Then God spoke all these words, saying,
Exodus 20:1–17 LSB
“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.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female slave or your cattle or your sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male slave or his female slave or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
In the Hebrew scriptures the ten commandments are called the ten “words” (Heb. דָּבָר ḏâḇâr). The Hebrew term “dabar” is very flexible in its use. It can be thought to communicate a word, speech, issue or topic. Sometimes it can even take the place of our English word “thing(s)”. Thus each of the ten “words” can function as a topical heading, or entryway into a longer discussion. From there we can use them as references to remember moments in the big story, both theirs and ours.
They’re telling their story
The list of Ten Words is part of the Torah, the five books of Moses, which is a long story. Accordingly the Words play a narrative role. They are a plot device, a prop, a backdrop, a stage upon which to act out life. They are a part of the world-building that good authors use to give meaning to times, places and relationships.
The Words tell us that God authored not just a physical world, or a spiritual world; he invented, designed and built a moral world. There is such a thing as better, and such a thing as worse, and from the beginning he baked them right in to the lives we share with him and each other. Through experience we learn that trusting the Words leads to life, and countering them leads to injury. Rather than viewing all of the you-shall-nots as a bossy over-reaching grab for power, we appreciate them as life-giving and helpful, like guardrails that lower in front of a train crossing, or a yellow floor a-frame indicating freshly mopped tiles that have yet to dry.
Instead of legislation bullet points, we can think of the Ten Words more like biblical genealogies. Lineage lists serve as a severe shorthand for the entire life of a person, condensing everything they did into one or two phrases. There must have been a lot accomplished by Noah’s grandfather Methuselah in his long life: be born, grow up, fall in love, get shafted, marry, have kids, move around, work a job, see friends die, know God, pass on the faith, and finally leave the planet. But we are only given his name (Genesis 5) as recorded in a book of life, and that must suffice as his testimony.
In the same way each commandment can be a concise way of referring to a scene where it is featured. Read through the Bible and ask yourself if an occasion is found where total and exclusive allegiance to the LORD is declared (Ruth 1), where idols are worshipped as God (Exodus 32 or Psalm 115), or sabbaths are not remembered (Jeremiah 17). Maybe someone stole something (Genesis 31), or lied under oath (Acts 5), or killed an innocent person (Genesis 4). Perhaps there was a story about a man who slept with another man’s wife (2 Samuel 11), and the consequential actions that followed. Maybe someone risked their life to save their parents from danger (Joshua 6), and lived long to tell about it. Maybe someone remembered the sabbath and rested according to the commandment (Luke 23). Each of the Ten Words becomes a mnemonic to help us remember more of the entire story, and how each command plays out in the real world.
We’re telling our story
These Ten Words can help us remember our own story, too. Take the order to not steal, for example. By entering into the lives of these storied people in all of their moments we can allow this command to bring us to a moment in our life. Like when we stole something, and the guilt or punishment that followed. Maybe we were tempted to steal, and reigned in desire long enough to avoid error. Perhaps it was that time we were stolen from, and we remember the violation and hurt. All of these events and experiences make up our own unique and unrepeatable narrative.
Expand this idea to help bring to remembrance other struggles, defeats and victories. All of our memories can act as inventory. Some we want to remain, some we want to remove, some we want to refurbish. Thinking through all Ten Words might open up for us a new world of reflection, evaluation and recommitment.
ONE Remember times when we made the decision to give God the top priority in our ever-expanding idea of what life is. That was a bit scary, but mostly a huge relief, an unburdening, and a new chapter of an incredible journey. This bit of inventory goes in the “keep” pile.
TWO We have crafted our own ideas and accepted other people’s reasons for supplanting the Lord’s kingship. The loving of enemies became optional. These go in the “get rid of” pile.
THREE We were publicly known as a Christian, but much of our lifestyle spoke against that knowledge. God did a strange thing in making his people the evidence of his existence. These are items for the “fix-up” pile.
FOUR Giving someone time off was good. Getting time off was great. We do well to offer our community a regular break from intrusion. We work and rest in rhythm, get along well with young and old, nobody is wrecking anyone, sexual integrity is doable and precious and fruitful, boundaries are respected, when an honest question is asked an honest answer is always given, and we’re content with our stuff. True sabbath is giving others time off of the usual BS, a complete cessation of hassle and hustle.
FIVE If we’re honest we all struggle with dominion and its role in life. But we can mindfully adopt habits that reinforce healthy and respectful communication between authorities like parents, religious and civic leaders. In this web of humanity a lot of people, known and unknown, make important decisions that quietly benefit us every day. Thank you.
SIX Besides commanding the death of Jesus (no one else on my list yet, YMMV), we have harboured division, hated and contempt in our hearts. We can name the people thought of poorly, some we’ve asked to forgive us, and some we still need to. Too much blood spilled. We ask for mercy, and pledge today to give life instead.
SEVEN We have divided our loyalties, heart, and honour in opposite directions. It’s like being slowly rent in two. There is a straight, simple and single way. We do whatever it takes to find and walk it.
EIGHT We took what was not ours to take. Over and over again. Some of these things were even offered to us freely, but we realize now the offer was not theirs to make. We can be content with less, and we can refuse many offers, because honestly not that many of them are too good to refuse.
NINE Lies and half-truths have been a stain on our species’ existence from the beginning. Still working on that. We struggle with knowing which is the wise thing to say, and which is the stupid. As we grow in love we even begin to say increasingly honest things to God in prayer, and have yet to be zapped by lightening. He must be a very patient being.
TEN How do we not want more than what we have? This cosmos awaits completion. Wanting is not the problem—we want peace on earth and the visible return of Jesus, and that’s good. But the target of our appetites is a matter of judgement, an interior skill that we can hone for better and for worse. We listen daily to the voice of the Spirit, trusting that he trains us to do the thing we were made to do. Deep down we know there is only one true need—one thing to want above all others.
ONE…