The Ten Commandments Pt 2 (Exodus 20: 12-14)

 Full Transcript

 Last time, we started an explanation of the Ten Commandments, and we made it through the first four. Now, if you recall, last time I said there are several different ways of dividing them. One way is to say there were 5 on each of two tablets.But among Christians,  for about 1500 years the way it's usually divided is the first four relate to the Lord, and the last six relate to our relationship with one another. Since Jesus defined the greatest law as loving the Lord your God and loving your neighbour as yourself, that is probably the way we should divide them.

In yesterday’s episode, I covered the first four commandments, which are our relationship to the Lord. We should have no other gods before Him, not have any false impressions or idols, keep the Sabbath day holy, and not take His name in vain.  

Today, we have six left, all of which have to do with loving your neighbour as yourself. It becomes very evident that these involve other people besides just us. For example, stealing another person's property, coveting another person's wife, and even committing adultery involve our relationships with other people.

It would be tempting to tackle all six in one session and complete the explanation of the Ten Commandments. However, I'm going to resist that temptation. Instead, I will divide these six into two parts. There's no rational reason for doing that in the text itself, but I want to do more than just give a surface explanation of these commandments. So, todays three commandments are really very simple: Honour your father and mother, do not murder, and do not commit adultery. But the truth is the implications and ramifications of those three commandments are far and wide. So, in this episode I will cover three of them, and in tomorrow’s episode we will deal with the last three. But before we dive into those, let me share a word by way of introduction. 

Over the last couple of years in the background to this I have been working on a modern paraphrase of the writings of John Calvin, in fact the first of that book is going to being on Amazon any day now and it’s going to be a contemporary English version of john Calvin’s commentary on the book of Galatians. During this time, I have come into contact with Calvin’s extensive writing on the 10 commandments, So you will notice I will be quoting what John Calvin said about them because I found his insights rather fascinating. With that in mind, let's look at the next three commandments from Exodus chapter 20, verse 12:

"Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

The first of these three is to honour your father and mother, which implies respecting and obeying them, especially for children who are still at home. The surprising thing in this commandment is what comes after. It states that if you obey your parents, you will live long in the land that God is giving you, referring to Palestine in this context. It implies that disobedience would result in being booted out of the land, which ultimately happened to the Israelites.

Now, let's turn to Ephesians chapter 6, where the apostle Paul quotes this commandment, but with a slight modification. He says.

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother," and he adds, "which is the first commandment with a promise: that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth."

(Ephesians 6: 1)

It seems there are ramifications to this commandment beyond just honouring parents, as Paul suggests. But how does honouring your parents relate to living longer on the earth? Well, it may not be clear, but there are verses in Proverbs, such as Proverbs 10:27, that speak of the fear of the Lord prolonging days. This indicates that living righteously and obeying God's commands can contribute to a longer life. Therefore, Paul's statement about honouring parents leading to well-being and a longer life may hold true. Some even suggest that healthy relationships, including honouring parents, can impact one's health positively. 

Now, let's return to Exodus for a moment. It becomes apparent that we're discussing our relationship with our parents and, subsequently, our relationship with people outside our family. Based on this understanding, I would propose that the ultimate issue here is respect for parents and, beyond that, learning to respect authority in general. Meaning this begins by learning to respect the authority of our parents.

"Let me quote what Calvin says about this: 

"In order for our society to thrive, it is essential for children to respectfully obey their parents and for those in positions of authority, appointed by God, to be honoured with reverence. Disrespecting our parents ultimately reflects a lack of respect for God Himself, regardless of how deserving our fathers may be of honour. As a father, he possesses inherent rights over his children, as long as he does not stray from the principles established by God."

(From, A Harmony of the Law John Calvin's discussion of the Ten Commandments)

That’s my contemporary language of an Old English translation written in the 16th century, but what Calvin is saying is this has ramifications for all of society. If you learn this at home, it reverberates throughout society. And even if the father isn’t the most respectable father in the world, you should still respect him unless he is so violating the judgments of God, as he calls it, that is way, way, way out of bounds. Thought that was an interesting insight. In fact, Calvin goes on to say,

"In denouncing the immoral behaviours of a father, a genuinely devout son will adhere to God's law and, regardless of his father's character, recognize the importance of honouring him as the father bestowed upon him by God. Therefore, what this implies is that while the son must prioritize God's law over his father's actions, he is still obligated to show respect and honour to his father."

(From, A Harmony of the Law John Calvin's discussion of the Ten Commandments)

Fascinating that even way back in the 16th century, Calvin was talking about the ramifications of this commandment for society. In our time, the idea between honouring is not widely recognized. On the contrary, many of the best-educated parents do not believe that their children need to show them honour, since honouring implies an authority figure, and that is a status many modern parents reject. In addition, it seems to me that many parents seek to be loved, not respected, by their children. I think there is a lesson here beyond love in that we learn from the beginning to honour authority. But, why is honouring parents so important? I would suggest that no generation knows better than ours the terrible consequences of growing up without a father. Fatherless boys are more likely to grow up and mistreat women(Fact) don’t get me wrong that is not usually the mother fault it is the absent father’s fault. Fatherless boys are more likely to act out against society and get in trouble with the law. And fatherless girls are more likely to seek the wrong type of man as a role model. Honouring parents is how nearly all of us come to recognize that there is a moral authority above us, someone to whom we are morally accountable. And without this, we cannot create or maintain a moral society. Of course, the Ten Commandments demonstrate, the ultimate moral authority is God, who is therefore higher than any of our parents. But it is very difficult to come to honour God without having had a parent, especially a father, as an earthly example of a heavenly reality. So, this commandment, 'Honour your father and your mother setting the temple for moral authority beginning at home.

The next one says, 'Do not murder.' 

Some of us who have been around the block a few times may think they remember this as having said “Thou shalt not kill’, but the Hebrew word means 'murder.' This commandment has nothing to do with just killing. As a matter of fact, there are all kinds of ramifications to that, if you permit me again, to quote. He said, 'The Hebrew original does not say 'do not kill,' it says 'do not murder.' Both Hebrew and English have two words for taking a life. One is 'kill,' and the other is 'murder.' The difference between the two is enormous. Kill means taking any life, whether deliberately or by accident, legally or illegally, morally or immorally. However, murder can only mean one thing: the illegal or immoral taking of human life. That’s why we say, 'I killed an insect, we do not say I murdered an insect. If the Ten Commandments forbid killing, we would have to be vegetarians as even killing animals would be prohibited and we would all have to be pacifists since we could not kill even in self-defence. The Bible allows killing in just war, prescribes animal sacrifices, and allows the eating of meat. So it does not mean 'do not kill, it means 'do not commit murder.'

Let me tell you what this does not include and what I think it does include. It does not include accidentally killing somebody. We have a word for that in our legal system. It is called manslaughter. That means you killed a person, but it wasn’t murder. It was unintentional and that’s not defined as murder. That’s different. So besides taking out a gun and shooting somebody what is included here, well, it includes several things. The first is deliberate murder if you premeditated it, it's murder. If it was done in passion, on the spur of the moment, in the heat of an argument, in law it’s second-degree murder but it’s still murder. So, deliberate murder, where you intended to kill somebody, whether by premeditation or through passion, is murder, and that’s covered. But so are some other things.

Let me mention two other possibilities, controversial I know. I think euthanasia is murder. That is, you have no right to deliberately take somebody’s life just because they’re old or even because they’re in pain. Now, I need to clarify, as I get asked this all the time, periodically, I don’t think that means that if a person is on life support, you have to keep the life support going. There’s nothing in Scripture that says you must artificially keep a person alive on a machine. That’s different. But if you can call it 'unplugging the person,' I’ve been involved in several of those cases. That’s okay. But to say the person is going to die in six months, and we’re going to help them die quickly, that’s euthanasia, in my opinion that’s not allowed according to the Scripture. 

This command teaches respect for human life. In fact, remember last time I said we could divide these into two parts: our relationship to God and our relationship to other people. And the first section, the first four, has to do with loving God. The second half has to do with loving others.  But this is teaching us more than 'don’t go kill somebody.' It’s teaching us that we should honour human life in society because people are made in God’s image. 

To sum up, all these second group of commandments means all violence, injury, and deliberate harmful thing at someone, something  that may injure one’s neighbour’s body are forbidden to us. In other words, we are to respect all human life. Now, I warned you I was going quote Calvin? He brings some interesting insights. He says, 

"The Lord also instructs that everyone should diligently strive to protect and promote the well-being of their fellow human beings. This goes beyond merely refraining from negative actions and involves actively advocating for what is just and fair for them. The commandment explicitly emphasizes the importance of love towards our neighbours, not just in terms of avoiding harm but also in terms of actively caring for their needs. Therefore, this commandment encompasses two essential aspects. Firstly, we must refrain from causing any harm or injury to our neighbours. Secondly, we should not only live in harmony with others, avoiding conflicts, but also extend our support to those who are suffering unjust oppression and strive to resist evil forces, preventing them from causing harm to people as they please."

(A Harmony of the Law -John Calvin's discussion of the Ten Commandments- A Contemporary Language Version by Jeremy R McCandless).

Christ, therefore, in expressing the genuine sense of the law. Expressed through the apostle John’s word.

‘Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer’.

(1 John 3:15).

Jesus said that, and John says that very clearly. And if you really want to get down to brass tacks, we should love our neighbours as ourselves.

One more, commandment.

“You shall not commit adultery”.

(Exodus 20: 14)

Now, this one is misunderstood as well, so let me explain the difference between adultery and fornication. Adultery, by definition, and everybody agrees with that, this is not a debatable point, is sexual intercourse when one or both partners are married to someone else. In the Bible, under Mosaic law, that included being engaged to somebody, but one or both must be married to somebody else. Needless to say, this applies to husbands and wives. There is another word that is used in the New Testament that in the New King James translation is translated as 'sexual immorality,' just sort of blankets everything. But the Greek word is 'fornication,' and that word applies to any unlawful sexual activity. So, you will very often find in the New Testament, adultery and fornication in the same verse, because adultery applies when one or both of the guilty parties are married, and fornication applies when they're not married. 

That's important, as I will explain in a minute, but right now, let me go on to say this: from this, it is clear that any other union apart from marriage is not acceptable in God's sight, and that the companionship of marriage has been ordained as a necessary remedy to keep us from falling into random uncommitted sexual encounters.

Hebrews 13:4 says, 'Marriage should be honoured by all’.

So, this commandment is directed toward protecting the sanctity of the home. It technically is referring to two people who have sexual relations, and one or both are married to somebody else because this then focuses on the sanctity of the home, which the bible recognises as the fundamental building block of society. Everyone recognises that adultery destroys marriages and the home and the fundamental foundations of society. Why is adultery prohibited in the Ten Commandments? For the same reason as the other nine, it is indispensable for the forming and maintaining of a higher civilization. The Ten Commandments seek to create that building blocks, without which, societal stability is impossible. Because without it, the passing on of society's values from one generation to another is impossible. Because the commitment to a wife and children makes men, who otherwise would have a tendency to be irresponsible, responsible for something. Because, more than anything else, the family meets most women's deepest emotional, material, and spiritual needs. 

Why does adultery threaten the family? The most obvious reason is that sex with someone else other than one's spouse can all too easily lead to either or both spouses leaving the marriage. Adultery should not automatically lead to divorce, but it often does, and it destroys families. Of course, at this time it was also likely to lead to pregnancy and the birth of a child. That child would almost, in all cases, start out in life with no family, meaning that no father and mother married to each other to call his or her own. Aside from the sense of betrayal and the loss of trust that it causes, it means the adulterous partner lives a fraudulent life, constantly telling lives to their spouse and family.

My point is very simple. If you look at these three commandments and you know them, you've heard about them all your life: Honour your father and mother, don't commit murder, and don't commit adultery. But if you take a little deeper dive into the New Testament where it says, 'Love your neighbour as yourself,' it ultimately gets down to love and respect for other people, and their lives. But beyond that, it is about building respect across all society.

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Let me close by asking a question: What's the purpose of the Ten Commandments? Let me suggest they have three purposes. 

Number one, to convict people of their own unrighteousness.

Two, to restrain people by defining transgressions that God punishes.

Three, to educate people concerning God's will for them.

Let me be clear, the purpose of the Ten Commandments is not the basis on which we gain eternal life. Now, I have to mention that  because when looking at them it is easy to think that by obeying them you are going to  find favour with God, and thinking the that the other side of that coin means that if you disobey any of them you are not going to gain heaven. But salvation  comes through faith in Jesus Christ and not obedience to the law.  Think about the order in which God has moved so far in this Exodus story. He gave this to a people, He delivered from slavery in Egypt. Now, here's the basis of the civilization I want you to build. So, it's not to gain heaven, but nevertheless, they should be kept for the benefit of everyone. 

It’s common sense really, do any of us have to keep the laws of this land in order to stay a citizen of the United Kingdom, or the country in which you live' That, of course, is not true. We do not need to keep all the laws of the land to become or stay a citizen. Yet, many people believe that in order to become a citizen of heaven, one must keep all the rules that God has laid out for His people. Gods naturalization process just involves trusting His Son and His death on the cross. 

We don't keep these commandments to gain heaven, but we keep them because we know our heavenly Father. And He says we should do these things to honour Him and to establish a just and fair society for everyone.  No wonder David said he loved God's law. How profound it is. We too should love God’s law because we love him and want to see his kingdom built in the place God has put us.