1 Then God declared (all these words.) and said:
- So Moses ‘popped down’ and returned to the mountain (with Aaron).
- It turns out that he is there to receive the commandments – that is, binding instructions for the Israelites if they are to be the Lord’s people.
2 I (The Lord "I am your God,) I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- //Deut. 5:6–5:21 (there are more detailed notes there). I, too, have a more detailed analysis of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy. See there for further details.
- n.: I am the Lord, your God;
- The Lord reveals his name and recalls what he has done for Israel.
3 You shall have no other gods alongside me.
- n.: outside / above …
- The wording is the same as in Dt.
- When it comes to ‘divinity’, the Lord demands absolute exclusivity. Israel is His people, His alone and exclusively. It is out of the question that this relationship should be ‘diluted’ by a parallel relationship (with anyone else). God is absolutely uncompromising on this point.
- A comparison with marriage springs to mind: from the wedding onwards, the couple’s relationship is exclusive (See Deuteronomy for more details).
4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that "I have up in the sky, or down on the ground, or in the water beneath the ground.
- The wording is exactly the same as in Dt. For further details, see there.
- In view of Roman Catholic and Orthodox practice, two questions arise:
- Has this commandment not been altered by the fact that the Son of God took on human form? Is the veneration of the Son in a painting or statue a breach of this commandment?1? After all, the fact that I have a photo of my wife in my wallet2, it doesn’t usually mean that I worship her photograph. The photograph is meant to remind me of my wife.
- In other words: Is every depiction of the Son idolatry?
- If asked directly, no Roman Catholic or Orthodox Christian will say that they worship an image or a statue – they will always maintain that they worship the one behind the depiction, that is, Christ himself (or, in some cases, the Virgin Mary or a saint – but I shall leave that aside for now).
- In my experience, this is often not the case, and it is frequently the image itself that is the object of reverence. But even if it were true, is that all right? The answer is probably not clear-cut or universal – it depends on each person’s individual attitude.
- However, once again3 I would consider it important the precautionary principle: If this matter is emphasised so strongly in Scripture, why should I defy God and risk breaking this commandment by making an image for myself (and then struggling desperately to maintain the right inner attitude so as not to deify it)?
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, "I am A jealous God, who with a penalty I lay the sins of the fathers upon the sons . on the third and on the fourth generation those who hate me,
- The wording is practically the same as in Deut. 5:9, except that ‘serve’ is replaced here by ‘be a slave’.
- God’s jealousy is dangerous and the consequences are severe. If I am not careful, God’s punishment will even befall my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Is the placement of paintings and statues in the church really so important that I should risk this?
6 But I show mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
- Is this a ‘counterbalancing’ verse to the threat of punishment for committing sexual immorality? In the sense that: ‘Yes, I do punish at times, but I much prefer to show mercy.’ Perhaps partly so – God certainly takes greater pleasure in showing mercy than in punishing.
- However, it is also a matter of dual motivation – motivation ‘from above and below’, both negative and positive: If you make an image of me, the punishment will fall upon your family right down to your great-grandchildren. But if you have a normal relationship with me, based on love and obedience, the reward will extend to your family for all time. That’s an offer you ‘can’t refuse’.
7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who takes his name in vain.
- This is exactly the same wording as in Deut. A more detailed analysis can be found there once again.
- Here, the motivation for the order comes solely ‘from below’.
8 Remember the Sabbath day, so that you may keep it holy.
- For an analysis, see 5M.
- h. the infinitive functions as an emphatic imperative; a typical difference from Deut. 5:12: ‘Observe’
- In Deut.: (Keep the Sabbath day holy,) as the Lord your God has commanded you.
- The difference is probably not significant – both formulations indicate that this is an important instruction.
- Why is the wording slightly different? Presumably, when Moses wrote the books, he did so ‘from memory’.
- We will probably never know which of the versions was used on the Tablets of the Ten Commandments (unless someone finds the Tablet of the Covenant).
- What does it actually mean? to mark the day? This example illustrates well the meaning of the word ‘holy’. To sanctify a day means Separate and clean. To set it apart from other ‘ordinary’ days and make it holy – all so that this day may belong to the Lord.
- To do that, you need to rememberit means to bear in mind and not to forget for that.
9 For six days you shall work and do all your work, 10 but on the seventh day "I have The Sabbath is to be kept holy to the Lord your God. Neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates, shall do any work, "I have within your gates,
- An explanation of what consecration actually means.
11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that "I have in them, and on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
- The wording of the explanatory note (‘explanatory report’) on the Sabbath differs slightly from that in Deuteronomy: ‘For six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath, dedicated to the Lord your God. You shall not do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates—so that your male and female servants may rest as you do. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
- Let’s look at the differences:
- the seventh day "I have the Sabbath, which belongs to the Lord … the seventh day is the Sabbath, which belongs to the Lord, (added) to your God.
- Neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male or female slave, nor your livestock, nor your guest shall do any work … Neither you nor your son nor your daughter, nor your male slave nor your female slave, nor your ox and your donkey (the ox and the donkey have been added), neither any of your animals nor any of your visitors, towho is within your gates (added),
- for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that "I have in them, and on the seventh day he rested (In the Old Testament, the Sabbath is justified by the fact that God rested on the seventh day) … andso that your male and female slaves may rest, just as you do. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. (In Deuteronomy, the Sabbath is justified as a necessity for everyone to rest, and the text reminds us what it is like not to be allowed to rest.)
- That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy … That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day holy. In both cases, the Sabbath is justified by the Lord’s will, though in each instance in a different way.)
12 Honour your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
- Deut. 5:16 adds: ‘so that it may go well with you’; (Full text from Deuteronomy: Honour your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that (may your days be prolonged) and so that you may prosper in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.)
- Dt therefore promises more in return for respect for one’s parents than Ex does – not only a long life, but also prosperity.
13 You shall not murder! 14 You shall not commit adultery! 15 You shall not steal!
- A more detailed analysis can be found in Deuteronomy. The wording is just as concise.
16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour!
- In Deuteronomy, it is ‘to testify’, which is a minor difference. The meaning is the same.
17 You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor of neither his slave nor of neither his slave girl nor of his bull, nor of his donkey, at all after anything that belongs to your neighbour.
- There are two minor differences compared with Dt:
- the order of the house and the woman has been reversed
- In Deuteronomy, the phrase ‘you shall not covet’ is used instead of ‘you shall not be eager’ in reference to women
18 All the people watched the thunder and lightning, the sound of the ram’s horn, and the mountain shrouded in smoke. When speech, The people watched; they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 They said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen. Let God not speak to us, lest we die.’
- Who delivered the Ten Commandments? Did the Lord Himself speak audibly from the mountain, or did Moses deliver them to the people amidst a mighty ‘spectacle’ of sound and light?
- Repeated twice: “Come and have a chat with us“ (and, as you yourselves have seen, I spoke to you from heaven, as stated in verse 22) suggests the first possibility, namely that it was God Himself who spoke. However, it could also be a request along the lines of: ‘It would be nice if God would stop manifesting Himself in this way and you could tell us these things yourself, in peace.’
- From the eighteenth verse, however, it might seem that what frightened the people was not God’s voice (would that have been mentioned?), but the ‘signs’ of the storm and the sound of the shofar. Amidst such noise, it would also have been difficult for Moses to make himself heard above the thunder and the sound of the shofars.
- Whether the Lord spoke directly or His presence was ‘merely’ manifested in spectacular ways, one thing is certain: the people demanded that, from then on, only Moses should speak.
- So let it be either: ‘May the Lord cease speaking, and let you speak to us’ or ‘May the Lord cease to manifest Himself so fearfully, and let you then speak to us calmly’
- The people promise to listen carefully and then to obey.
20 Moses replied to the people: ‘Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you and to instil a sense of awe in you.’ before so that you do not sin.
- It is quite clear that God wanted to make an impression on people, to frighten them, so that they would really try not to sin
- But in what sense was it exam? Will they stick it out and not scatter, as would be natural? Or was this a test that came later? In the sense of: ‘I’ve done my utmost to convince you that you should take Me seriously. So let’s see how you cope.’
- To fear the Lord – perhaps today we would say, ‘to respect Him’ – is, as we know,4, the very foundation of our approach to Him (the beginning of wisdom).
- Our respect then determines how we relate to God and how we ‘strive’ in our relationship with Him.
21 The people remained standing at a distance, and Moses approached (thick darkness,) where God was.
- The cloud on the mountain was therefore very thick and black. The mountain was therefore completely ‘shrouded’ by the cloud.
- Moses set out fearlessly into this darkness – he knew from experience that it was ‘possible to survive’, or rather that the Lord would ‘leave him in peace’ as he entered, would not strike him down or kill him.
22 The Lord said to Moses: ‘This is what you shall say to the Israelites: You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.’
- The Israelites saw with their own eyes that God is alive and acts with great power.
23 You shall not make for yourselves gods of silver, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.
- In this context, God’s demand that He, as the living, true God, should not be replaced by any idols is entirely logical and understandable.
- After an experience like that, any attempt to create a ‘golden calf’ will really require a ‘strong stomach’.
24 You shall make an altar for me it of clay, and there you shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
- Do not worry that, without a model, you will be unable to relate to Me in any way – it will be possible to worship Me, but on the terms I set: it will involve offering sacrifices, and this will take place on the altar.
- It will be quite ordinary (made of clay) – precisely so that you aren’t tempted to idolise the altar in any way.
- Wherever you offer such a sacrifice, you will thereby invoke our covenant, our relationship between God and his people. I will then always respond favourably.
25 If you build an altar for me it stones – you must not use hewn stones, because and If you strike it with your chisel, you will desecrate it.
- An altar does not have to be made of clay; it can also be made of stones. However, even these must be natural and unworked.
- It seems this is once again a matter of preventing the altar from becoming a beautiful ‘sacred structure’ that might lead to idolatry.
- These instructions must be taken seriously – Even today, we must be on our guard against anything that might ‘creep in’ to the direct relationship between us, as worshippers of God, and God Himself.
- Idolatry can even ‘lurk’ in unexpected places.
26 You must not go up to my altar by steps, lest your nakedness be exposed there.
- What follows is this utterly unexpected ‘minor detail’.
- When God speaks of the altars to be built for Him, it ‘occurred’ to Him that if the altar were tall and one had to climb steps to reach it, there might be a problem in that the priests climbing the steps might be seen ‘under their robes’. That would be undignified and would undermine the solemnity of the whole ceremony.
- This raises a number of questions:
- In the Tent of Meeting, the altar was only 3 cubits (1.4 m) high, so it was possible to place the offerings and the wood on it without using steps.
- There were already steps in the Temple (it was 4.5 metres high), but it had already been decreed that the priests must wear linen undergarments (Ex 28:42); so presumably they wore some sort of trousers beneath their robes.
- It is therefore apparently a precautionary instruction for the period until the altar in the Tent of Meeting (which was low) had been built, or until the altar in the Temple (where the priests were already required to wear trousers under their robes) had been built.
- This instruction may serve to remind us that our services should be conducted with dignity, including the fact that those ‘at the front’ should be dressed appropriately.
- The fact that the Almighty needs to deal with such matters with us shows just how problematic we are as creatures. If God hadn’t drawn attention to this, priests would happily be flashing their backsides whilst at work, and people would happily be peeking up their skirts. Not exactly a great reflection on our species. God is holding up a mirror to us, and the view isn’t a pretty one.
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- I shall leave aside for the moment the images and statues of the Virgin Mary and the saints – here we must first address the legitimacy of their veneration in general. The veneration of depictions of Mary and the saints is a secondary consideration. ↩︎
- I don’t have one myself, mind you. ↩︎
- As, for example, in Jesus’ command: ‘Do not call anyone “father”’ in Matthew 23:9, where I discuss the precautionary principle in greater detail. ↩︎
- Proverbs 1:7 ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.’
Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who act in this way are wise. His praise endures for ever.” ↩︎