At the first church I served as an ordained minister, I and other local Pastors and faith leaders were invited to speak at a social studies class at one of the local high schools. Students could ask us questions about the faith traditions we represented. I had the privilege of representing all Protestants. For the most part, the students were respectful. However, One student, with a scowl, asked: “Why are Christians so overbearing? Why do they impose the things like the Ten Commandments on others?”
I went on to explain that the Ten Commandments were meant to be healthy boundaries in how to live life in the way God desires. We all need boundaries. I told this student: “I’m sure your parents have placed boundaries in your life such as going to bed at a reasonable time and eating healthy food. Such boundaries are in your best interest.” The second part of his question was a bit trickier. He was referring to how Christians force the Ten Commandments on those who aren’t Christians, even though we can all agree that no matter what you believe, it’s always a good idea to not kill anyone. Yet his question about how some Christians impose the Ten Commandments upon those who are not Christian or Jewish stayed with me.
When we take a closer look at our passage from Exodus we’ll see that the Ten Commandments were meant for Israel. People who already knew and desired to follow God. They aren’t to be seen as way to be introduced to God, but rather as ways to respond to God’s love well. They weren’t meant to be an evangelistic tool, but words to live by for people who are already in a relationship with God.
As always, it’s helpful to know the context of any passage of the Bible. In this passage, the Israelites are about to begin their journey into Canaan, the land God promised Abraham centuries before. As with any passage of scripture, the giving and receiving of the Ten Commandments are a continuation of God’s faithfulness to Israel.
In our scripture reading today, the Israelites are currently paused at Mt. Sinai. Since they were recently rescued from Egypt they need to adjust to a life they’ve never known. They used to live as enslaved people, but now they need to learn how to not only live as free people, but also as God’s people who live in a relationship with God. They are embarking on a new life and need God’s help adjusting to it. How are they supposed to live now when all they’ve ever known is a life of oppression and slavery? How are they to relate to God after witnessing God’s mighty power when God parted the waters so they could escape?
This is why God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments. They are God’s gift to the Israelites in that they guide them in how to live this new life. Biblical scholars have noted that the Hebrew word that has been historically translated as “command” in Exodus 20 is better translated as “words.” These aren’t just commands to follow, but they’re words to live by. And when we do, we are in right relationship with God, which allows us to live in healthy relationships with others.
But first, let’s talk about what the Ten Commandments (or words) are not: They are not tools to earn God’s love. Let’s remember the context of this passage: Israel has already been rescued by God. They have already been delivered out of slavery in Egypt. As Biblical scholar Peter Enns wrote: “First God saves…then God gives commands.” God gave the Ten Commandments not as a way to control the Israelites, but to help them. They are a guide to help Israel (and us!) live as people of God.
When they live out these commands (or words) they will be a people of order and light in a world of chaos and darkness. But they can’t do this on their own. They need help and God knows this. This is why God blesses them (and us) with these Ten Words.
While we don’t have the time go in-depth into each of the commandments, it’s helpful to notice how they are ordered. It’s important to note that the first 4 are about how to be in relationship with God: You shall have no other gods before me, you shall not create idols, you shall not take the Lord’s name in vain, and remember the sabbath day. The Last 6 are about how to live in a relationship with one another: You shall honor your father and mother, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness and you shall not covet your neighbor’s stuff. This order shows that we must first be in a right relationship with God before we can be in right relationship with others.
Notice what God says before the commandments are established. “I am the God who brought you out of Egypt and out of slavery.” All of the commandments are the right ways to respond to God’s goodness and faithfulness as seen in how God rescued them from Egypt. They are the means to how we are to remain, or to use a word that Jesus used, to abide in God. Essentially God is saying here if you want remain with me you will have no other gods, you won’t have idols, you won’t take the Lord’s name in vain and you will keep a sabbath to rest and reconnect with God.
Our first reaction to these first four commandments especially the first two, is to think: “No problem. Who else am I supposed to worship? I get that there are no other gods. Idols? Easy enough, I won’t craft any graven image anytime soon. Taking the Lord’s name in vain? Again, pretty easy. Keeping a sabbath? Okay, that’s probably a bit harder to do, but still doable. I think we need to expand on what those commandments mean for today’s context. There is a lot in our lives that take away from our devotion to God.
The tricky thing about idols is that they are not bad in and of themselves. But many of us, if we’re honest, make idols out of our successful careers, our accomplishments, and even our own families. We may take the Lord’s name in vain by using God’s name to justify hurtful actions. On a small scale, I once had an ex-boyfriend break up with me by saying: “Kristine, I just feel like God is telling me to spend more time with him.” Not that there wasn’t any truth to that, but when he started dating someone else the next week it’s safe to say that God wasn’t as intimately involved in his decision to break up as originally thought. On a larger scale, the idea of Manifest Destiny was our country’s wrongful belief that God gave us a special place among all other nations. Hence, it was our calling and duty to expand westward and not let anything or anyone get in our way. We need to remember that God is the God of all nations.
When we are in right relationship with God by responding well to God’s love we are more apt to love others well. The next six commands are to be followed for the good of the entire community. We tend to read the Ten Commandments as moral imperatives to us as individuals. While individual actions can certainly affect an entire community, we tend to read these commands as “What happens to me as an individual if I don’t keep these commandments?” In reality, these commands are about how our actions can build up the community as the people of God, not just me as an individual follower of God. God is a God of community and we were meant to live in community.
To obey one’s parents, to not kill, commit adultery, steal, lie or covet what others have are actions that keep a community strong and healthy. It’s a picture of how God desires for us to live in community. But again we need God’s help to do this.
The first passage that was read this morning from 1 John is one of my favorite passages of scriptures because it so beautifully sums up God’s love. To paraphrase, we love because God loved us first. Love comes from God. God’s love was fully revealed in the actions and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since God loves us, we then should love one another.
If we do indeed know and remain in God’s love we will love others well. Perhaps not perfectly as we are still imperfect people, but we will be better at loving others when we rest in God’s love for us. We will then be less prone to spreading falsehoods, lying, cheating, stealing, or coveting. Things that break down a community instead of building it up.
Again, the Ten Commandments are not instructions for personal piety, or commands in order to win God’s favor. They are a loving guide in how to live, knowing full well that we, are loved by God. Furthermore, the Ten Commandments were not intended to ensure that the Israelites were simply “nice” people, but to ensure that they were God’s agents of world change and image-bearers of God in order to be a light to the nations. If Israel responded rightly to God’s love by keeping these commands, they would, as a community of believers, embody the love of God to the nations around them. To be a community that, with God’s help, guards against lying, cheating, stealing or coveting, would show others just how transformative God’s love can be. This is not morality for morality’s sake, but for the sake of God’s accomplishing his higher purpose: that Israel was to be God’s light among the nations. The same can be said for us. When we live by these ten words we too will be God’s light to others.
After the commandments are given, the Israelites are frightened. There was lightning, thunder, the sound of a trumpet and smoke. It’s another instance that shows just how frightening it is to be in the presence of God. But Moses tells the Israelites to not be afraid. That God just means to test them and to put fear in them so that they would not sin. This does not make God sound very loving. So what did Moses mean when he says God came to test them?
The Hebrew word is for “test” is better understood as “experience,” not as in the sense of an exam, to see if the Israelites will pass or fail at these commands. Verse 20 can then be paraphrased as: “Do not be afraid. God is giving you a taste of himself so that this memory will stick with you to keep you from sinning.” God came down to Mt. Sinai so that the Israelites could experience being in God’s presence. While we aren’t as fortunate as the Israelites to experience the presence of God in such a dramatic way, the 10 commandments are also a way of experiencing God’s love. The more we rightly respond to God’s love by keeping these commands/words, the more we will experience how God’s love helps us to better love ourselves and others. Then we, like the Israelites, can be Christ’s light in a dark world. We can’t do this on our own. We need Christ first to be Christ’s light in the world.