The Laws of a People

Exodus 20:1-17

GOLDEN TEXT: “I will delight myself in Thy commandments, which I have loved.”—Psalm 119:47

NO HIGHER or more practical code of moral and religious ethics has ever been outlined for the guidance of man than that contained in the Ten Commandments given to Israel at Sinai. It calls for the worship of one, and only one, God. James declares that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways, and certainly this would be true of one who endeavored to divide his worship among two or more gods. (James 1:8) The religious life of such a one would inevitably be one of uncertainty and confusion.

And how wise is the command not to make graven images of the Deity! Any conception of the great Creator of the universe which the mind of man might conceive would of necessity come far short of the glory of God. To look upon and worship such a distorted conception of God could have no ether effect than to dwarf him in our minds. Only the great plan of God, revealed to us through his Word, can give us any adequate conception of his wisdom, justice, love and power—his glory.

To take God’s name in vain means to make false pretenses of being his servants, his people. Israel entered into a covenant with God and he took them for his people, and they took him for their God. To be unfaithful to this covenant would mean that they had taken his name in vain, that their professions of loyalty to him were not wholly sincere, or that they lacked courage and determination to fulfill their part of the covenant. The use of God’s name irreverently, as in profanity, may not be what is specifically referred to in this commandment; although such an unholy use of God’s name is certainly unbecoming to anyone, and especially to those who profess to be his people.

The setting aside of one day in. seven as one of rest is now considered a necessity if one is to maintain normal health and vigor. When, in times of emergency, this arrangement is set aside and workmen are asked to remain on duty seven days a week over an extended period, excessive fatigue, mental and physical, is the result. Under the taskmasters of Egypt the Israelites were probably kept working almost continuously, so the keeping of this commandment would be a refreshing experience for them; and it would certainly remind them of God’s goodness in bringing them out of the “house of bondage.”—Exod. 13:3

Proper respect for parents is recognized to be one of the foundation stones of true civilization. Paul foretold that one of the signs of the times in these “last days” would be disobedience of children to parents. (II Tim. 3:1,2) This is one of the factors today which is helping to plunge the world into complete disorder. When all respect for proper authority is gone little will remain but chaos and anarchy.

To take the life of another, as in the case of murder, is recognized by the whole civilized world as being wrong. It was wrong in Moses’ day, and it is wrong now. But selfishness knows no bounds and the Israelites needed this commandment to help teach them their responsibility toward one another. In the divine providence the influence of this command has been a great deterrent of manslaughter in Gentile nations.

The sin of adultery is also recognized by civilized man, as is also that of theft. It is difficult to visualize the evils which would result from failure to discern that bearing false witness is wrong. Truthfulness in dealing with one another is the true basis of confidence which makes possible an orderly arrangement of affairs among the people of earth. There is a growing lack of truthfulness in the world today, which is making for the disintegration of what is generally termed civilization.

Covetousness is one of the worst forms of selfishness. When it takes possession of the heart it leads into all sorts of unholiness and injustice. “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” declares the apostle, and certainly no truer words were ever spoken.—I Tim. 6:6

Moses’ summary of the Law—quoted by Jesus—reveals its true meaning. First, it means that we should love God with all the powers of mind and body we possess; and then, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. To live up to these two fundamental requirements would mean the fulfilling of all the details stated in the Ten Commandments; for “Love is the fulfilling of the Law.”—Rom. 13:10

And this brings us to that which is even more fundamental than the keeping of any law; namely, becoming patterns of God, the great Lawgiver. “God is love”—in him is no selfishness—and he wanted the Israelites to be unselfish. He gave them his law to train them in this direction. The Ten Commandments have not been imposed upon Christians, but we have been given the privilege of laying down our lives in the divine service, and in so doing to demonstrate our supreme love for God, for the brethren, and for our fellowmen. If we are faithful to this privilege, we will automatically adhere to the requirements of the Ten Commandments.

QUESTIONS:

Has man been able to devise a better moral code than the Ten Commandments?

How did Moses sum up the meaning of all the commandments?

Are Christians under the law of the Ten Commandments?

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