commandments, they would enjoy life as recipients of his blessings. Not living
according to his will would result in dire consequences.
1. Psalm 119:1, How blessed are those whose
actions are blameless, who obey the law of the
Lord. (NET)
2. Nehemiah 9:16, 26, “But they—our ancestors—
behaved presumptuously; they rebelled and did
not obey your commandments. “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you;
they disregarded your law. They killed your
prophets who had solemnly admonished them in
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order to cause them to return to you. They
committed atrocious blasphemies. (NET)
3. Jeremiah 9:13, The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected
my laws which I gave them. They have not
obeyed me or followed those laws. (NET)
C. Verse 1 clearly states that the commandments recorded
here are the voice of God. This really is God’s Law! Moses was merely communicating what God spoke to him.
1. Exodus 20:1, God spoke all these words: (NET)
II. The format of the Decalogue: . . .
A. The format is similar in style to the Suzerain treaties which were common in the ancient near east.
B. A Suzerain treaty was between a king and his vassals.
1. This treaty first identifies the king, “I, the Lord, am
your God.”
2. The relationship between the parties was stated,
“He who brought you out of Egypt.”
3. The vassal was prohibited from entering into other treaties. “You shall have no other gods before
me.”
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
4. Blessings for keeping the treaty and curses for
breaking it are enumerated. “. . . transgressions of
the Father . . . to the children of the third and fourth generation . . . showing covenant faithfulness . . . to those . . . who keep my
commandments.”
III. The first four commandments outline man’s relationship and
responsibilities to God.
IV. Monotheism. Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other
gods before me. (NET)
A. This commandment outlaws any form of polytheism.
B. The God of Israel is not one of many gods; he is not
among a pantheon of false gods. He is the one true God.
1. Psalm 81:9, There must be no other god among you. You must not worship a foreign god.
(NET)
V. Idolatry. Exodus 20:4, “You shall not make for yourself a
carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the
water below. (NET)
A. To prevent paganism from creeping into the Israelite culture God strictly prohibited any form of idols that might
be worshiped in his stead. They were to focus their worship
entirely on Yahweh.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
B. This included a likeness of any kind of creature in, on, or
above the earth.
C. This prohibition did not extend to objects fashioned for art, only those used for worship.
D. Reward or punishment for idolatry: . . .
1. In forbidding the worship of false idols God reveals
the severity of breaking this commandment and shows how great are the rewards of faithfulness.
2. Exodus 20:5-6, You shall not bow down to
them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgress-
sion of fathers by dealing with children to the
third and fourth generations of those who reject me, and showing covenant faithfulness to a
thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NET)
VI. Blasphemy: . . . Exodus 20:7, “You shall not take the
name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not
hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain. (NET)
A. The name of God is only to be used reverently, never
trivialized or used thoughtlessly in conversation.
B. Taking the Lord’s name in vain was a sin punishable by
stoning. This penalty was decreed by God.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
1. Leviticus 24:11, 13-15, The Israelite woman’s
son misused the Name and cursed, so they
brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Bring the
one who cursed outside the camp, and all who
heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the whole congregation is to stone him to death.
Moreover, you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If any
man curses his God he will bear responsibility for his sin, (NET)
VII. Sabbath observance: . . .
A. Sabbath means to “cease”, to “rest”.
1. Genesis 2:3, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work
that he had been doing in creation. (NET)
B. God shows us by his example that he expected the Israelites to rest and reset their minds and bodies by
observing the Sabbath.
1. Hebrews 4:9-10, Consequently a Sabbath rest
remains for the people of God. For the one who
enters God’s rest has also rested from his works,
just as God did from his own works. (NET)
C. The first directive from God for a Sabbath rest was in
Exodus chapter 16 regarding the instructions for gathering the manna.
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1. Exodus 16:23, 26, He said to them, “This is
what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Whatever you want to bake, bake today;
whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever
is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’” Six days you will gather it, but on the
seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
(NET)
D. A specified day of rest set the Israelites apart from pagan
nations who had no precedent for observing a day without
work.
1. Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day
to set it apart as holy. For six days you may 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,
or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in
your gates. For in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day;
therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
set it apart as holy. (NET)
E. During this time of worship the Israelites were to
remember that it was God who delivered them from slavery
in Egypt. It was by his power and grace they were saved. They did not accomplish it on their own.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
1. Deuteronomy 5:15, Recall that you were
slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has
commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
(NET)
2. Deuteronomy 6:12, be careful not to forget the
Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery. (NET)
VIII. The remaining six commandments outline man’s relationship
and responsibilities to his fellow man.
IX. Respect parents: . . . Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father
and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you. (NET)
A. We are all children of God, our heavenly father, and as
our father, he expects us to honor and obey him. So it is with our earthly families.
1. Leviticus 19:32, You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an
elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord. (NET)
B. God wants our child-parent relationship to resemble the honor and respect we show him.
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1. 1 Timothy 5:1, Do not address an older man
harshly but appeal to him as a father. Speak to
younger men as brothers, (NET)
2. Matthew 15:4, For God said, ‘Honor your
father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his
father or mother must be put to death.’ (NET)
C. If you respect your parents, things will go well for you. If
you do not, curses will result.
1. Deuteronomy 27:16, ‘Cursed is the one who
disrespects his father and mother.’ Then all the
people will say, ‘Amen!’ (NET)
X. Murder: . . . Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder. (NET)
A. The sanctity of life is paramount to God. In the entire
universe of God’s creation mankind is the only being made in his image and into whom he breathed the breath of life.
1. Genesis 1:27, God created humankind in his
own image, in the image of God he created
them, male and female he created them. (NET)
2. Genesis 2:7, The Lord God formed the man
from the soil of the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (NET)
B. The first murder recorded in the Bible occurs in Genesis when Cain slew Abel.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
1. Genesis 4:8-10, Cain said to his brother Abel,
“Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your
brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am
I my brother’s guardian?” But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your
brother’s blood is crying out to me from the
ground! (NET)
C. You cannot hide evil deeds from the Lord. There will be
consequences to be paid.
1. Genesis 4:11-12, So now, you are banished
from the ground, which has opened its mouth to
receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you try to cultivate the ground it will no
longer yield its best for you. You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.” (NET)
2. Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds human blood, by
other humans must his blood be shed; for in
God’s image God has made humankind.” (NET)
D. God stipulated the penalty for murder as death.
1. Exodus 21:12, “Whoever strikes someone so that he dies must surely be put to death. (NET)
E. The death penalty was to be enforced for pre-meditated murder.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
1. Exodus 21:13, But if he does not do it with
premeditation, but it happens by accident, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. (NET)
F. The admonition against murder did not apply to warfare.
1. Deuteronomy 20:1, When you go to war
against your enemies and see chariotry and troops who outnumber you, do not be afraid of
them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up
out of the land of Egypt, is with you. (NET)
X. Adultery: . . . Exodus 20:14, “You shall not commit
adultery. (NET)
A. The sanctity of marriage is similar to the sanctity of life.
Adultery has the capability to destroy families as surely as the taking of a life can. God holds both sacred.
B. Marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and
woman, sworn to before God and witnesses. Both parties
agree (a covenantal relationship) to faithfully abide by their vows as long as they live.
1. Genesis 2:24, That is why a man leaves his
father and mother and unites with his wife, and they become a new family. (NET)
2. 1 Corinthians 7:2, But because of immoralities, each man should have relations with his own
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wife and each woman with her own husband.
(NET)
C. Our covenant with God requires faithfulness to him. He does not allow his people to worship others in his stead.
The marriage covenant is similar in that the husband and
wife are faithful to one another. Just as we love and honor one God, so are we to love and honor one spouse.
D. God set forth different punishments for adultery and fornication.
1. Adultery, the more serious offense, carried the
penalty of death.
a. Deuteronomy 22:22, If a man is caught
having sexual relations with a married woman both the man who had relations
with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge evil
from Israel. (NET)
b. Leviticus 20:10, If a man commits
adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to
death. (NET)
2. Fornication is a crime, but the punishment is less severe.
a. Deuteronomy 22:29, The man who has raped her must pay her father fifty shekels
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of silver and she must become his wife
because he has violated her; he may never
divorce her as long as he lives. (NET) E. NET, study note 15, for Exodus 20:14 states, “Referring to
adultery, in the ancient world this sin is often referred to as ‘The
Great Sin.’”
XI. Stealing: . . . Exodus 20:15, “You shall not steal. (NET)
A. This commandment protects the property rights of the
individual.
B. It does not matter whether the theft occurs by force or oppression, it is forbidden by God. An example would be
cheating workmen out of wages.
1. Leviticus 19:13, You must not oppress your
neighbor or commit robbery against him. You must not withhold the wages of the hired laborer
overnight until morning. (NET)
2. Deuteronomy 24:14-15, You must not oppress
a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites or from the
resident foreigners who are living in your land
and villages. You must pay his wage that very
day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to
the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of
sin. (NET)
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
C. Little is written concerning punishment for theft. Instead
the focus is on the restoration of property or compensation
to the rightful owner.
1. Exodus 22:1, 3b-4, 7, 9, “If a man steals an ox
or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay
back five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. A thief must surely
make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he
will be sold for his theft. If the stolen item should in fact be found alive in his possession,
whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he
must pay back double. “If a man gives his
neighbor money or articles for safekeeping, and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is
caught, he must repay double. In all cases of
illegal possessions, whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item,
about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’ the matter of the two of them will come before
the judges, and the one whom the judges declare guilty must repay double to his neighbor.
(NET)
2. Numbers 5:6-7, “Tell the Israelites, ‘When a
man or a woman commits any sin that people
commit, thereby breaking faith with the Lord,
and that person is found guilty, then he must confess his sin that he has committed and must
make full reparation, add one fifth to it, and give
it to whomever he wronged. (NET)
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
D. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus
explaining how a person guilty of theft should atone for his
sin.
1. Ephesians 4:28, The one who steals must steal
no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with
his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need. (NET)
XII. False testimony: . . . Exodus 20:16, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (NET)
A. God considers false testimony against another a sin. This
is repeated later by Jesus when he names Satan as the father of lies.
1. John 8:44, You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father
desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is
no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar
and the father of lies. (NET)
B. This commandment was given to protect people from
being libeled. It also established a judicial system based on
truthful testimony where more than one witness must
support the charges.
1. Deuteronomy 17:6, At the testimony of two or
three witnesses they must be executed. They
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cannot be put to death on the testimony of only
one witness. (NET)
2. Deuteronomy 19:15, A single witness may not testify against another person for any trespass
or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally
established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. (NET)
3. Numbers 35:30, “Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be put to death by the
testimony of witnesses, but one witness cannot
testify against any person to cause him to be put
to death. (NET)
C. God desires truthfulness and integrity in all aspects of our
lives.
1. Psalm 51:6, Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom.
(NET)
2. Joshua 24:14a, Now obey the Lord and wor-
ship him with integrity and loyalty. (NET)
D. False testimony was used by the Sanhedrin and chief
priests to condemn Jesus Christ to death. “O, Jerusalem,
O Jerusalem! What sins you have committed. You murdered the son of God and used false testimony to
justify it in your hearts.”
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
1. Matthew 26:59-62, The chief priests and the
whole Sanhedrin were trying to find false
testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find anything, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward and declared, “This
man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” So the high
priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no
answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” (NET)
XIII. Covetousness: . . . Exodus 20:17, “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
belongs to your neighbor.” (NET)
A. “Covet, covetous, inordinate desire to possess what belongs to another, usually tangible things.” Holman Bible
Dictionary, pg. 360.
B. NET, translator’s note 19, for Exodus 20:17 states that
covetousness is “. . . an internal mental activity behind the act, the motivation for it.”
C. God is telling the Israelites that the mental activity of
covetousness leads to action to acquire the object being desired. Put covetous thoughts out of your mind.
D. This is the seed that blooms into actions, that lead to violating other commandments, especially six through ten,
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the relational commands governing mankind’s actions with
others.
E. A well known example is the story of David and Bathsheba. David coveted Bathsheba, the beautiful wife of
Uriah, the Hittite. King David had an adulterous relationship
with her and she became pregnant. As part of the cover-up, David sent Uriah into the thick of battle where he was killed.
David then took Bathsheba as his wife. Read 2 Samuel
11:1-16 for the complete story.
1. 2 Samuel 11:1-16, In the spring of the year, at
the time when kings normally conduct wars,
David sent out Joab with his officers and the entire Israelite army. They defeated the
Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David
stayed behind in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the
roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very
attractive. So David sent someone to inquire about the woman. The messenger said, “Isn’t
this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife
of Uriah the Hittite?” David sent some messengers to get her. She came to him and he
had sexual relations with her. (Now at that time
she was in the process of purifying herself from
her menstrual uncleanness.) Then she returned to her home. The woman conceived and then
sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.” So
David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to
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David. When Uriah came to him, David asked
about how Joab and the army were doing and
how the campaign was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your home and relax.” When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him.
But Uriah stayed at the door of the palace with
all the servants of his lord. He did not go down to his house. So they informed David, “Uriah has
not gone down to his house.” So David said to
Uriah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why haven’t you gone down to your house?”
Uriah replied to David, “The ark and Israel and
Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord
Joab and my lord’s soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and
drink and have marital relations with my wife?
As surely as you are alive, I will not do this thing!” So David said to Uriah, “Stay here
another day. Tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem both that day and the
following one. Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But
in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed
with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house. In the morning David wrote a
letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In the letter
he wrote: “Station Uriah in the thick of the battle
and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed.” So as Joab kept watch on the
city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he
knew the best enemy soldiers were. (NET)
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F. This illustrates how dangerous covetousness can become.
Once that rock starts to roll down the mountain, it gathers speed
loosening more rocks along the way and cannot be stopped.
G. This is so important that it is the only one of the six man
to mankind relationship commandments in which God lists
examples of what you may not covet just as he has done with the four man to God requirements.
XIV. Fear of the Lord: . . . Exodus 20:18-21, All the people were seeing the thundering and the lightning, and heard
the sound of the horn, and saw the mountain smoking—
and when the people saw it they trembled with fear and
kept their distance. They said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, lest
we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God
has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you so that you do not sin.” The people kept their
distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was. (NET)
A. The Israelite feared that God would kill them when they
witnessed the fire, smoke and thunder on the mountain.
B. Moses had to reassure them they were not to live in fear
of God. Rather he wanted them to respect him, and fear the
consequences of sin there by learning the true meaning of
forgiveness through faith.
1. Proverbs 9:10, The beginning of wisdom is to
fear the Lord, and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding. (NET)
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 24 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
2. Proverbs 15:33, The fear of the Lord provides
wise instruction, and before honor comes humility. (NET)
3. Proverbs 16:6, Through loyal love and truth
iniquity is appeased; through fearing the Lord one avoids evil. (NET)
The Altar
XV. The altar: . . . Exodus 20:22-26, The Lord said to Moses: “Thus you will tell the Israelites: ‘You yourselves have
seen that I have spoken with you from heaven. You must
not make gods of silver alongside me, nor make gods of gold for yourselves. ‘You must make for me an altar made
of earth, and you will sacrifice on it your burnt offerings
and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In
every place where I cause my name to be honored I will come to you and I will bless you. If you make me an altar
of stone, you must not build it of stones shaped with tools, for if you use your tool on it you have defiled it. And you must not go up by steps to my altar, so that your
nakedness is not exposed.’ (NET)
A. The instructions given to Moses for constructing an altar specified using only earth. If stones were used they were
not to be hewn or shaded; they were to remain natural.
B. Again God prohibited the making or use of idols. The
Israelites were to worship only the one true God.
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 25 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 26 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
Conclusion:
I. This chapter on the Decalogue or Ten Commandments is arguably one of the most important in Exodus, perhaps in all the books of the Old Testament. Even people with little or no
knowledge of the Bible have at least a rudimentary understanding
of the Ten Commandments.
A. These commandments formed the foundation of the
Israelites’ legal system and the six man to mankind relationships became the basis for western civilization is law.
B. The Ten Commandments outline our two great
relationships; our relationship to God and our relationship to our fellow man.
C. These laws show us how high God’s standards are for us. We cannot keep from sinning against his law on our own.
Only through Jesus Christ are we granteed mercy by God for the redemption of our sins.
1. Romans 3:19-20, 22-24, Now we know that
whatever the law says, it says to those who are
under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held
accountable to God. For no one is declared
righteous before him by the works of the law, for
through the law comes the knowledge of sin. namely, the righteousness of God through the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.
For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 27 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (NET)
E. As Paul wrote later in Romans, God gave us his commandments to demonstrate what sin was and to show
that we need him to overcome the power and condemnation
of sin.
1. Romans 5:20-21, Now the law came in so that
the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, so that
just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will
reign through righteousness to eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. (NET)
F. Are these really laws that may be broken without penalty,
just a set of “guidelines” for our daily living? Jesus answered that question in his sermon on the Mount as
recorded by Matthew.
1. Matthew 5:19, So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others
to do so will be called least in the kingdom of
heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. (NET)
2. Paul also wrote about the importance of these commandments.
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Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
a. Romans 6:23, For the payoff of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord. (NET)
G. What does God expect, or want, from us? This was
summarized by Jesus when he was asked by one who was
an expert in the law, a scribe. The scribes were recognized as masters at interpreting the Mosaic Law, traditions and
regulations.
1. Mark 12:28-31, Now one of the experts in the
law came and heard them debating. When he
saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked
him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most
important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God,
the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.’ The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.” (NET)
H. Jesus Christ the son of God verified that these two commands
are the gold standard for us to live by. If we faithfully follow them all the rest of the commandments will be observed. If we
love God with all our heart, mind and strength we cannot break
any of the man-God relationship laws. And if we love our
neighbor as ourselves we would not be able to break any of the laws relating to others. This, I believe, is the key to faithfully
keeping God’s law.
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 29 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
Questions
on
Exodus 20:1-26
1. The Ten Commandments consist of two sections governing
relationships. They are the relationship of _______________ to _____________ and the _______________ to _______________
relationship.
2. How did God give the law to Moses? ___________ A. He wrote it.
B. He spoke it.
C. He sent an angel to deliver it.
3. Why did God prohibit the worship of idols? Explain your
answer. ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. God stated the punishment for worshiping idols. ___________ A. True
B. False
5. Would it be acceptable for a believer in God to worship an idol in the image of an animal? Give reasons for your answer. ______
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 30 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Why did God command the Israelites to rest on the Sabbath? Explain. ______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
7. God commanded us to honor our father and mother. Why do
you think this is important? ______________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
8. Why did God forbid murder? ___________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
9. Does the prohibition against murder apply to warfare? Give
reasons for your answer. ________________________________
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 31 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Does God consider marriage a sacred covenant between a man and woman? ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
11. Was the penalty for fornication and adultery the same?
Explain. ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
12. The law against stealing protected. _____________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
13. The Israelite legal system required the testimony of
_______________ witness to support the charges against an accused.
www.biblestudyworkshop.org 32 Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan
Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.
14. God requires _______________ and _______________ in all
aspects of our lives, as stated in the ninth commandment. 15. Why did God warn us against coveting our neighbors
possessions? Explain. ___________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Have you had difficulty keeping certain commandments? If
so, what are you going to do to correct yourself in these areas?_ _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
17. Are these commandments relevant in our world today? Explain. ______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________