Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments Still Matter Today

Introduction

JM Botteron continues the story of Moses, called by God to deliver the people from slavery in Egypt. After three months in the desert, before reaching Canaan, God has him climb Mount Sinai and gives him the ten commandments, which Hebrew calls "the ten words".

Through these words, God wants to set his people apart from the other nations, to sanctify them. "To sanctify means to set apart." The preacher reminds us that we are under grace, but that the ten commandments are part of the word of God. We need to meditate on them and look for the spiritual lessons "that are still valid and still relevant for us today".

So he goes back through the ten commandments of Exodus 20 one by one, from the first to the tenth.

Outline of the message

1. God first reminds us who he is

Before giving a single commandment, God introduces himself in verse 2: "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
He recalls the foundational event: he tore this people away from slavery to lead them into freedom.
"That is what God did for our lives." He pulled us out from under the rule of Satan to bring us into the freedom of the children of God.
So the commandments come from a God who sets free, not from a master who chains.

2. No other gods, no carved image

Israel lived 400 years in Egypt, surrounded by polytheism: gods for the sun, for work, for the harvest. The people had to believe in one God only, the Creator of heaven and earth.
Yet some Israelites kept idols and lived in compromise. "It is one thing to leave Egypt", but the mentality of Egypt had to be taken out of the people's hearts.
Lot's wife received a simple instruction: do not look back. Lot and his daughters obeyed, but she looked back, because her heart was still attached to Sodom. She was turned into a pillar of salt.
When Gideon is called, he begins with his own family: in his father's house stood an altar of Baal and the Asherah pole. He tears them down and builds an altar to Yahweh. He is then called Jerubbaal. He was able to live a life of victory "because he first tore down the idols that were in his own house".
Our idols are not necessarily made of stone or wood: they are the things we value more than God himself. In our society, they are the singers adored by the crowds, the gods of sport, the gods of finance that Jesus calls Mammon. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil", and some, by craving it, have wandered from the faith (1 Timothy 6:10). "It takes courage to break with evil, and we have to do it."
The second commandment forbids representing God with objects, because that inevitably lowers him. God is spirit, he is invisible and he is everywhere. We do not pray before statues: "it is by faith that we worship him".
"I am a jealous God": this is not human jealousy, which can be a sin. God does not share his glory with another and does not accept competition. He must have first place.
Notice the contrast: God punishes to the third and fourth generation, but he shows mercy to a thousand generations. "God is more ready to show grace than to punish." This grace is fully revealed in Christ: it is by grace that we are saved, through faith.

3. Respecting God's name and the day set apart for him

The name of Yahweh is holy. The Jews refrained from pronouncing the tetragrammaton, the four letters YHWH, and said "Adonai", the Lord. "That speaks to us of the holy respect" they had for God, while in our societies people sometimes speak "carelessly about anything and everything".
With the congregation, the preacher goes through the compound names of God, all of which apply to Christ: Yahweh will provide (Jesus provided for our salvation at the cross), Yahweh who heals, Yahweh my banner (the Messiah is a banner for the peoples in Isaiah 11), Yahweh who sanctifies, Yahweh is peace ("Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you"), Yahweh my shepherd (Jesus is the good shepherd), God Most High, Yahweh of Armies, Yahweh our righteousness and Yahweh is there ("I am with you always, even to the end of the age").
The fourth commandment sets apart one day out of seven. The Sabbath was not made "to do nothing", but to turn to God in thankfulness and worship.
The first Christians of Jewish background observed the Sabbath. Since Jesus rose on the first day of the week, they chose Sunday to worship him. We no longer bring animal sacrifices there, but sacrifices of praise.
The preacher is not aiming at those whose work requires them to work on Sunday, but at those who could come and leave that day aside: "this carelessness cannot please God".
"If you honor God, God will help you gain time." He gives ideas you would not have had on your own, and he brings you across the right people. God honors those who honor him.

4. Honoring your parents and respecting life

Parents have a big place in the word of God: we must honor them and support them. "But if any provides not for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8).
This commandment is the only one of the ten tied to a promise of long life: "that your days may be long".
"You shall not kill" is understood as "you shall not murder": life is sacred. In the Old Testament, murder was punished by death, which shows how serious it is to take someone's life.
You can also kill with the tongue. Against Jeremiah, his enemies said: "Come, let's strike him with the tongue" (Jeremiah 18:18). Sowing words of death produces the same destruction, and the one who uses his mouth as a weapon ends up destroying himself.
"The mouth is somewhat the revealer of what is in the heart." After five minutes of conversation, you can see whether someone is bitter or trusting in the Lord.
It is possible to be set free by God's grace: repent, ask forgiveness for your bad words and from now on use your tongue to bless and encourage. The Bible says to set a guard over your mouth.

5. Faithfulness in marriage and small acts of neglect

Adultery breaks up families and is very hard to forgive: the betrayed person feels betrayed, and the covenant made "until death do us part" is broken.
David's fall with Bathsheba came through small acts of neglect, "like the little foxes that ruin the vineyards". First neglect: he does not go out to battle although it is the time for battle. Second: he lingers on the roof. Third: he lets his eyes wander, and instead of turning his gaze away, he covets and feeds the sin.
Jesus warns: "everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). Desire for someone who is not your spouse is already a seed of adultery.
In an audiovisual society where we are flooded with images, we must watch over everything that passes before our eyes and keep ourselves pure.
Every thought of adultery comes from the evil one, who dangles an illusory happiness before us through an attentive colleague who offers flowers and opens the door: "These are traps."

6. Do not steal, do not lie, do not covet

Judas had received the same ministry as the other disciples, but he secretly stole from the money bag he kept. An unconfessed sin, a neglected spiritual life: the devil put into his heart the thought of betraying Jesus. He refused to turn back and died in his sin.
Bearing false witness means not telling the truth or twisting it. We must always choose the truth, "even if it costs us something".
The belt of truth is part of the Christian's armor. A Christian who lies, or who accepts compromises at work to save money, opens a gap that the enemy will attack. The devil is a liar and the father of lies: all lies, big or small, come from the evil one.
The tenth commandment targets the person who is never satisfied. "If only I had that car, if only I had that house...": happiness does not depend on material goods. A missionary back from the field noticed it: over there, they have nothing, but they have joy.
Gehazi, Elisha's servant, was not as detached as his master. He runs after Naaman, who had been healed of leprosy, lies to get money and clothes, hides everything at home, then lies again in front of Elisha: "when you sin, you are forced to sin again" to cover it up.
"Didn't my heart go with you?" (2 Kings 5:26): Naaman's leprosy clings to Gehazi. Spiritually, covetousness produces a leprosy that stops you from moving forward and that reaches even your family.

7. Words to watch over our soul

The ten commandments are the foundation of many societies: many laws and codes around the world come from them.
For the Church, what matters is their spiritual meaning. They are "a source of counsel and warning" and are still relevant today.
"Even if we are not able to fulfill them, we will ask the Lord to help us."
The preacher concludes with a prayer: to be kept from neglect, temptations and drifting in a world attracted to everything that glitters, to return constantly to the word of God and to be careful not to lie.

Key takeaways

The ten commandments come from the God who freed his people from slavery. Their purpose is to set them apart.
An idol is anything we value more than God. Like Gideon, we must begin by tearing down the ones in our own house.
God is jealous because he wants first place, but he is more ready to show grace than to punish.
The tongue can kill, and great falls often begin with small acts of neglect.
Lying and covetousness open gaps that the enemy attacks. Happiness does not depend on material goods.

Personal application

Is there something in your home or in your heart that has taken on more value than God himself?
What place do you give to Sunday and to gathering with the church?
What do your words this week reveal about your heart: bitterness or trust in the Lord?
What small act of neglect, in what you watch or in your schedule, do you need to correct right now?
Have you accepted a small lie or a compromise at work that you need to settle before God?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

Do the ten commandments still apply to Christians?

For JM Botteron, Christians live under grace, but the ten commandments are part of the word of God. We need to meditate on them and look for the spiritual lessons, which are still relevant today. They are a source of counsel and warning, and if we are not able to fulfill them, we ask the Lord to help us.

What does "God is a jealous God" mean in Exodus 20?

It is not human jealousy, which can be a sin. It means that God does not share his glory with another and does not accept competition: he must have first place in the heart. The text also shows that he shows mercy to a thousand generations: he is more ready to show grace than to punish.

Why do Christians gather on Sunday and not on the Sabbath?

The first Christians of Jewish background observed the Sabbath. Since Jesus rose on a Sunday, the first day of the week, they chose that day to gather and worship Jesus. For the preacher, Sunday is for the Church the equivalent of the day of rest, set apart to worship God.