I'm going to apologize in advance because I know that for many people what is in this post is going to upset them, shattering a golden calf. But it simply must be spoken about because sadly it's become something that so many argue in favor of. For those who don't follow all of God's Laws one of the primary arguments is "I obey the ten commandments!" Yet their entire premise is built on something that was never biblically how they imagine it.
When we think of the ten commandments we generally think of two nice little tablets with the ten commandments from Exodus 20 on them. We may even have something like them in our home, which I do. Something like this:
Such depictions can be great little reminders of some of God's Laws and nobody is arguing that they aren't relevant and timeless. But is this depiction true? Not even a little. It didn't even exist until the 1956 film The Ten Commandments and was instantly popularized when the movie paid to put up monuments of it on government properties in the United States.
So let us examine what scripture is actually saying about these ten laws.
We know that they are found in Exodus 20, but the context to them doesn't start there. It starts in Exodus 19. Exodus 19:16-25 says, On the morning of the third day, there was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain. Then a shofar blast sounded so loudly that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Moshe brought the people out of the camp to meet God; they stood near the base of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was enveloped in smoke, because Adonai descended onto it in fire — its smoke went up like the smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moshe spoke; and God answered him with a voice.
(A: vi, S: vii) 20 Adonai came down onto Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; then Adonai called Moshe to the top of the mountain; and Moshe went up. 21 Adonai said to Moshe, “Go down and warn the people not to force their way through to Adonai to see him; if they do, many of them will perish. 22 Even the cohanim, who are allowed to approach Adonai, must keep themselves holy; otherwise, Adonai may break out against them.” 23 Moshe said to Adonai, “The people can’t come up to Mount Sinai, because you ordered us to set limits around the mountain and separate it.” 24 But Adonai answered him, “Go, get down! Then come back up, you and Aharon with you. But don’t let the cohanim and the people force their way through to come up to Adonai, or he will break out against them.”
25 So Moshe went down to the people and told them.
Notice something? All of God's people where present at the foot of the mountain while Moshe and Aharon went up. They where to hear these words as well and not come to close. Adonai then goes on to give what has become called the ten commandments, Exodus 20:1-14(17 in some versions), Then God said all these words:
א 2 “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.
ב 3 “You are to have no other gods before me. 4 You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. 5 You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, Adonai your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my mitzvot.
ג 7 “You are not to use lightly the name of Adonai your God, because Adonai will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly.
ד 8 “Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbatfor Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.
ה 12 “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you.
ו 13 “Do not murder.
ז (14) “Do not commit adultery.
ח (15) “Do not steal.
ט (16) “Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.
י 14 (17) “Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
So essentially here we have God beginning to record his law for the people, no mention of tablets or of these being ten commandments. Some would even argue that it really only comes down to nine, that the first two are actually intertwined.
But why is there a break at this point? Was it God? Verse 15 (18 in some versions) gives us this answer, and it isn't because of God that there is a divide. Verses 15-19 (18 to 22 in some versions) say, All the people experienced the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled. Standing at a distance, 16 (19) they said to Moshe, “You, speak with us; and we will listen. But don’t let God speak with us, or we will die.” 17 (20) Moshe answered the people, “Don’t be afraid, because God has come only to test you and make you fear him, so that you won’t commit sins.” 18 (21) So the people stood at a distance, but Moshe approached the thick darkness where God was.
(A: Maftir) 19 (22) Adonai said to Moshe, “Here is what you are to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘You yourselves have seen that I spoke with you from heaven.
Showing us that it was the people who put the breaks on, terrified of the sight they were seeing on Sinai and intimidated by what they heard of God's voice. In verse 19 Adonai himself says that they have seen him speaking these words, and they say in verse 16 that they can't handle it, that if he speaks with them directly they will die. They then gain more distance.
I think this speaks to a lot more than is often taught. Here we have people so intimidated by the Word of God that they shake and tremble and don't want to hear anymore! Yet what happens in this modern world with what is often taught of God's Law? They do the same thing! They get so far into what he is saying and put the brakes on, 'No more!' they say, just as the Isrealites did at Sinai. They put a divide in the Laws God was giving them that simply is not written in the scripture. They call them 'the ten commandments' and say they are more important than any other. Now, they may very well hold precedence over other laws as they were important enough to be given to us first in this recording; but they weren't the first laws given to the Isrealites at all! Other laws start much sooner such as Passover laws in Exodus 12 for example.
Once the people have distanced themselves some God immediately resumes will giving more laws, from Exodus 20:20 right through to chapter 31. Only then are tablets of stone even mentioned! Chapter 31:18 says, When he had finished speaking with Moshe on Mount Sinai, Adonai gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. Showing us that on these tablets was everything God had spoken to Moses in this time, not simply the first ten regulations he'd given. Let me clarify that, the tablets were Never a record of 'the ten commandments' but a record of all the regulations from Exodus 20-31!
But the issue of the ten commandments doesn't end there, with the truth that they were never intended to be separated from any other commandments, they were never esteemed differently by God, and that they were not the only laws written on the tablets. The issue continues as we then learn about the golden calf in chapter 32. Where the people had gotten impatient on waiting for God's word, they'd gone their own way rather than listen to what God had to say to them. They'd even thrown out of the very first commands, and one they'd been present to hear! All of which shows what we are dealing with today, people who are to impatient to learn the Law of God and want to dismiss what little they even know of it; often without much thought to what they are doing. This upset Moshe so badly that be broke the tablets that God had crafted, written front and back with Gods words from Exodus 20-31.
Then we get to chapter 34. Which instantly dispells another myth about the ten commandments. Many people are taught that because Moshe broke the first set he was required to completely make the second set and this simply isnt what the scripture says on the matter. Chapter 34:1 says, Adonai said to Moshe, “Cut yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones; and I will inscribe on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Moshe only had to craft the tablets themselves, the words written on them were still inscribed by Adonai!
Then we continue on in Chapter 34 and find something else, the laws he starts with are not the same ones he started with before. Confirmation that the ten which he started with before were not of the most importance to him. Verses 5-28 say, Adonai descended in the cloud, stood with him there and pronounced the name of Adonai. 6 Adonai passed before him and proclaimed: “YUD-HEH-VAV-HEH!!! Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai] is God, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth; 7 showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative effects of the parents’ offenses to be experienced by their children and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations.” 8 At once Moshe bowed his head to the ground, prostrated himself 9 and said, “If I have now found favor in your view, Adonai, then please let Adonai go with us, even though they are a stiffnecked people; and pardon our offenses and our sin; and take us as your possession.”
(vi) 10 He said, “Here, I am making a covenant; in front of all your people I will do wonders such as have not been created anywhere on earth or in any nation. All the people around you will see the work of Adonai. What I am going to do through you will be awesome! 11 Observe what I am ordering you to do today. Here! I am driving out ahead of you the Emori, Kena‘ani, Hitti, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. 12 Be careful not to make a covenant with the people living in the land where you are going, so that they won’t become a snare within your own borders. 13 Rather, you are to demolish their altars, smash their standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles; 14 because you are not to bow down to any other god; since Adonai — whose very name is Jealous — is a jealous God. 15 Do not make a covenant with the people living in the land. It will cause you to go astray after their gods and sacrifice to their gods. Then they will invite you to join them in eating their sacrifices, 16 and you will take their daughters as wives for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves to their own gods and make your sons do the same!
17 “Do not cast metal gods for yourselves.
18 “Keep the festival of matzah by eating matzah, as I ordered you, for seven days during the month of Aviv; for it was in the month of Aviv that you came out from Egypt.
19 “Everything that is first from the womb is mine. Of all your livestock, you are to set aside for me the males, the firstborn of cattle and flock. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb; if you won’t redeem it, break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you are to redeem, and no one is to appear before me empty-handed.
21 “Six days you will work, but on the seventh day you are to rest — even in plowing time and harvest season you are to rest.
22 “Observe the festival of Shavu‘ot with the first-gathered produce of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord, Adonai, the God of Isra’el. 24 For I am going to expel nations ahead of you and expand your territory, and no one will even covet your land when you go up to appear before Adonai your God three times a year. 25 You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, and the sacrifice of the feast of Pesach is not to be left until morning. 26 You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of Adonai your God.
“You are not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
(vii) 27 Adonai said to Moshe, “Write these words down, because they are the terms of the covenant I have made with you and with Isra’el.” 28 Moshe was there with Adonai forty days and forty nights, during which time he neither ate food nor drank water. [Adonai] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words.
Ladies and Gentlemen this is the only time the ten commandments, or ten words, is referenced in scripture and you can clearly see that these are not the same regulations as in Exodus 20. Now, many will try to rectify the two, say they aren't all that different and point out the similarities and such; but we can clearly see that those who claim to follow the ten commandments do not, for example, follow Unleavened Bread as is commanded in verse 18. So lets break this down a little more.
1. Verse 10 to 16 tells us that we are not to make a covenant with certain peoples as our covenant alone is with God, in doing so we may bow down to their Gods.
2. Within this we can see the command repeated to not bow down to any other God or craft an idol, this is reiterated in verse 17
3. Keep the feast of Unleavened Bread in verse 18.
4. The first born male of our livestock belongs to God, to be redeemed, verses 19 and 20.
5. Remember the Sabbath in verse 21.
6. Observe the feast of Shavuot in verses 23 to 26.
7. Do not boil a lamb in it's mothers milk in verse 26.
Wait. Those aren't ten commandments at all! There's only seven. Yet we see in verse 28 that they are called the ten words and are what was written on the tablets. So this requires a deeper look.
We know that Moshe was with Adonai for a long time on Sinai the first time. Long enough for the people to think he wasn't coming back and to quickly go astray and build an idol. This time it gives up a time, forty days and forty nights, that Moshe was with Adonai. Yet we can also see that these regulations would not have taken this amount of time at all. This leads us to look at the wording used, primarily the number ten.
As some of us know, Hebrew is a three fold language. One in which linguistic, numeric and pictoral aspects all play a role. And each intertwines in a unique way which further shows us the meaning in what is written. The Hebrew letter yod, י, is what means ten. The letter inherently has this numeric value. The pictographic meaning of the letter is a hand, and means what we do, or our work. So to use ten is then at its very basis our works, but it doesn't end there. Hebrew also uses numerology and often does so in scripture. In E.W. Bullinger's book 'Number in Scripture' he has this to say about the number ten:
"... ten is one of the perfect numbers, and signifies the perfection of Divine order, commencing, as it does, an altogether new series of numbers. The first decade is the representative of the whole numeral system, and originates the system of calculation called 'decimals', because the whole system of numeration consists of so many tens, of which the first is a type of the whole.
Completeness of order, marking the entire round of anything is, therefore, the ever-present signifcation of the number ten. It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete."
To back his claims he uses examples such as Noah finishing the antediluvian age in the tenth generation, the Lord's Prayer being complete in ten clauses, and the tithes and redemption money being ten in regards to representing the whole of what man owes to God.
As we can see that the ten in the case of Genesis 34 is not a literal ten, as there are only seven commands in the chapter, we must conclude then that it is the representative ten, wholeness. Which would then explain why Moshe was on the mountain again for forty days and forty nights. He was again being given the whole of God's law while Adonsi recorded it again on the tablets of stone.
This is not a wild or unfounded claim, but instead supported by Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 4:13 says, He proclaimed his covenant to you, which he ordered you to obey, the Ten Words; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. Now, this is where the claim that the ten commandments were all that was written on the tablets comes from. But we have already seen that that was not the case, so we must then reconcile this verse to what we have already seen of the tablets in Exodus, that it was the Whole of the law that was written on the tablets, not simply the first ten God gave us in Exodus 20 nor only the seven that are in Exodus 34. Deuteronomy 9:10 reinforces this, saying, Then Adonai gave me the two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God; and on them was written every word Adonai had said to you from the fire on the mountain the day of the assembly. Every word Adonai had said to him. That's far more than a literal ten any way you slice it, but it is whole, complete, as the ten represents.
Now I'm sure many are claiming 'but how do you fit 613 laws on stone tablets that Moshe could still carry?'. Your question has merit but its following a thawed premise. God doesn't say there are 613 laws, Rabbis did. and many of those I believe are erroneous counting and some faulty interpretation as I've put in my Biblical Commandments post. He put his laws on them, as scripture says. Now that may be written as scripture is written, it may be written small or it may be summarized in various ways. But what we do know is that according to Exodus and Deuteronomy it was all the law of God, complete and whole on both sides of two tablets. The covenant that we are to keep as his children.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to upset you if I melted your golden calf today. The ten commandments are indeed nothing different than the whole of the commandments, and nothing like what we've been lead to believe they are, they aren't just the laws given in Exodus 20, they aren't alone on the two tablets, they weren't re-written by Moshe, and the laws given in Exodus 20 were never meant to be separate from the rest of God's law. That separation was then and remains today the actions only of fallen people intimidated by what God is saying to us about how we follow the Covenant.
They are however the complete Law of God, the covenant for us to obey and follow if we are in covenant with Adonai.
They are however the complete Law of God, the covenant for us to obey and follow if we are in covenant with Adonai.
May Elohim bless you and keep you.
