Tuesday: The Gift of the Decalogue

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 19th of August 2025

Read Exodus 20:1-17. What are the principles of the Decalogue, and how is it organized?

Note that the Decalogue does not begin with the commands but with God’s gracious action for His people:

“ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery’ ” (Exodus 20:2, NIV). The Lord first shows His grace by giving freedom and salvation to Israel, and only then does He reveal His will. These commandments were to be observed out of love and gratitude for what God did for them.

Image © Phil McKay at Goodsalt.com

God’s key summation word for the Decalogue is “love” (Romans 13:10). The greatest commandment is the commandment of love, which is expressed in two ways: love to God (Deuteronomy 6:5) and love to our neighbor (Leviticus 19:18).

In the first four commandments, the Decalogue interprets what it means to love God; in the following six commandments, the law interprets what it means to love your neighbor. The Decalogue begins with honoring God above all (vertical love) and continues with respecting others (horizontal love):

Honoring and revering God by giving Him the first and the highest place in every situation of our life (the first commandment);
Honoring and preserving God’s unique position and not replacing Him by an idol in any form, either physical, symbolic, or spiritual. Our purest affections belong to the Lord (the second commandment);
Revering God’s name—His reputation and character (the third commandment);
Honoring His day of rest and worship—the Sabbath (the fourth commandment);
Respecting parents (the fifth commandment);
Respecting life (the sixth commandment);
Respecting marriage (the seventh commandment);
Respecting people’s property (the eighth commandment);
Respecting the reputation of others (the ninth commandment); and
Respecting self so that no selfish desires will mar our character (the tenth commandment).

As Jesus Himself said: “ ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments’ ” (John 14:15, ESV; see also 1 John 4:20-21). Thus, true obedience is simply an expression of love and gratitude toward Jesus, a love expressed most powerfully in how we treat our neighbors.

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There is a high chance that if you are reading this blog, you are a Seventh-day Adventist, and you probably have a lot of arguments about how important the Ten Commandments are, how they are still binding, and a whole lot of other forensic stuff that essentially boils down to the need to keep the Sabbath. No wonder our Christian friends call us legalists.

In that respect, I am so glad that the author of the lessons has called the Ten Commandments "The Gift". It allows us to view the commandments in a new light.

I am reminded that the Israelites viewed the physical representation of the Ten Commandments, the tablets of stone and the Ark of the Covenant as a sort of talisman that would bring them good luck in battle. They carried it into a battle with the Philistines and lost it for a while and it took a couple of miracles and an interesting story to get it back.

Today, there is an Ethiopian Coptic church that believes they have the tablets of the law and the Ark of the Covenant in a temple in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Here it too is treated as a talisman, a religious good luck artifact, surrounded by mystique.

The Ten Commandments were never intended to be a religious artefact, treated with ceremonial reverence. As a little side issue, I am somewhat perplexed that in some countries, Christians make a lot of fuss about the public display of the ten commandments. The issue is that the Ten Commandments were never intended to be iconic. God wanted them written in our hearts. The intention was that we would be changed, not just in our behaviour, but in our relationships.

C S Lewis talks about this in "Mere Chrisitianity" in a chapter entitled "Nice People or New Men"

A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save. For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings—may even give it an awkward appearance.

If the Ten Commandments are as important as we think they are then we need to live their importance rather than surrounding them with legalese. Are we New People, or just nice people with a good argument?

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Comments

Tuesday: The Gift of the Decalogue — 8 Comments

Omwenga Mwambi on August 18, 2025 at 8:42 am said:

Why are the 10 God's moral laws called "commandments " (Exodus 34:28)? Does the name "commandments" not evoke a sense of negativity, as it forces everyone to obey them? Does it not sound like forced obedience?

The name “commandments” emphasises their authority. They are not opinions or suggestions, but a binding will from the Supreme God. The name reinforces the fact that these laws come from a sovereign God and not a human being. In fact, Jesus said that they are rooted in love (Matthew 22:37–40). Jesus continued to say, “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3, NLT).

These laws are not restrictive but protective. They are like traffic laws that protect life rather than restrict freedom to drive. In the same manner, God’s laws protect life, relationships, and worship. These laws are covenantal and not mere judicial pronouncements. They were handed to the Children of Israel after God had rescued them from bondage (Exodus 20:2) to emphasise a loving relationship. The Book of James describes them as “the law of liberty” (James 1:25). In fact, these are not cold pronouncements but guidelines to a higher life.

As a loving and caring parent, tell the child, “Do not touch the fire”. Yes, it is a command not to restrict fun, but to protect life. Likewise, our loving God wants to protect us from moral and spiritual destruction.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” (Psalms 19:7-8, NIV).

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Motanya Dan on August 18, 2025 at 10:00 am said:

The Decalogue or God's ten commandments were never meant to be a ladder by which people climb to God but rather a gift meant to reveal God's character. As Moses declared, the Law was given “for our good always, that he might preserve us alive” (Deut. 6:24). Scripture reminds us that “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10), and thus the Law exposes our sin while pointing us to our need for God’s grace. The Decalogue was meant to set the standard of holiness, besides remind us that relationship with God cannot came by His mercy and grace.

Just as in marriage relationship, love produces obedience, since marital responsibilities are ideally enjoyed out of love than out of duty so too in our walk with God who calls us to keep His commands, “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Christ fulfilled the Law perfectly on our behalf (Matt. 5:17) and gave Himself as the sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16). Now, as His people, obedience flows not out of fear of judgment but out of gratitude and love for the One who has redeemed us. This way the Decalogue, then, becomes not a burden but a gracious guide, showing us how to walk in holiness as the fruit of a relationship already secured by God’s grace.

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Maurice Ashton on August 18, 2025 at 3:26 pm said:

There is a high chance that if you are reading this blog, you are a Seventh-day Adventist, and you probably have a lot of arguments about how important the Ten Commandments are, how they are still binding, and a whole lot of other forensic stuff that essentially boils down to the need to keep the Sabbath. No wonder our Christian friends call us legalists.

In that respect, I am so glad that the author of the lessons has called the Ten Commandments "The Gift". It allows us to view the commandments in a new light.

I am reminded that the Israelites viewed the physical representation of the Ten Commandments, the tablets of stone and the Ark of the Covenant as a sort of talisman that would bring them good luck in battle. They carried it into a battle with the Philistines and lost it for a while and it took a couple of miracles and an interesting story to get it back.

Today, there is an Ethiopian Coptic church that believes they have the tablets of the law and the Ark of the Covenant in a temple in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Here it too is treated as a talisman, a religious good luck artifact, surrounded by mystique.

The Ten Commandments were never intended to be a religious artefact, treated with ceremonial reverence. As a little side issue, I am somewhat perplexed that in some countries, Christians make a lot of fuss about the public display of the ten commandments. The issue is that the Ten Commandments were never intended to be iconic. God wanted them written in our hearts. The intention was that we would be changed, not just in our behaviour, but in our relationships.

C S Lewis talks about this in "Mere Chrisitianity" in a chapter entitled "Nice People or New Men"

A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save. For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings—may even give it an awkward appearance.

If the Ten Commandments are as important as we think they are then we need to live their importance rather than surrounding them with legalese. Are we New People, or just nice people with a good argument?

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Reply ↓
- Stanley Tuvako on August 19, 2025 at 12:08 am said:
  
  Thank you so very much, Maurice! Love is a very functional and relational phenomenon. God is love - and we know it. The perspective you're looking from, as well as the author's perspective in "The Gift", infuses a substance that affirms where Jesus was coming from when he referred to "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27).
  
  The Sabbath is part of this "Decalogue", but Christ is emphasizing that it was made for humanity, not the other way around. Relationship and communion with God, family, environment, and neighbor are essential. God is a relational God, not conventional; and He has been consistently relational and communal with man all the way from the first word in Genesis 1:1.
  
  The 10 Commandments establish a comprehensible guide for Israel towards an ideal walk with God, which is basically established by a relationship of man to His Divinity (unseen); a relationship of man to his family; and a relationship of man to his neighbor and strangers (applicable and seen). I love the examples you've given about Israel and the "10 Commandment (Ark of the Covenant)" talisman.
  
  This thinking is provocative, but how about us today? Isn't church often a catalogue of rules that we tend to respect and revere more than relationship? By idolizing the laws or even the Sabbath, wouldn't it be very possible to actually break the very first of the 10 Commandments, "You shall have no other gods before me", and by extension, even the second? It's so easy to find ourselves, as we're being pointed to salvation and to Christ, ending up with our own form of "Nehushtan" (2 Kings 18:4) and find ourselves as 2020's version of the "party of the Pharisees".
  
  Thank you again.
  
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Beverley Joseph on August 19, 2025 at 4:20 am said:

While love is the foundation of the Ten Commandments (Matt. 22:37–40), Scripture and Christian teaching also show other reasons God gave them:

1. Revelation of God’s Character – The commandments reflect God’s holiness, justice, and righteousness (Rom. 7:12).

2. Standard of Sin – They define what sin is (“sin is the transgression of the law,” 1 John 3:4), showing our need of a Savior.

3. Moral Order – They establish a foundation for society by protecting life, family, truth, and property.

4. Guide for Sanctification – They direct believers in holy living, shaping character into Christlikeness.

5. Harmony and Peace – They promote justice, respect, and trust in relationships, preventing chaos and conflict.

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Brigitte Humphery on August 19, 2025 at 10:47 am said:

I find the Decalogue expressing ‘Truths’ reflective of the essence of His Spirit which God gave man to be/live in/by. ‘God’ is the title used to express man’s understanding of a deity, in this case - Elohim – the God who’s ultimate authority governs all life. Christians have only one God, pagans have many.

To me, the 10 Commandments condense that which addresses all that matters to ‘hu-man’ existence. His revelations to humanity use words because we are sentient beings, but, when applied, their inherent power comes from the Spirit of God - Love. Nature does not need these identifiers to conduct themselves rightly; nature just lives its design. Though even the earth experiences travails and pain along with all creation – Rom.8:22..

In Spirit and in Truth, God reaches out to humanity to draw us to reunite with Him as part of His Creation. He has giving us all the help we need to accept the truth that we are a created being made in His Image. Man needs to understand that he cannot exist outside of the design given to him by His Maker, and yes, the decalogue is His gift to man to guide him.

Ultimately, anything and everything coming from our heavenly Father is intended to re-establish this perfect union IN Jesus Christ – the still living example of the Holy Spirit founding the '10 Commandments' when expressed in the life of man - John 15:5; John 17:23; Rom.7:2-4; Gal.2:20;

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JC Zielak on August 20, 2025 at 1:40 am said:

If I pay attention to God's actions, I’ll probably see the blessings before my retribution (obedience). It means that God shows me His love first. It means that He is merciful and compassionate. It means that He is humble, although I do not deserve it. God continuously teaches me how to love every day.

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John Herscher on August 21, 2025 at 4:29 am said:

The ten commandments are indeed a gift. I am for them. They are 1st, of loving the Lord, and 2nd my neighbor as myself. The Ten Commandments depend on loving God and our neighbor.
Mark 12:29-31,
1 John 4:19.
Deuteronomy 6:5.
Loving the Lord makes it easy to obey the Lord our God. Genuine love humbles us into obedience of His commands.

"The law was not spoken at this time exclusively for the benefit of the Hebrews. God honored them by making them the guardians and keepers of His law, but it was to be held as a sacred trust for the whole world. The precepts of the Decalogue are adapted to all mankind, and they were given for the instruction and government of all. Ten precepts, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative, cover the duty of man to God and to his fellow man; and all based upon the great fundamental principle of love." Patriarchs and Prophets 305.2

The the Ten Commandments give us a boundry from sin. By obeying them they set us apart from evil. Thank God for the gift.

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