Exodus 20:1
The Ten Commandments hold a conspicuous position in that prolonged
revelation of Himself, of His character, His will, and His relations
to mankind, which God made to the Jewish people. They can, therefore,
never become obsolete. The changing circumstances of the human race
cannot destro... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:2
I. This commandment does not tell the Jew that the gods worshipped by
other nations have no existence; it tells him that he must offer them
no homage, and that from him they must receive no recognition of their
authority and power. The Jew must serve Jehovah, and Jehovah alone.
This was... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:3
This was the commandment broken by Adam and Eve in Paradise; they
obeyed the voice of the devil, and took him for their god instead of
their heavenly Father. Since that time the devil has been called the
god of this world and the prince of this world, because men have
commonly obeyed hi... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:4
The First Commandment condemns the worshipping of false gods; the
Second condemns the making of any image or symbol even of the true
God.
I. It would have been natural for the Jews to do this. They had many
traditions of Divine revelations made to their ancestors. They might
have attem... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:7
The name of God stands for Himself and for that which He has revealed
of Himself, not for our thoughts about Him. It is not surprising that
this great name was invested with a superstitious sanctity. Even the
Jews used it rarely. There is a tradition that it was heard but once a
year, w... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:8
The early reference to the Sabbath in the Book of Genesis is no proof
of its early institution, for there can be no doubt that in the
Pentateuch Moses felt himself at perfect liberty, while using ancient
traditions and documents, to introduce additions, explanations, and
comments of his... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:12
I. The relationship in which we stand to our parents, a relationship
based upon the fact that we owe our existence to them, that we are
made in their image, that for so long a time we depend on them for the
actual maintenance of life, and that, as the necessary result of all
this, we a... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:13
I. That this commandment was intended, as some suppose, to forbid the
infliction of capital punishment, is inconceivable. The Mosaic law
itself inflicted death for murder, Sabbath-breaking, and the selling
of a Jew into slavery. The root of the commandment lies in the
greatness of huma... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:13
There are very sad and fearful thoughts connected with these
commandments. But there are also very blessed thoughts connected with
them.
I. Is it nothing to remember that the Lord God Himself watches over
the life of every one of us, poor creatures as we are, that He has
declared, and... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:14
As there is a Divine idea to be fulfilled in the relations between
parents and children which makes that relationship sacred, so there is
a Divine idea to be fulfilled in marriage, in all the offices of
mutual love and service which it creates, and in all the happiness
which it renders... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:15
I. In this commandment the institution of property is recognised and
sanctioned by the authority of God. The institution of property is
necessary: (1) for increasing the produce of the earth; (2) for
preserving the produce of the earth to maturity; (3) for the
cultivation and developme... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:16
This commandment is not to be restricted to false testimony given in
courts of justice. It prohibits slander, calumny, misrepresentation,
at any time, in any circumstances. On the other hand, we shall miss
the moral significance of the commandment if we regard it as a
prohibition of ly... [ Continue Reading ]
Exodus 20:17
I. The history of the world is stained and darkened by the crimes to
which nations have been driven by the spirit of covetousness.
Covetousness is forbidden not merely to prevent the miseries, and
horrors, and crimes of aggressive war, but to train the spirit of
nations to the recognit... [ Continue Reading ]