Exodus · chapter 20 of 40
Updated on
Exodus 20 contains the Ten Commandments, which God speaks to Israel from Sinai after reminding them that he brought them out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. The first commandments concern the relationship with God, including the Sabbath, and the rest concern the neighbor, from honoring parents to not coveting. The frightened people ask Moses to speak in their place, and God gives rules for the altar.
Exodus 20 is one of the best-known texts of the Bible. After the meeting with God on the mountain, he himself speaks the ten words that sum up his covenant with Israel. The commandments are not a way to earn salvation but the way of life of a people already rescued. Here begins a long section of laws that continues to the end of the book and into Leviticus.
God spoke all these words. He began by saying he is the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Then he gave the commandments: to have no other gods before him; to make no image to worship, for he is a jealous God who visits the iniquity of the fathers on the third and fourth generation of those who hate him, and shows steadfast love to thousands of those who love him and keep his commandments; not to take his name in vain.
Next comes the command to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy: six days to labor and the seventh to rest, you, your sons, your servants, your livestock and the sojourner, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea, and rested on the seventh. Then those concerning the neighbor: honor your father and mother, with a promise of long life in the land; do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness against your neighbor; do not covet your neighbor's house, wife, servants, animals or anything that is his.
All the people saw the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, and they trembled and stood far off. They told Moses to speak with them himself, but not to let God speak, lest they die. Moses answered that they should not fear, for God had come to test them and so that the fear of him might be before them and keep them from sinning. The people stood far off, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
The Lord told Moses to say to the Israelites that they had seen that he spoke from heaven, and that they were not to make gods of silver or gold alongside him. He told them to make an altar of earth, and if of stones, not of cut stones, for using a tool on them would profane them. Nor were they to go up by steps to his altar, so that their nakedness would not be exposed.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
God presents himself as the Lord, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. The commandments begin with an act of salvation, not a demand: Israel obeys as a rescued people.
The first commandment forbids having other gods before the Lord. It is the foundation of all the others, since it asks Israel for exclusive loyalty to the one who saved them.
God commands remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy, working six days and resting on the seventh. Rest teaches that life depends on God and is founded on the fact that he himself rested at creation.
Honoring father and mother is the first commandment with a promise: long life in the land the Lord gives. It joins family respect with God's blessing and the continuity of his people.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: As the Lord, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. — Exodus 20:2
Answer: To have no other gods before the Lord. — Exodus 20:3
Answer: That in six days the Lord made heaven, earth and the sea, and rested on the seventh day. — Exodus 20:11
Answer: Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land the Lord gives. — Exodus 20:12
Answer: That he speak with them and that God not speak, lest they die. — Exodus 20:19
Answer: Of earth, or of uncut stones. — Exodus 20:24-25
The Ten Commandments begin with grace: God frees and then commands. For Christians, they show how a rescued people lives, with loyalty to God and love for neighbor. Jesus summed up the law as loving God with all the heart and the neighbor as oneself, and showed that its spirit reaches the desires of the heart.
In a class or small group you can go through the commandments and ask which are easiest to forget today, such as not coveting or keeping a time of rest. We can also notice that before the thunder of Sinai the people were afraid: the law shows our need for a mediator, and Christians see him in Christ.
Exodus 20 ends with the rules of the altar and with Moses near God. Exodus 21 begins the book of the covenant, with concrete laws for Israel's social life that develop the principles of the ten words.
They are: have no other gods, make no images to worship, do not take the Lord's name in vain, keep the Sabbath, honor parents, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness and do not covet. Lists divide some of them differently, but the content is the same.
It is the jealousy of faithful love, like that of someone who will not tolerate divided loyalty in a covenant. It is not human envy but the demand for an exclusive relationship between God and his people.
It means using his name in an empty, false or disrespectful way, for example to swear falsely, to cover lies or as a mere exclamation. The Lord's name represents his character and should be treated with reverence.