From His Heart: The Ten Commandments

"Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:1-3

​After the Israelites consecrated themselves to be ready for visitation from the Lord, Moses spoke to them to ensure that they would keep the boundaries the Lord commanded by only standing at the foot of Mount Sinai. They were not to attempt to come upon the mountain or they would perish. By God’s command, only Moses and Aaron were allowed to come up the mountain. When Moses returned to the mountain the Lord spoke, from His heart, the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) demonstrated the supreme holiness of God and in contrast, the sinfulness of man. When we read the Ten Commandments we see God making clear that He alone is God and there are no other gods besides Him. He is asserting to the Israelites that He is the One True God and besides Him there is none other. It is important to note that in Egypt, the Israelites were surrounded by graven images, idolatry, and pagan worship and no doubt, were influenced in this manner by the Egyptians during their enslavement. God made it known in the Ten Commandments that He is their God and He alone is to receive their worship.

When reading the Ten Commandments we see as a whole that God commands His creation to love Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves (Matthew 22:37-40). The first four of the Ten Commandments relates to creation and the Creator and the remaining commandments address relationships with one another. Ultimately, each commandment addresses love for God. By loving God, a believer will love others.

​As you read the Ten Commandments, you are reading what is significant to God. He desires His creation to love Him greatly and to have the entirety of their affection placed upon Him. Take the time to read each commandment and ask yourself, why is this particular commandment important to God? Why would He detail this commandment in the manner that He did and for what reason did He specifically address certain thoughts, attitudes, and actions?

​God is purposeful in all that He does and all that He does is for His glory and for our good. Consider the Ten Commandments, they convey God’s heart and because they convey the heart of God, they should impact and influence the heart of man. ​