Exodus

At Mount Sinai
The Ten Commandments

Exodus 19:1-6

The NIV translates this as if it were 3 months after they left while the NIV is the first day of the 3^rd month.  One way it is about 6 weeks where the other is closer to 12 weeks.  This seems to be pointing to a specific day.  These locations are disputed.  The older traditional site of Mt Sinai was on the west side of the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern end of the peninsula.  There is growing support for the Jabal Al Lawz site on the eastern side of the gulf.  There is so much physical evidence there.  This also places it closer to Midian, fitting the narrative much better.  There is also a site considered the location of Rephidim with a rock that is split and shows signs of water erosion.  These are some fascinating discoveries worth investigating.   

Camp was set up at the mountain of God and Moses went up to God.  The Lord instructed him about what to speak to the people.  This entire chapter is about mediation as Moses hears from the Lord and speaks those things to the people.  The Lord brought them out like an Eagle, like teaching its young to fly.  When He brought them out it is likened to a bridegroom bringing his bride to the bridal chambers.  The beginning of the covenant of the law is 'if' you fully obey, 'then' they would be His treasured possession.  The entire earth and all the nations are the Lord's but it is as though he disinherited them after Babel.  Now the Lord called Israel out of the nations to become as a priest to all the other nations.  They would be a holy nation, set apart for this priestly work of representing God to the nations and representing the nations to God.   This is the only use in the old testament of the phrase 'kingdom of priest.'

 

Exodus 19:7-9

The initial response of the people to hearing all the Lord had commanded them was a unified agreement.  They couldn't deny the Lord brought them out.  And they couldn't deny his care for them and being God's treasured possession sounded good to them. 

In priestly fashion, Moses spoke to the people about God, then Moses spoke to God about the people.  The Lord said He would come in a dense cloud and the people would hear the Lord speaking to Moses.  This would serve to solidify Moses as God's appointed leader of them.  The words dense cloud is 'cloud cloud' to be understood as dense cloud or cloudy cloud.  The repeated word adds intensity to the idea.  The cloud would obscure the presence of the Lord so neither Moses or the people could see Him clearly.  Exodus 33:20 tells us that humans could not gaze up on the glory of God and remain alive. 

 

Exodus 19:10-15

There needed to be a preparation for them to meet God.  It would not do for them to stand before God in the state they were in.  To 'consecrate' is to render holy.  They had that day and the next to prepare.  They would wash their clothes, the Lord was coming on the third day.  They were to abstain from sexual relations.  How would you prepare for the Lord if you knew you would stand before Him the day after tomorrow?  Would you change anything about yourself, your life?  Would you do anything different?  We are called to be ready to meet the Lord on any day. 

There were to be boundaries in place.  This mountain is the divine dwelling place of God.  Much like we'll see in the tabernacle, there were degrees of separation in place.  Only by invitation could Moses and Aaron stand near the Lord.  The people would stand hear the mountain on sacred ground.  They were to learn of God's holiness by understanding they could not approach without special invitation and circumstances.  To violate this was a death sentence.  To be sentenced to death was as if that person were dead.  Therefore they weren't to touched, they would become unclean. 

The 'all clear' trumpet would sound from the mountain when the Lord's presence had left.  They would then be allowed to approach the building.

 

Exodus 19:16-19

The day had come, what a day it would be.  Moses led the people out of the camp to the base of the mountain to meet their Lord.  There was thunder and lightning and thick cloud of smoke around the mountain.  They heard the trumpet blast at the presence of God.  The people trembled and the mountain trembled as they stood before it.  The Lord descended on the mountain in fire, smoke rose as though it were a great furnace.  How humbling this must have been.  How small they must have felt in His presence, yet significant because He was coming to them.

 

Exodus 19:20-

With the descending of the Lord on the Mountain, Moses was called up.  All the eyes of the people saw him go up into the cloud, as the mountain trembled.  Moses was to once again issue a warning to the people.  They were not to assume they could come up the mountain.  They were to honor the separation that had been established.  Because Moses, or anyone else was called through the barrier, they were never to assume they were good enough, clean enough or righteous enough to approach God. 

Already, as the people looked to the presence of God they would see the need for a mediator. 

⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

 

Exodus 20:1-2

The Lord spoke these words that we know as the 10 commandments.  They've also been called the decalogue and the law of Moses.  The phrase 'law of Moses' can also refer to the entire Pentateuch.  The commandments are the bones of the law; it is God's definition of holiness and righteousness.  The Net Bible Notes call the commandments "the charter of the new nation of Israel."  It goes on to say, "These ten commands form the preamble"  He identifies Himself as the One who delivered them.  As a result, a right response would be to say, "I want, or need, to know more about this God who saved me."  They were as dead in bondage, He gave them life, now He lays claim to them.  Their right response is to yield their life to Him. 

These would be inscribed on stone, which was a ancient Near Eastern practice used for a treaty and then placed in a sanctuary.

 

 

Exodus 20:3

You shall have no other gods before me.  

This commandment seems to be the gatekeeper to all others.  If you can't get past this one, there is no reason to go on.  There is but One God, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.  He is like no other and no other is like Him.  All other gods are false gods and stand in opposition to Him.  He is matchless in every way, unchanging and eternal.  To look to any other god for any reason is to steal from the Lord's glory. 

All around Israel were nations with a pantheon of Gods.  The Canaanites, the Egyptians, Moabites, Edomites, Midianites and on an on.  They had gods for the weather, for fertility, crops, wisdom, finance and so forth.  The nations entertained many gods to find favor with them.  The Lord defames them all and takes His place as the throne above any other so-called throne.

(Luke 4:8)

 

Exodus 20:4-6

You shall not make for yourself an image

The law was not just to not make an image, it was to keep the people from making an image and bowing down to it, use for worship.  He was careful to stipulate nothing in heaven or earth or in the waters.  Worship of any image would be giving the Lord's glory to another.  This is why He states He is a jealous God, not only is the worship going to nothing, it's not going to Him.  This is also true even if the intention was to worship Yahweh.  He is not to be worshiped that way, like the pagan gods.  This is what Jeroboam did (1 Kings 12:28).  He set up golden calves to worship in the northern kingdom to keep the people from going to Judah to worship.

The Lord speaks of the contrast of those who love Him verses those who Hate Him.  The idea is not that the Lord would make the next generation pay for the sins of their father.  It is the idea of community and family of this nation.  No one could sin privately without it causing a blemish within the body of believers.  Likewise, the private sin of the father caused him to have a failed relationship with the Lord which caused problems among His family.  As they stood before the Lord, there were probably 3-4 generations.  When they sinned, it affected 3-4 generations.  In contrast, those who loved Him experienced a heritage of love among the families that flowed from generation to generation.  It was God's love on His children who knew they belonged to Him and knew what He expected. 

(Romans 1:22-23)

 

Exodus 20:7

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

It seems as though we could write a book on all the ways the world has misused the name of the Lord.  We here the Lord's name used as a curse word.  Most would say they meant nothing by it.  However, have you ever heard anyone hit their thumb with a hammer and curse with the name of Allah or Buddha or any other so-called god?  These things are expected though in an unbelieving world, regardless of the nonsense of them crying out in a name they don't believe in.  The bigger offense is when God's people misuse His name.  Perhaps the greatest misuse is those who claim to be followers of Jesus yet put forth no evidence of His rule over their life.

I heard a story the other day of a man growing up who was abused by a priest and later saw a pastor abusing women in the church.  They used their influence as men of God, men bearing the name of Jesus, to manipulate others for their own sin.

God identifies Himself with His name, a name associated with creation, great works and mercy.  God the Son is the name of Jesus, the name above all names, at which every knee will bow.  We ought to be careful how we use God's name.

(Acts 4:12; Romans 10:3)

 

Exodus 20:8-11

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

The Sabbath was important to the Lord.  It was set apart for Him, but made for man (Mark 2;27).  The Sabbath was simply given to them as a day of rest.  Sinful man went on to add rules upon rules defining work to the greatest degree.  God guarded His Sabbath among His people.  As with all the other laws, sinful mankind found it hard to keep the Sabbath.  All the law points to Jesus as the solution to our inability to be holy and keep the law.  Jesus was asked if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath moments before restoring a withered hand (Mark 3:4-5).  He was and is the Lord of the Sabbath.  It is in Him we find our rest from works of the law. 

 

Exodus 20:12

Honor your father and your mother.

The command is to have reverence and respect for your father and mother.  Faith in God was of central importance to the family.  This commandment directly effects the relationship to God as well as to fellow man.  This is the key to societal stability.  The family was created by God, it is not to be despised by men.  In honoring the family, God is honored.  Honoring those who brought you up, respecting your elders perpetuates the ongoing love and care to and from the youth and elderly to create family bonds.  The respect I give today might be equal to the respect I get tomorrow when I am older.

This honor is directly linked to the promise of long life in the Promised Land.  Failure to honor, directly affected life.  The Proverbs are full of advice from Father and Mother in regards to many things, most of all, to listen to them.

(Ephesians 6:2)

 

Exodus 20:13

"You shall not murder."

The word is 'murder' in the NIV and many other translations.  In the old King James it is 'kill' prompting many to apply to opposition to war or capital punishment.  There is a sanctity of life that we are to maintain for each person is created in His image.  Any premeditated or unauthorized killing is prohibited.  Because of sin and the act of opposing the sanctity of life, the punishment by death must exist. 

Matthew 5:21-22; Romans 13:9

 

Exodus 20:14

"You shall not commit adultery."

Adultery comes in all shapes and sized.  Very few would ever confess an adulteress relationship.  We are very adept and justifying our sin.  Jesus knew this and took this law and looked even closer at it to the state of the heart.  Adultery starts in the heart before it every becomes a sinful action.  It's born of sinful thought.

Matthew 5:27-30: Proverbs 6:32

 

Exodus 20:15

"You shall not steal."

We should notice it doesn't give a value but that stealing is stealing, no matter how small the value.  This is another we quickly justify, believing our theft is small and insignificant or that its okay because everyone else is doing it.

Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thess 4:6

 

Exodus 20:16

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."

Mark Twain supposedly said, "A lie can travel half-way around the world before the truth gets its shoes on."  What is it about us humans that we so quickly spread a lie, but withhold or shy away from truth?  Lies are destructive to lives.  A well placed lie can destroy a career or reputation.  Our world has refined this.  It's a fine art on social media where you can spread lies anonymously.  You can defame without looking into another human's eyes. 

Jeremiah 9:3,5: Psalm 101:5

 

Exodus 20:17

"You shall not covet."

It seems that modern day marketing is masterful at playing toward our covetousness.  If they can make us feel as though we are missing out when everyone else has this product, we'll be more likely to pursue it for our self.  (How else did they sell millions of Pet Rocks in the 70s?) 

Romans 7:7; Ephesians 5:3; Hebrews 13:5

 

Exodus 20:18-21

Yahweh appears in a way that is described like the storm gods of other cultures.  The Canaanite god Baal was a storm god associated with a mountain, as were other gods in other cultures.  There was thunder and lightning as God descended.  They heard the sound of the trumpet and the mountain was engulfed in smoke.  These are common at the coming the of the Lord.  See Ezekiel 1:1-14; Hebrews 12:18-21.

Yahweh is the real deal, though, getting the attention of any person who saw.  This struck terror in the people.  They had seen Moses approach the mountain and speak to the Lord (Ex 19).  The Lord was teaching them and Moses gave the lesson.  God showed His authority and power to destroy.  They saw this so they may not sin.  It seems to have worked as they swore to Moses they would be good listeners.

 

Exodus 20:22-23

This verse begins the Book of the Law, or the Covenant Code.  The Lord gives personal and specific instruction on this first, and primary point.  Yahweh would not be added to a collection of gods.  They saw something they had never seen before (on top of all the other things that happened along the way that they had never seen before).  There were to be no other gods alongside Him, no idols.  He is mighty, above all, creator and all powerful.  To look to another god is to give to that god what rightly belongs to the Lord.  To worship another is a twofold failure: stealing from God and giving to another.

 

Exodus 20:24-26

We don't often think of out blessings as being initiated by God to glorify His name.  Wherever He is named, He will come to His people and bless them.  Is worship initiated by God or by man?  The altar is very much like what Noah built and later the patriarchs.  Even after the construction of a tabernacle, we'll still see altars used.  They are markers, meeting places, marking worship and the coming of God.  It's never 'just worship' because He is never 'just' God. 

Why were no tools to be used on the altar?

1. Is it not a humble sacrifice on a humble altar before the Almighty?  Would any altar be good enough? 
2. Can a sinful man improve upon the stones provided by God?  Isn't this a little like polishing and varnishing the cross, so it looked good when Jesus was crucified on it?
3. Sin is ugly before a beautiful God.  Sacrificing was an ugly mess turned to something beautiful, not by men, but by God.
4. One of the practical reasons was that any person, any place could erect an alter to God.  God is accessible.

Why no steps.  If two is good, is three better?  Do a hundred steps make you closer to God?  More holy?  The only thing steps accomplish is you exposing yourself to others.  I love God's sense of humor.

©2021 Doug Ford