Daily Scripture Reading Exodus 19:16 - 20:17

Many Christians believe the ten commandments given to Israel at Mount Sinai are some of the core verses that need to govern our behavior as Christians. Technically, that is not correct. The ten commandments were given to Israel and do not apply to the church. However, nine of the ten commandments were repeated in the New Testament, so in practice we need to avoid most of the behaviors listed in the ten commandments. While this may seem like semantics, this is an important distinction to understand when it comes to whether or not we need to observe the one commandment that is not repeated in the New Testament.

After leaving Egypt and traveling through the wilderness, Israel arrived at Mount Sinai. Yahweh gave Moses and the Israelites three days warning that He was going to come down in the sight of all people. The people were told to wash their garments. Moses was instructed to set the people apart as holy.

Ex. 19:16 ¶ So it happened on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Notice the word “trembled”. The people were afraid. The Bible tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The thunder, lightning, and trumpet sound created such a fearsome atmosphere that the Israelites grasped how vulnerable they were to the power of Yahweh; thus, they trembled.

Ex. 19:17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Ex. 19:18 ¶ Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Yahweh descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.

The last few words tell us “the whole mountain trembled violently”. The Israelites felt the earth shaking.

Ex. 19:19 And the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder; then Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.

Take note that the trumpet sound grew “louder and louder”. Amidst the smoke and trembling earth, Israel also heard a trumpet sound that kept getting louder. This was probably the most fearsome thing the Israelites had ever experienced.

Ex. 19:20 And Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Ex. 19:21 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to see, and many of them perish.

Ex. 19:22 Also let the priests who come near to Yahweh set themselves apart as holy, lest Yahweh break out against them.”

Ex. 19:23 And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain, and set it apart as holy.’”

There was a clear boundary line between Yahweh and humans.

Ex. 19:24 Then Yahweh said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest He break out against them.”

Ex. 19:25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The first 17 verses of chapter 20, which we are about to read, are the ten commandments. Many Christians think the ten commandments apply today, but they were actually given to Israel. The pronoun “you” appears frequently in the following verses, and that pronoun refers to Israel, not the church, and not all of humanity.

Having said that, nine of the ten commandments were repeated in the New Testament, so we are not free to behave in ways contradictory to most of the ten commandments.

Ex. 20:1 ¶ Then God spoke all these words, saying,

Ex. 20:2 ¶ “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Ex. 20:3 ¶ “You shall have no other gods before Me.

The pronoun “You” refers to Israel. The New Testament tells us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (see Matthew 22:37), and “keep yourselves from idols” (see 1John 5:21), so we should not have any other gods in the church age.

Ex. 20:4 ¶ “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.

Ex. 20:5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh 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,

Ex. 20:6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

The practice of making idols was condemned in Acts 17:16 “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” and Romans 1:22-23 “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

Ex. 20:7 ¶ “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Blasphemy was condemned in 1Timothy 1:20 “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.” See also 2Peter 2:12 “But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction”.

Ex. 20:8 ¶ “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The New Testament does not tell us to treat the sabbath day as holy. In fact, Romans 14:5-6 indicates it is okay to treat all days the same: “One person judges one day above another, another judges every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.”

It is wise for us in the church age to have a day of rest. However, we are not sinning if we work every day of the week.

Ex. 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

Ex. 20:10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh 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.

Ex. 20:11 For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Ex. 20:12 ¶ “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

This command is expressly repeated in Ephesians 6:2-3 “Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Ex. 20:13 ¶ “You shall not murder.

There are multiple passages in the New Testament which include murder in a list of sins. One passage is Romans 1:29 “They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips”

Ex. 20:14 ¶ “You shall not commit adultery.

This sin is prohibited by multiple verses, including 1Th. 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;”

Ex. 20:15 ¶ “You shall not steal.

Stealing is prohibited by Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

Ex. 20:16 ¶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

This activity is prohibited by Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Ex. 20:17 ¶ “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.”

Covetousness is forbidden by Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Many Christians believe the ten commandments given to Israel at Mount Sinai are some of the core verses that need to govern our behavior as Christians. Technically, that is not correct. The ten commandments were given to Israel and do not apply to the church. However, nine of the ten commandments were repeated in the New Testament, so in practice we need to avoid most of the behaviors listed in the ten commandments.

The one commandment that is not repeated in the New Testament is the command to observe the Sabbath. While it is wise to have a day of rest, it is not a sin to work every day of the week.

What is the benefit of observing a sabbath even though the New Testament does not require us to do so?

Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you and please tell others about Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. In order to join, go to Bible Mountain dotcom, click on subscribe, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold nor given away. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.

“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”