Introduction
Today we are going to continue our journey through the Ten Commandments as we seek to build a foundation that will be of benefit to us when we are searching for stability in this life, especially when we find ourselves in a vulnerable state. Three weeks ago as we began this journey we looked at the idea of Sabbath; specifically, what it is, the dangers of distorting it, and why it is so important in our lives. Two weeks ago, we looked at the aspect of reverence that is conveyed by the first three commandments and why exactly does our self-described jealous God demand these ideals, then and now, and how we can emulate that attitude. Last week we spent our time reflecting on the idea of honor in the fifth commandment; what is honor, who should we honor, and how can we honor. Today we are going to examine all of those “thou shalt not” commandments to better see if those are simply extinct laws for an ancient time or do they still have any bearing upon us today.
They'll Never Know
Several years ago on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, there was a painting by Leslie Thrasher showing a woman buying her Thanksgiving turkey. The turkey was lying on the scales, and one side is the butcher, apron pulled tight, looking over the rim of his glasses at the scale. On the other side is a lovely lady of about 60, watching the weighing in from her side. Each of them had a pleased look as if each knew a secret joke. There’s nothing unusual about a butcher and a customer watching as a turkey is being weighed. The expression on their faces however indicated that something unusual was going on. Thrasher lets us in on the joke by showing us their hands. The butcher is pushing down on the scales while the woman is pushing up on them, neither of them aware of what the other is doing.
Both the butcher and the lovely lady would resent being called thieves. The little lady would never rob a bank or steal a car. The butcher would be indignant if anyone accused him of stealing, and he might get very angry if a customer gave him a bad check. But neither saw anything wrong with a little deception that would make a few cents for one or save a few cents for the other.
That picture gives us a visual glimpse of how we sometimes seek to live life, manipulating it for our advantage. And that’s what the Ten Commandments are all about, to remind us that there are eternal laws in the universe by which we must live if our life is going to be found pleasing to God.
No Killing
Today we are going to cover a multitude of commandments, commandments six through ten that show us how to live if our life is going to be found pleasing to God. So I just want us to spend just a brief moment looking at each of them and what they meant for the ancient Israelites.
This sixth commandment simply says, “You shall not murder”. The aim and scope of the commandment was primarily aimed at not killing those God did not want you to kill. If we look through the Old Testament, killing was something that both God and the Israelites did more than once, however only with God's approval. So this commandment takes aim at those killings that were done without God's approval, regardless of justification.
Biblical scholar, W. Harrelson puts this commandment in a helpful perspective, “In short, the sixth commandment stakes out the claim of God over all life and serves notice to all human beings – but especially those who claim the biblical heritage as binding upon them – that God's claim upon life is to be given priority in the decision taken by a community of its individual members”.
Even though killing was still a part of life for these ancient Israelites, God still wanted them to understand the supreme importance of life. God did not want them to take God's place as judge and jury. God wanted them to understand that life is paramount and not to be taken lightly.
No Adultery
Next up is the seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery”. The ancient Israelites had an understanding of this commandment that you may not be aware of. For them adultery was only committed when the bonds of marriage were broken by the woman. If a married man had a relationship with an unmarried women, the man simply took another wife, as polygamy was not against Old Testament Law. This speaks to the culture of that era and is not meant to be applied today, since polygamy is illegal now. But, the importance of marriage was at the crux of this law. The New Testament often uses the image of the church being the bride of Christ, so here we find God setting the early foundations for this metaphor. It was an institution that humanity could understand to help us understand how God feels about God's relationship with us. God valued the bonds of marriage as sacred and God wanted the Israelites to understand that.
No Stealing
The eighth commandment deals with theft, “You shall not steal”. Stealing was understood by the ancient Israelites as kidnapping, taking other people's animals, as well as material things. There is not a whole lot to say about his commandment but it does give us the impression that ownership was an understood quality of this culture.
No Lying
The ninth commandment has a legalistic tone as we read, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor”. Primarily, this was not intended to cover all circumstances but to focus on legal proceedings. Back then there were no security cameras, DNA testing, or fingerprints. The only way to uncover any mystery of events or a crime was through eye witness testimony. So to have people lie, to give false witness, directly compromises any legal purity for this new community.
We know, of course, that the real reason we should not be lying is that lying comes from Satan or the Devil, who, according to John 8:44, is known as the Father of Lies. The first lie came from Satan to Adam and Eve, and it has been an ongoing historical reality and phenomenon in every generation.
No Coveting
This leaves us at commandment number 10, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor”. This one is a bit longer in length and I think that is because out of all of these this is the only one that cannot be accurately measured. You can see a person kill another, take another's spouse, or take another's possessions, and you can uncover with concrete evidence when a person lies. But to see matter's of the heart is a different story. You cannot simply look at someone and see covetousness. Our inner ponderings and emotions and thoughts are just that inner and only for us and God to know.
Why?
But we look over these commandments and all of these acts and tendencies that God decreed God's people should abstain from and we wonder “why?”. Why are these bad, why are these thought of as detrimental, and what is the worst that could happen?
Remember, the nation of Israel had just been delivered from the harsh life they had experienced in Egypt. It all started when a Pharaoh came to power who did not know Joseph. All sorts of false things were told about the Jews. They became a scapegoat for all the problems of Egypt. They were stripped of their dignity and eventually were enslaved. The people whom Moses delivered were hardly saints or Sunday school students. They had been influenced by the degrading system of slavery.
This fledgling community, in the last 400 years, never had to live without a dictator. They never, in their lives, had to make decisions on their own and thereby live or die by those decisions. These people were learning how to be a family, how to be a community, and how to be God's chosen people. Basically you can boil all of this down to trust. If these people cannot trust one another then they cannot live with one another. And if they do not live with one another, then there is no “God's Chosen People”.
God had to be sure they would not pull each other down, but build a caring, compassionate people. To build a different kind of nation required a different kind of people. There was to be a different building code. In this building code everybody was a son and daughter of Abraham. Everybody was a child of the covenant. Even the sojourner in the land--like they had been once--was to be cared for in a gentle way.
What Does This Mean For Us Today?
So fast forward to the present. What do all these “thou shalt nots” mean for us today? I think these are still very important for us. There are tremendous lessons and God-given advice to be had here.
In looking through these it struck me that each one of these five commandments are centered on trust. When people do not trust each other, it can lead to all of these things we are not to do. If we cannot trust each other, then we lie to each other and say things about one another that are not true. If we do not trust each other, maybe it is because we have stolen from each other. And if we get angry enough and the trust is broken bad enough, we might even kill each other.
For example, look at the idea of covetousness. “Coveting [someone's spouse] will lead to adultery and the breaking of the seventh commandment. Coveting...[someone's] property will lead to breaking the eighth commandment. One act and two commandments broken. These ideals, these standards are not independent of one another. They are connected and inform each other.
And we have something that those ancient Israelites did not have. Christ. Our first Scripture lesson from Philippians 4:13 tells us that, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Christ is your ever present help when you are faced with these temptations.
God gave the ancient Israelites these rules so help them build a foundation that would allow them to seek God, live for God, and be blessed by God.. They are still applicable today because they do the same thing. They allow us to work together to seek God, live for God, and be be blessed by God because Christ strengthens us for this purpose.
Conclusion
Dr. Robert Kopp tells the story of a young boy who was walking on a beach. He saw a very old man preparing to catch crabs. The young boy had never seen anyone catch crabs. So he sat in the sand and watched. The old crabber worked his strings and nets and pretty soon began to catch lots of crabs. He threw them into a big bucket. It wasn't long before the little boy noticed crab legs inching over the top of the bucket. "Mister," the little boy said to the old crabber, "you better put a top on your bucket or all of your crabs are going to get away!" "Not a chance," the old crabber said to the little boy, "because whenever one of them gets to the top, the other crabs just pull them back down." Sound familiar? That is the problem when we do not follow these commands. It can only pull people down--it can never lift them up. It serves no Godly purpose.
These people, these ancient Israelites were called by God to a higher purpose. These Ten Commandments have, “...vertical and horizontal dimensions, and obedience to God is required on both fronts. After all, if the Israelites cannot behave properly toward their God and cannot treat each other as 'special people,' as God treats them, how can they ever be a light to the Gentiles? How can they ever be a kingdom of priests in a world that does not know the true God?”
That is our challenge today. We are called to be a kingdom of priests in a world that does not know the true God. If we are consumed, sidetracked, and deceived by all of these 'thou shalt nots' how can we be priests? How can we live up to being the people we were created to be?
God has entrusted each of us with a responsibility. A responsibility to each other and to all humankind. We are to create amongst ourselves a community built on faith and trust in each other. A community that will withstand the test of time and of evil. A community where we do not keep each other down. A community of love, respect, second chances, and humility. A community that we are to take to the world. Therefore, since you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, go. Go and live humbly, live in love, and live in treating others better than you treat yourself. Go and show this world that God is here, God is alive, and God is love. Go.
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