Deuteronomy 5:16-33 10 Commandments pt 2

Intro:

The title “the Ten Commandments” does not come from the two passages that list the commandments, but from three other references (Exod 34:28, Deut 4:13; 10:4).

The Hebrew in these verses translates literally as “the 10 words,” from which the term “Decalogue” is derived.

Generally, the first four commandments focus on obligations toward God, while the latter six focus on obligations toward others in the community.

In the New Testament, Jesus summarized this twofold focus in Matt 22:37-39 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself”

The sequence in which the commands are given represents the two priorities of Christian behavior.

It begins on the vertical plane with our relationship with God, and it flows onto the horizontal plane to our relationship with people and things here on earth.

We cannot have one without the other.

The Pentateuch portrays the Decalogue as divine revelation, given shortly after the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.

In the initial utterance of the Decalogue, Yahweh speaks the Ten Commandments directly to the people; in Deuteronomy, Moses quotes them to the people with slight alterations.

Exodus 31:18 states that “the finger of God” inscribed the commandments upon the tablets.

After Moses destroyed the tablets in fury over Israel’s idolatry (Exod 32:19), God reinscribed them

The Israelites then placed the tablets in the ark of the covenant (Exod 40:20), where they remained (2 Chr 5:10) until the exile

The biblical text portrays the Ten Commandments as the direct address of God to His covenant people.

Its exhortations, if understood descriptively, outline a society in which a profound equality rules.

For example, mother and father are equally due honor and no privileged class is recognized or given exceptional status

Read Deut 5:16-21

I. vs. 16 Honor Your Father and Mother

It is significant that this most basic statement about human relationships should begin with relationships within the family unit.

As the old saying goes, “Charity begins at home.”

The command is cited several times in the New Testament

Matthew 15:3-6 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right

The important place given to honoring parents in the Bible suggests that this practice is a basic ingredient of a healthy society.

When children do not respect their parents, something is seriously wrong.

So Paul stipulates that an overseer “must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive” (1 Timothy 3:4).

Dignified submission of children to parents is a key to a healthy Christian home.

The absence of this is very serious.

Later Moses says, “Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother” (Deuteronomy 27:16

Human relationships are intended to mirror our relationship with God.

Therefore Paul tells wives: “… submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22; see also 5:24).

He tells slaves: “… obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ” (Ephesians 6:5).

Similarly, we relate to our earthly fathers with respect and love, just as we must relate to our heavenly Father with respect and love.

If we fail to do that we perpetuate the attitude that lies at the heart of the most serious defect in fallen humanity: the refusal to honor God.

It is especially important to honor those who are older than we are.

Leviticus 19:32 places respect for elders alongside fearing the Lord: “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.”

The first challenge we are facing is that there has been a revolt against the idea of respecting authority and elders

Annie Gottlieb said about the 60”s “ We truly believed that the family had to be torn apart to free love, which alone could heal the damage done when the atom was split to release energy. And the first step was to tear ourselves free from our parents”

How can we honor parents?

First, by obeying

We obey as if we were obeying the Lord Jesus himself.

Another implication of obeying “in the Lord” is that we obey our parents whether they are Christians or not, for when we obey we do so as if we were obeying the Lord.

Second, by respecting

Respecting parents is another way we can honor them

Lev 19:3 “Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father … I am the Lord your God”

Today children often speak rudely to their parents.

That is something that is not acceptable for Christians.

Indeed at home, when we are not acting a part, our bad moods often find expression in disrespectful talk.

But we must learn to be able to express our moods without hurting others and without being disrespectful.

Prov 30:17 “The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.”

It is particularly important to respect parents when they are old

Third, by caring

“Your parents supported and nourished you when you were young and helpless; you ought therefore to support them when they are old and destitute.”

1 Tim 5:4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God”

The reward of Honoring Parents

After stating the fifth command Moses gives a promise of a reward for honoring parents: “… that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

I think that what Paul is saying is that children who honor their parents will receive God’s blessing. God will work things out for them, and they will not lack anything they need.

II. vs. 17 You Shall Not Murder

COMMANDS SIX TO TEN in the Decalogue remind us that we are people who live under restraint, especially with things that do not belong to us.

The prohibition of murder tells us that we cannot do as we like when it comes to the life of another.

The newer translations correctly render the sixth command as, “You shall not murder” (5:17), using the word “murder” rather than “kill” as in the older translations.

The Hebrew Bible has eight words for killing, of which the most common is harag, and that is a more general word for killing.

The word used here is rasah, which has more the idea of “murder.”

“It describes any form of unlawful or unauthorized killing” (Wright).

This word can be used for manslaughter, that is, accidental killings.

But for that there are separate laws, and cities of refuge were built to protect those who accidentally killed someone from their avengers

The reason for this command is that humans are made in the image of God

Only God has the authority to take a life.

Sometimes, however, God delegates that authority to humans to exercise on his behalf.

Speaking about Roman authorities, Paul says,

Romans 13:4“… for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer”

Scholars are agreed that included in the meaning of the word “sword” here is capital punishment.

If a person does a crime against another that is punishable with death, the aggrieved parties are not to take the law into their own hands. They are to follow the judicial procedures prescribed in the Bible.

Romans 12:19 “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’ ”

In doing this God often uses the national authorities and other citizens as agents of justice.

The sixth commandment cannot be used to abolish the death penalty and to advocate pacifism.

Some types of murder that are not allowed for Christians:

Suicide

Euthanasia

Abortion

Terrorism

Genocide

Emotions that Lead to Murder

Jealousy: Cain & Abel

Revenge:

Family Honor: Absalom killed Amnon

Matt 5:21-22 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

III. vs. 18 You Shall Not Commit Adultery

IV. vs. 19 You Shall Not Steal

V. vs. 20 You Shall Not Lie about your Neighbor

VI. vs. 21 You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife

VII. vs. 22-33