Exodus 20:1–17 (NKJV)
Summary:
- The ten commandments are spoken by Jehovah
20:1. And God spoke all these words, saying:
20:2. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.20:3. “You shall have no other gods before Me.
20:4. “You shall not make for yourself a 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;
20:5. 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,
20:6. but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.20:7. “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.
20:8. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
20:9. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
20:10. 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 male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
20:11. 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.20:12. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
20:13. “You shall not murder.
20:14. “You shall not commit adultery.
20:15. “You shall not steal.
20:16. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
20:17. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Scripture: Exodus 20:1–17 (Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)
Comments:
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Commentary
As God delivered the commandments, He began by emphasizing who He is—Yahweh (the self-existing, living God)—and what He had recently done for His people by bringing them out of slavery. These Ten Commandments form the foundation for all remaining laws in the Old Testament. Later, Jesus summarized them into two core principles: love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Commands 1–4: Our Relationship with God
- No other gods: God is the one and only true God. Anything else set up as a deity is no god at all.
- No idols: Do not let created objects rule your heart. Whether made of stone, wood, gold, gems, steel, plastic, or silicone, nothing tangible should come between you and God.
- Generational Consequences: When sinful lifestyles take root, they can affect second and third generations. While each individual remains responsible for their own sin, generational behavior patterns run deep. A child of an abusive parent often learns and repeats that behavior with their own children. However, notice the contrast: God’s judgment on these patterns lasts to the third and fourth generations, but His mercy extends to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
- Do not take the Lord’s name in vain: Using God’s name lightly removes reverence, awe, and worship from our relationship with Him. When sacred words or deeds become overly casual, we lose sight of God’s holiness.
- Remember the Sabbath: God ordained a weekly cycle of rest for humanity’s benefit. Our physical bodies need a deliberate break from labor. Stepping back allows us to relax while honoring God, trusting that the world will keep turning when we stop working.
- Honor your father and mother: This is the first commandment accompanied by a specific promise: length of days. In our youth, we honor parents through obedience. As they age, we honor them by providing care during their decline. Even with difficult parents, we show respect by seeking God’s wisdom, grace, and guidance to model His unconditional love.
- You shall not murder: Taking another human life is fundamentally wrong. While civil allowances for punishment or self-defense exist elsewhere in scripture, Jesus later clarified the root issue: murder begins in the heart with hatred.
- You shall not commit adultery: Sexual intimacy belongs strictly within the marriage relationship. Jesus expanded on this commandment as well, noting that lust in the heart is where this sin originates.
- You shall not steal: Respect the property of others. If something was not given to you or bought by you, do not take it.
- You shall not bear false witness: Stand for truth, especially when serving as a witness. Do not speak falsehoods or manipulate facts to cause harm.
- You shall not covet: Avoid illicitly desiring what belongs to your neighbor—whether their home, relationships, or possessions. Coveting starts as an internal desire, but leads directly to destructive actions against others.
Commands 5–10: Our Relationship with Others
The Old Testament contains hundreds of regulations, but these Ten Commandments serve as the foundation. Jesus simplified their essence down to two foundational ideas: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.
