A Modern Breakdown of the Ten Commandments

As a child you quickly learn which parents is the best to ask for certain requests. Dad might be a softy when it comes to going over to a friend’s house, but if you need someone to give you $20 mom might be your better target. In the Ancient Near East there were gods over almost everything. Depending on what you needed and your present circumstance you might worship one deity on Monday and yet another on Friday.

This commandment calls for a singular devotion. It’s not about the identity of the other gods as much as it is about the covenant dedication to YHWH. 

The Israelites often found themselves sandwiched between powerful nations. At one point, they’d make themselves loyal subjects of Egypt, but as the political winds shifted, they’d turn on Egypt and pledge allegiance to Assyria and then to Babylon. And with each turn, they’d subtly (or not so subtly) begin to embrace their worldview and their gods. YHWH became one option among many, and they’d go to whichever deity they felt could best serve them at that moment. 

We’re less prone to have a pantheon of deities to which we bow. But we’re still worshippers. Everyone is a worshiper. The only question is what we are worshipping. Do we have immovable devotion to God alone? Or do we relegate Him to certain spheres and then bow to other Saviors in different contexts? As an example, when we think about what the US really needs—are we beholden to donkeys and elephants as our solution? Is this where we turn for rescue? 

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When we think of this commandment, we tend to think of making poles and sticks and carved images and such to worship God--as if this only has the method of worship in mind. But this second commandment goes to the fundamental nature of how we are to worship God. Our worship is not to be creative but responsive. 

When humanity rejects the God who does exist, as we see in Romans 1:18-32, we take to crafting a god in our own image. But worship is meant to be responsive. As God reveals Himself to us, we respond in worship. Any attempt to image God, apart from what He has revealed to us, is forbidden. 

An entire article could be devoted to debates around the second commandment. It will be enough for our time to consider our proclivity to craft God into our image instead of the other way around. That is really what the second commandment is about. How am I “inventing” God instead of responding to how God has revealed Himself to me? 

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I told you earlier that I broke this one at church. No, I haven’t (at least to my knowledge) dropped one of the big no-no words and attached the name of God to it. But this isn’t about saying a naughty word. This commandment is about speaking the name of God without thinking and considering all the ramifications of who He is. How’d I break this in church? Why am I fairly convinced you have, too? 

Have you ever been mouthing the words of a hymn or worship song, but you’re thinking about whether you’ll eat Taco Bell or KFC after church? (We wouldn’t have these thoughts if Chick-fil-A was open). Well, you’re breaking that third commandment. We are speaking God’s name flippantly. We’re mouthing words about God instead of really drinking in who He is. 

Am I thinking about God when I use His name? 

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The Sabbath is all about rest and dependence. God wanted to weave this way of being into the fabric of their society. This wasn’t meant to be a burden but a freedom. When we keep the Sabbath holy, we acknowledge our humanity and know that God is working even when we are not. We can rest because God is sovereign. Ultimately, we know that Christ brings us into this Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9-10). Today, we honor the Sabbath by trusting in Christ. But we also honor the Sabbath by truly learning to rest. I appreciate the work which John Mark Comer has done on this topic. Here is one thing he’s said as a summary of this Sabbath principle: 

One of the most important practices of Jesus was finding rest and making time for the Sabbath. The human condition is prone to restlessness, and our digital age and consumeristic culture only exacerbate the problem. We must model the restfulness of Jesus, which is more than just a day. It is a spirit we live by all week long.[1]

Am I able to rest? Or does my frenetic pace betray a lack of trust in God? 

[1] https://bridgetown.church/series/sabbath
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This commandment sets the family at the center of a well-ordered society. Parents have the role of representing God to their children. This serves as a bridge from the first table of the law (loving God) to the second table (loving people). When we love our father and mother we are loving and honoring God. 

Honoring your father and mother doesn’t mean following them into sin. But there is a way in which we might be tempted to shirk our duty of loving, honoring, and caring for our parents for “holy” reasons. What I mean is that the Pharisees attempted to get around this commandment. They followed it according to the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. To honor your parents means to take the right action toward them. In an honor/shame culture, this commandment would have been easily understood. We should live in such a way as to make our parents honored. 

Am I living for myself or for a community? Would honorable parents be honored by my lifestyle? 

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Finally, we’ve arrived at a commandment of which many of us have not broken. Well, that’s true until we hear from Jesus. Jesus seems to equate “angry with your brother or sister” to falling under the same judgment as the command to not murder. Apparently anger in the heart is just as deadly to society as a murderous deed. 

We can see this in the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They were angrily plotting Jesus’ murder whilst pretending to care about the observance of the Law. The point that Jesus makes, and the point of the original commandment, is about the value of human life. Not only do we reject violence and harm, but we are to live in such a way that we aren’t okay with a string of broken relationships. Murder, like anger, is squeezing off the life of another, desiring to bring about your own flourishing at their expense. Such is not the way of the kingdom. 

Do I harbor anger towards others? 

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Once again, Jesus extends this commandment to include lust. The fifth commandment guards the relationship between parent and child. Here, the relationship between husband and wife is to be guarded and counted as sacred. Once again, we see a reflection of our own relationship with God. YHWH has covenanted with Israel, and this relationship is to be protected. A husband and wife relating to one another is meant to be a picture of God’s own relationship with humanity. To severe this union through adultery is to create havoc in the community and distort the image of God. 

Duane Garrett gives a good summary of this commandment: 

No one is allowed to have sex with any married person except his or her spouse, and no married person is allowed to have sex with anyone other than his or her spouse.

Adultery was known in the ancient world as “the great sin.” Marriage is foundational to the creation order and to human society; husbands and wives can hardly function fully as one flesh if they do not trust each other. Sexual relations are the virtual seal of a marriage covenant, and adultery betrays the emotional-psychological intimacy that especially connects adult men and women within marriage.[1]

According to Jesus, lust does the same thing. We should be satisfied with our spouses. Anything else has a tendency to rob us of joy and harm the community. 

The definition of stealing today is pretty similar to its definition in the ancient world. Stealing is taking something that does not belong to you. Ultimately, everything that exists belongs to God. But he has given stewardship to the humanity of various things. To take what “belongs” to another is to essentially steal from God. It is to communicate that you do not agree with his division of assets. Theft (in whatever form we find it) harms the community. 

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This commandment is often extended to “do not lie,” but it is very specific. First and foremost, it concerns the judicial process. Disregarding the truth will create a breakdown in any society. A healthy society will be built on truth—not truthiness (to borrow a term from Stephen Colbert) but the absolute honest truth.

Indeed, the prohibition against giving false testimony extends far beyond the courtroom. As people of the truth, we are called to a higher standard. Slander and spreading rumors are forbidden throughout the Old Testament as an extension of this commandment. We’re not only to refrain from speaking that which is false, but we’re also called to actively speak what is true. This means being truthful, regardless of the consequences for the self or the party. 

Our world is desperately looking for truth. The church should be leading the charge in speaking of the reality of Christ and the God-ordered world, not commandeering the conspiracy brigade. 

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As a young Christian, this commandment was often explained to me as “wanting something really bad that isn’t yours.” But it’s really the heart of everything that goes before (at least in the second table). It speaks of an inner disposition of the heart and not only of action. Covetousness is a lack of contentment. We should also not miss that each covetous desire has an object already belonging to someone else. 

If I look at someone with a successful career as an author and say, “I would like to do what is necessary likewise to become a successful author,” that is not covetousness. That is a desire and perhaps even an appropriate desire, so long as it is tied to the glory of God. What would be coveting is if I said, “That person has a successful career as a writer. I want to make his platform my own and be the one getting the book deals instead of him.” Now, that is covetousness. And it is at the heart of all the brokenness in society. 

As we reflect on these commandments for our day, we should remember their fulfillment in Christ. His role in this is not just a passing thought but the center of our interaction with these commandments. We, as humans, have already broken the covenant; we have already broken the law. As such, we stand as condemned law-breakers. But this is not true of Christ. He has kept each commandment perfectly, not only by letter but, more importantly, in the heart and spirit. 

Thankfully, His record becomes ours. As we reflect upon these commandments, we don’t attempt to fulfill them alone or for a right standing with God. That has already been secured through the work of Christ. No, we pursue these because we are accepted. We pursue these because we agree with God about how we should live. We live out the Ten Commandments because we are enthralled with the kingdom of God, and we want to love God and people, fostering a sense of connection and compassion. 

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