The Ten Commandments Love Them and Keep Them
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This week’s Sabbath Bible study is titled The Ten Commandments Love Them and Keep Them. No matter where you go on the earth as you discuss the Bible, the keeping of the Laws of God will always be of great debate among Christians and even non-Christians.
Many Christians have been taught that the commandments of God are no more. Some have been taught that Jesus did all of the commandments for us. Some believe the commandments are too hard to keep, while another group believes the commandments were for the Jews only.
The Commandments and Their Standing
It is undoubtedly your business in whatever decision you conclude regarding the commandments, but the ultimate decision is the one that will stand: that is the Words of God. This is not a lesson that will show (through scripture) that the commandments are still necessary to keep; instead this is a Bible Study to simply explore the commandments and what they stand for and mean for Christians.
As you get a real understanding of the scripture you realize that the Ten Commandments are nothing more than the covenant between man and God, and the way to express love to your fellow brother and sister in mankind. You realize that you should love the Ten Commandments and keep them. Let’s take a look at them.
Out of the House of Bondage
Exodus chapter 20
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Right away we learn that the God of Israel is speaking these words, live and direct in the ears of the congregation. This is no relayed message, but a direct message from the God of Heaven.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The first commandment is to have no other gods before the God of Israel. God Almighty created you and me, it makes perfect sense that we keep no other God before the God of Israel.
The God of Israel Don’t Respect False Gods
Other gods include idols, material, people, and anything you choose to put before the God of Israel.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
The second commandment is a great follow up to the first; you shall not make any graven images of anything that looks like anything you think is in heaven above because for one you have never been there.
The God of Israel, a Jealous God
You also are not to make any images of things in the earth that are to represent God, neither any images in the water. And if you make any of these worthless things, you are not to bow down to them or serve them.
The God of Israel we serve is a jealous God. If we think about this in our understanding and viewpoint, suppose you just got married and every moment you look up your spouse is smiling and laughing and sneaking off privately with someone else.
That would invoke a bit of jealousy in you. We’ve been trained to believe that God is too High and Lofty to stoop so low and engage in an emotion such as jealousy. I have to ask why that is. Why do we think God Almighty cannot get or be jealous?
Serving Other gods…
If God is going to dress you, feed you, house you, and do many blessings for you because you entered into a covenant with Him; is the great God of Heaven supposed to be thrilled with you for bowing down and serving another god?
That is not rational, even for God Almighty. For this He will visit the iniquities (sins) of the fathers to the fourth generation of everyone that hates Him and show mercy to the thousands of generations of everyone that loves Him and keeps His commandments.
How do you love God Almighty? You do so by keeping His commandments (St. John 14 v15). You show you hate God by not keeping the laws of God (Romans 8 v7).
The Third Commandment
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
The third commandment is that you do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain because you will not be held guiltless if you do. How do you take His name in vain? It is not just yelling, “Jesus Christ,” as someone nags you about the money you owe them.
It is not saying bad phrases such as “G*d Da*n either; but it is simply acting as if God is not important. An example of this is found in Proverbs chapter 30 and verse nine. Being a hypocrite also is another way to take the name of the Lord Jesus in vain. This is so because you tell everyone you are a Christian yet you do none of the things Christians are supposed to do. This makes you a hypocrite and your faith is all in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
The Fourth Commandment, Sabbath Day
The fourth commandment is the all-important Sabbath day. This day represents so much, it cannot be fully talked about in one posting alone. However, as far as for the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath day is the seventh day of the week. It is a Holy and sanctified day to the Lord, which He is the Lord of.
If you were paying attention, you would have noticed these first four commandments taught us how to handle the God of Israel. Now the God of Israel is going to teach us how to handle each other.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
The first thing God wanted us to do is to honor our parents. Just from a social and psychological standpoint, there is a limited spectrum of people they will honor and respect. Especially if an individual does not honor and respect his or her parents. In keeping this commandment from God, our days may be long upon the land that God Almighty has given us.
Killing One Another
13 Thou shalt not kill.
There are many ways in which you can kill someone, but the main is through violence and anger. Killing, if not done in a justifiable way such as self defense, will land you in jail or even killed yourself.
Also when you kill, you are showing the ultimate disrespect for the God of Israel. This is because you destroy the image of God. In the United States, you cannot burn the flag or tear the currency, imagine destroying the image of God Almighty.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Adultery is sleeping with another man’s wife. Men throughout history have fought over three major things, money, power, and women. Adultery brings up a great deal of negative emotion. It disrupts families and relationships and is a cardinal sin among men. The penalties will not leave you if you commit this great offense! Any person participating in this act lacks any kind of understanding of the God of Israel (Proverbs 6:33).
Stealing and Bearing False Witness
15 Thou shalt not steal.
Stealing is not right, and you understand this even more if you have had anyone steal anything from you; especially anything of great sentimental and monumental value.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
No one likes a liar. I read in the news a young man was exonerated of a rape charge that the girl blatantly lied to avoid embarrassment. She was embarrassed to be known openly of having intercourse while at school. The young mans life is utterly changed even though he is free now and proven to have not done the offense. This is all because she beared false witness against her neighbor.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Coveting leads to breaking more commandments. King David coveted Bathsheba and this led to stealing, adultery, and murder. Instead of coveting, ask the God of Israel that gave the other person what you’re coveting for what it is you want.
Affirmation of the Commandments
It is apparent that the entire world would be a much better place to dwell. This is particularly so if adhered to the keeping of God’s Ten Commandments, the world all-togetherThese commandments are not hard, they are not grievous; they are love and peace, they are the love of the Lord God.
A good way to become better able to keep these commandments of God, the covenant of God is to dwell on them daily (Psalm 1 v2). It is said, whatever you keep your mind on is what will be your reality.
Use the principle of autosuggestion with the Ten Commandments. Repeat them aloud every morning and every evening. It would go something like this:
Affirmations for Verbalizing the Commandments
- I have no other gods except for Jesus.
- I make no graven images, 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.
- I never bow down myself to anything but the God of Israel, I only serve Jesus: for the Lord God of Israel is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Him, and keep His commandments.
- I never take the name of the Lord my God in vain; for the Lord will not hold me guiltless if I take His name in vain.
- I remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Affirmations Con’t
- I honour my father and my mother: that my days may be long upon the land which the Lord my God gives to me.
- I NEVER kill.
- I NEVER commit adultery.
- I avoid stealing.
- I never bear false witness against my neighbour.
- I never covet my neighbour’s house, my neighbour’s wife (husband for women), manservant, maidservant, ox, ass, or any thing that is my neighbour’s.
Repeat this in the morning as you rise from bed. Do it just before retiring to bed and it will begin to strongly influence your mind and behavior. God bless you in the name of Jesus.
Koko Ishe
BibleStudyMinistry.com
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