I thought I would draw this article up as a reference page in the event any of you would ever need, at a quick glance, exactly what the 10 commandments are. Most Christians do not have all of them memorized. I will actually type out the specific Bible verse the 10 commandments comes off of as God makes some additional statements under some of these commandments that is usually not written down when you see little tablets of the 10 commandments at your local Christian bookstore.
Before I type out the verse, consider one thing. Even though the 10 Commandments are from the Old Testament, these commandments still apply for everyone today. No exceptions! I call each of these commands "stone commandments."
The fact that God would manifest 10 specific commandments on a tablet of stone tells me that He is deadly serious about these specific commandments! This was one big huge event when it happened in the story of Moses. The fact that God would go this far in manifesting these special 10 commandments tells me that these commandments should not be taken lightly or for granted.
Most Christians have heard all about these 10 commandments while going through grade school and high school and the story as to how they came about. As a result, I feel that many Christians take these 10 for granted and really do not realize the power and authority that is on these special 10.
The 10 commandments come from Exodus 20:1-17. Here is the verse:
And God spoke all these words, saying: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other Gods before me.You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter nor your manservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.You shall not murder.You shall not commit adultery.You shall not steal.You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's." The above commandments need no explanation. They mean exactly what they are saying. It's quite amazing how many of these commandments are being broken on a regular basis even by Christians themselves. If you look closely at each of these commandments, they really do cover a broad spectrum as to what God is expecting from each one of us.
They are good, basic laws that will keep us right before God and keep us out of trouble with ourselves, our families and our neighbors. God knows what is best for us and our families, and He wants all of us to stay out of trouble in order that we may live in peace with Him and one another.
The fact that God would go so far as to have these 10 basic commandments manifested on a stone tablet really tells me that they are very important and that each Christian should know what they are and do their best to abide by them.
Article written by Michael Bradley of Bible Knowledge Ministries. Their website is a resource of Bible Knowledge and commentary . They currently have over 100 Bible articles. All free of charge.
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Copyright ? 2005 by Michael Bradley. All Rights Reserved.