Exodus 20

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 20

God’s ten *commandments – verses 1-17

v1 God spoke all these words:

v2 ‘I am the *LORD your God. I brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves.

v3 You shall have no other god except me.

v4 Do not make images like anything in heaven. Do not make images like anything on the earth, or anything beneath the water. v5 Do not respect such images. Do not *worship them. I am the *LORD your God. I am a jealous God. I want you to *worship only me. And I want you to love only me. I will punish the people who hate me. And I will punish their children, and their children’s children. v6 But I will love all those people who love me. And I will love their children in the future for thousands of years. I will love all those people always who obey my *commandments.

v7 Do not use the *LORD your God’s name in a wrong way. If anyone uses my name in a wrong way, he is guilty.

v8 Remember that the *Sabbath day belongs to me. Keep it holy. v9 You can do all your work in the other 6 days of the week. v10 But the 7th day in each week is the *Sabbath day. On that day you must give honour to me, the *LORD your God. Do not do any work on that day. Your sons and your daughters must not work on that day. Your male servants, your female servants and your animals must not work on that day. And any stranger, who lives in your towns, must not work on that day. v11 I am the *LORD. And I made the sky and the earth and the sea in 6 days. I made everything in them, but I rested on the 7th day. So the *Sabbath day is holy because it belongs to me.

v12 Respect your father and your mother. Then you will live in the country that I, the *LORD your God, am giving to you. And you will live there for a long time.

v13 Do not murder anyone.

v14 Be loyal to the person whom you married.

v15 Do not steal anything from anybody.

v16 Do not tell lies about your neighbour or about anyone else.

v17 Do not desire your neighbour’s house. Do not desire his wife. Do not desire their male servant or their female servant. Do not desire their animals to work for you. You must not desire anything that belongs to someone else.’

In the *Hebrew language God’s 10 *commandments are called the ‘ten words’. The first 4 *commandments say how we should be loyal to God. The 5th *commandment refers to our duty to our family. *Commandments number 6-10 tell about our duty to other people. They describe how we should act. They also describe how we should behave towards other people in society. God’s *commandments show to us a peaceful way in which to live in God’s world.

Verses 1-2 These words are a message from God. He is the *LORD. His name is I AM (Exodus 3:14). The *Israelites began to know God when he rescued them from Egypt. He freed them, and now they were not slaves.

Verse 3 The first *commandment means that God is the only real God. Only God deserves that people *worship him. ‘Other god’ does not mean that other gods existed. The *Canaanites *worshipped images. And they thought that those images were alive. But those images might attract the *Israelites too. They would cause the *Israelites to *sin. For example, the *Canaanites *worshipped a false god called Baal. And wrong acts of sex were part of their way to *worship Baal. But God cannot accept anyone who is not completely loyal to him. There is only one real God. So people must *worship him with the whole of themselves (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). *Jews repeat these verses in Deuteronomy at regular times. It is their statement about what they believe.

Verses 4-5 The original *commandment was probably the short order. ‘You must not make an image for yourself. You must not *worship such images.’ People used to make images to *worship. Usually, they made them out of wood or stone. Isaiah laughed at people who made images. He said that they wasted their time and energy. They used half a piece of wood to make the image. But they used the other half of the piece of wood to burn in their fire (Isaiah 44:12-19).

Many people do not make wooden images now. But people *worship other things. Everyone should give the most honour to God. But perhaps someone or something is more important than God to a person. People *worship the person or the thing to whom they give the most honour. But God wants people to *worship him only. Nobody can make an image that *represents God completely. God’s thoughts and his ways are completely different from how people live. People think and act in a very different way from God (Isaiah 55:8-9). An image that *represents God, would give wrong thoughts to people. They might think that God lived in only one place. And people might think that they could please God with a beautiful image.

‘Jealous’ is not the bad emotion that people have. That bad emotion leads to bad behaviour. But it was right for God to be jealous. He did not want the people to *worship any false gods. The *Israelites should put God first. That is the only right way. God loves his people so much that he cannot share them. The people who hate God do not obey him. People live in society. When someone does not obey God’s laws, it affects other people in a bad way. For example in a family, perhaps one person becomes a thief. This affects the whole family. And it continues to affect them into the future. In the *Hebrew language the words, ‘and I will punish their children, and their children’s children’ shows that. Actions have effects that continue into the future.

Verse 6 To love God is an action. It is not only an emotion. Those people who love God, obey his *commandments. God loves all those people who obey him. And he does not change. ‘Thousands’ is not an exact number. It emphasises how much God loves people.

Verse 7 People can use the *LORD’s name in the wrong way. Some translations of the Bible say, ‘do not take the *LORD’s name in vain’. This meant not to respect a promise. Sometimes people used God’s name to make their promise stronger (Leviticus 19:12). The *Israelites might use this phrase, ‘It is as sure as that God lives’. Then they would promise something. But later they might not do what they promised. So that would suggest that God is not real. In the *Hebrew language ‘name’ means character. So people can show what God is like by their speech and their actions. Anyone who uses God’s name in a careless way forgets God’s character. God is completely holy.

Verses 8-11 At the beginning of time, God rested on the 7th day. He rested after he had made everything (Genesis 2:2-3). The *Israelites were slaves in Egypt. But God gave rest to them when he freed them from their hard work there (Deuteronomy 5:14). Those were the reasons for the *Sabbath day. The *Hebrew word *sabbath means rest. On their way from Egypt, the *Israelites remembered the *Sabbath day. They rested and they did not collect food on that day (Exodus 16:23-29). So the *Sabbath day should allow everyone to rest from their normal work. Animals, slaves, and strangers who had come to stay in *Israel, should all enjoy rest on the *Sabbath. They would have freedom from work on that day. Jesus said that God made the *Sabbath for man’s benefit (Mark 2:27). And Isaiah spoke about the *Sabbath as a delight (Isaiah 58:13). The *Sabbath became a *sign that God had made a special promise to the *Israelites. He made those promises at *Mount Sinai (Exodus 31:17).

Verse 12 Children learn about God from their parents. They also learn from their parents how they should behave towards other people. So this *commandment links the first four *commandments with the other *commandments. The Book of Proverbs emphasises this *commandment. It teaches that children need to respect their parents (Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 15:5; Proverbs 19:26). Parents deserve that their children should respect them. And children should look after their parents when their parents are old. Jesus blamed people who tried to avoid the responsibility for their parents (Mark 7:10-12). And Ephesians 6:2 describes this *commandment as ‘the first *commandment with a promise’. The promise is ‘that you will live for a long time’. This would be a result when people obeyed this *commandment. To live for a long time in this world was very important to those people. They did not know what would happen after they died. Also, this promise meant that they would be able to live in safety later. And they would arrive in the country that God would give to them. It is safer to live in a nation where people respect each another.

Verse 13 The law made a difference between murder and when someone killed another person in an accident (Exodus 21:12-14). God makes us alive. Cain murdered his brother. And he learned that murder is a *sin against God (Genesis 4:10-12). Jesus showed that the *commandment against murder involved bad emotions too. Such emotions (for example, to hate someone) can lead to murder. To be angry without a good reason deserves punishment. People should settle their quarrels quickly. They should respect other people. It is wrong to speak about other people with anger. And is it wrong to speak to them with anger. (Matthew 5:21-26).

Verse 14 This *commandment is against the *sin that involves a wrong sex relationship. It is wrong to have sex with another man’s wife or with another woman’s husband. People considered this relationship as *sin a long time before God gave this law to them. For example, Joseph refused to listen to Potiphar’s wife. He knew that it would be a *sin against God. Also, he knew that it would be a *sin against his master (Genesis 39:9-10). Jesus spoke about this *sin too. He said that sometimes a man looks at a woman with the wrong desires. And that is as bad as if he had sex with her.

Verse 15 ‘Do not steal.’ However small the amount that a person steals, they are not obeying this *commandment. But to steal refers to more than just to take another person’s property. It is possible to steal an employer’s time. You do that when you waste time at work. And if you find something, you should return that thing to its owner. It does not belong to you. People should not keep something that someone lends to them. Also, if you claim other people’s ideas as your own ideas, you are stealing their ideas. And you are stealing from the company if you neglect to pay for a service. For example, one day you travel on a bus or on a train. But you do not pay your fare. Then you are stealing from the company.

Verse 16 Sometimes, a person tells lies about someone in a court of law. That person is a false witness. In Moses’ time, the punishment for a false witness was death. Some witnesses knew the truth, and those witnesses had to carry out the punishment. James writes about the wrong way in which we can speak (James 3:8-9). We must not speak against people because God made people in his image. We must not say untrue things about other people. Those words can hurt their feelings. And those words can cause other people to think badly about a person’s character too. But sometimes people say untrue things when they gossip. Or perhaps we say nothing to deny such lies. Then we are guilty too, because we are helping that lie.

Verse 17 We can allow ourselves to desire something too much. But it belongs to another person. And then we try to obtain that property. Often if a person does not obey one *commandment then it leads to another *sin. King Ahab desired Naboth’s land so much that Ahab murdered him. Then Ahab stole the land after Naboth’s murder. So Ahab let his desire (*commandment number 10) lead to murder (*commandment number 6). Then he stole. (*Commandment number 8. See 1 Kings 21:1-16.) David desired Bathsheba (*commandment number 10). He had sex with another man’s wife (*commandment number 7). Then he murdered her husband. (*Commandment number 6. See 2 Samuel 11:2-4; 2 Samuel 11:14-15.)

When politicians desire power for themselves, they can cause trouble. Their actions can cause difficulties for very many people.

The people are afraid – verses 18-21

v18 The people saw the lightning and the smoke from the mountain. They heard the loud roar from the *thunder. And then they heard the *trumpet’s sound. So they trembled with fear. And they stayed away from the mountain. v19 Then they spoke to Moses. ‘You speak to us and we will listen’, they said to him. ‘But do not let God speak to us. If God speaks to us, we will certainly die.’

v20 And Moses replied to the people. ‘Do not be afraid’, he said. ‘God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him. Then you will not continue to *sin.’

v21 The people remained some distance away. But Moses approached the dense darkness where God was.

Verse 18 This verse repeats the *signs with the lightning and its loud noise, the *thunder. These *signs showed that the *LORD was present (Exodus 19:16-25). Abraham saw flashes of fire when God made a special promise to him. The word for flashes of fire is the same word as the word lightning here (Genesis 15:17-18).

Verse 19 The people knew that they were not good enough. They were afraid because they realised their situation. They were not good enough to stand in front of God. They were afraid to hear his voice. They wanted Moses to stand in front of God on their behalf. After Moses died, priests, *prophets and kings *represented the people in front of God. Finally, Jesus Christ came. Now he *represents us to God, so we call him our Mediator (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Verse 20 The *thunder and lightning were a way to test people. To be afraid of God is when we really respect God. We understand that he is completely holy, completely pure and completely *clean. Isaiah realised that God is like that (Isaiah 6:3-5). This kind of fear should help us to desire good things. It should help us not to *sin.

Verses 18-21 are a connection between God’s 10 *commandments and the book about God’s special promise. This book (the next few Chapter s of Exodus) explains the practical ways to obey the 10 *commandments.

Chapter 20:22 to 24:8

This section contains rules for the main social problems with which the *Israelites needed to deal.

*Idols and *altars – verses 22-26

v22 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses. God said, ‘Tell this message to the *Israelites. “All of you have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. v23 Do not make any gods to put in my place. Do not make any silver or gold images that you will *worship.”

v24 “Use earth to make an *altar for me. And burn on it your *burnt offerings and your *friendship offerings. Give gifts to me from among your sheep and your cows. And I will choose places where you can think about me. You can give honour to me in those places. And I will come to you in those places. And I will *bless you. v25 Perhaps you will make an *altar for me with stones. But do not prepare the stones before you build the *altar. If you use a tool on the stones, then they will not be suitable for me. v26 Do not go up steps to my *altar because someone might see under your clothes. They might see your naked body.” ’

Verses 22-23 There is only one real God. The *Israelites must not make images of any kind that they intend to *worship. Those images are false gods. People usually made images out of wood. But sometimes people covered the wood with precious metals.

Verse 24 God would *bless the *Israelites wherever they *worshipped him. They should use earth to make an *altar for him. The *altar was a place where they gave their gifts to God.

Verse 25 Also, they could make an *altar out of stone. But they must not try to shape natural stone with a tool. A person’s hand would hold the tool. Then the work would make the stone not *clean enough for God. Joshua obeyed that rule when he made a stone *altar on *Mount Ebal (Joshua 8:30-31). Nobody knows the whole reason for the rule. Perhaps it refers to people who did not *worship the real God. Perhaps they made their altars with tools.

Verse 26 Often people placed their *altar high up, perhaps on a hill. Then they made steps for their priests to reach the *altar. This showed that the people must be humble in front of their false god. But to go up those steps would let people see the priests’ legs. People would see the priest’s naked body underneath his clothes. So God said this. ‘Do not go up steps to my *altar.’ Later, Aaron and all the priests after him served God at an *altar that had steps. So they wore short trousers, which they made out of cloth. They wore them underneath their clothes (Exodus 28:42-43).

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
commandment ~ a rule or an order that God gave to the Jews. The 10 rules that God gave to Moses on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); an order from someone who has authority.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Mount ~ another name for mountain.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
Sabbath ~ the 7th day in a Jewish week. It is from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday The day on which God rested when he created the world. So he wants people to rest on that day. Anything that has a relationship with the Sabbath.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
commandment ~ a rule or an order that God gave to the Jews. The 10 rules that God gave to Moses on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); an order from someone who has authority.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Mount ~ another name for mountain.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Canaanite ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan; something that comes from the country called Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that God gave to Israelites. Canaanites lived here, and people called Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites and Perizzites lived there also.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
sin ~ the wrong things that people do against God or against other people; or, not to obey God.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
represent ~ when a person acts on behalf of someone else; or you put something in place of something else.
Sabbath ~ the 7th day in a Jewish week. It is from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday The day on which God rested when he created the world. So he wants people to rest on that day. Anything that has a relationship with the Sabbath.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
sign ~ a signal; a mark to show that something is special; a powerful act.
Mount ~ another name for mountain.
thunder ~ the loud noise that lightning causes in a storm.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument that people blow into to make a sound. Now trumpets are usually made out of metal, but often people have used animals’ horns to make them.

horn ~ animals like cows and goats have horns (usually 2) that grow out of their heads. The horns stick out and end in a point. The Israelite priest used male sheep’s horns as musical instruments. They blew into them to make a loud sound. And today people call certain instruments ‘horns’. Also the altar in God’s special tent had pieces that stuck out at the altar’s 4 corners. These pieces are called horns.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
prophet ~ a person who hears God’s words and tells them to other people. But there were sometimes false prophets.
clean ~ good in thought and in action. But, in the Old Testament, many things could make a person unclean towards God. For example, if they touched a dead body, that would make them unclean. And the Israelites must not eat animals that God called unclean.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, it tells about the history and the beliefs of the Israelites. The Jews’ holy book.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
idol ~ an object that people worship instead of God; an object made out of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.
bless ~ to say or do much good to a person; to call something holy; to call for good things to happen; to guard and to keep from evil.