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The Ten Commandments |
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The Ten Commandments are eternal gospel principles that are necessary for our exaltation. The Lord revealed them to Moses in ancient times (see Exodus 20:1–17), and they are also referenced in whole or in part in other books of scripture (see Matthew 19:18–19; Romans 13:9;. The Ten Commandments are a vital part of the gospel. Ten Commandments New TestamentAlthough most of the Ten Commandments list things we should not do, they also represent things we should do. The Savior summarized the Ten Commandments in two principles—love for the Lord and love for our fellow men:“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39). (Ex. 34: 28; Deut. 10: 4). The Hebrew name for these is the “Ten Words,” hence the name Decalogue. They are also called the Covenant (Deut. 9: 9) or the Testimony (Ex. 25: 21). The giving of the Ten Commandments by God to Moses, and through him to Israel, is described in Ex. 19: 16 - 20: 21; Ex. 32: 15-19; Ex. 34: 1. They were engraved on two tables of stone, which were placed in the Ark; hence they were called the Ark of the Covenant (Num. 10: 33). There had been a difference of opinion as to the way in which the commandments were divided into ten. The Roman Church, following the example of St. Augustine, unites what we know as the first and second, and divides the last into two. Our Lord, quoting from Deut. 6: 4-5 and Lev. 19: 18, has summarized the Ten Commandments in “two great commandments” (Matt. 22: 37-39). To get their full significance we must read them in the light of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount (see also Mark 2: 27 and Matt. 15: 4-6 for interpretation of 4th and 5th), where it is shown that they are intended to control our thoughts and desires as well as our acts. Ten Commandments and MosesMoses is born during the Hebrew enslavement in Egypt, during a terrible period when Pharaoh decrees that all male Hebrew infants are to be drowned at birth. His mother, Yocheved, desperate to prolong his life, floats him in a basket in the Nile. Hearing the crying child as she walks by, Pharaoh's daughter pities the crying infant and adopts him (Exodus 2:1-10). It surely is no coincidence that the future liberator of Israel is raised as an Egyptian prince. Which further prepared him for leadership.The Torah records only three incidents in Moses' life before God appoints him a prophet. As a young man, outraged at seeing an Egyptian overseer beating a Hebrew slave, he kills the overseer. The next day, he tries to make peace between two Hebrews who are fighting, but the aggressor takes umbrage and says: "Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses immediately understands that he is in danger, for though his high status undoubtedly would protect him from punishment for the murder of a mere overseer, the fact that he killed the man for carrying out his duties to Pharaoh would brand him a rebel against the king. Indeed, Pharaoh orders Moses killed, and he flees to Midian. At this point, Moses probably wants nothing more than a peaceful interlude, but immediately he finds himself in another fight. The seven daughters of the Midianite priest Reuel (also called Jethro) are being abused by the Midianite male shepherds, and Moses rises to their defense (Exodus 2:11-22). God used Moses to deliver the Ten Commandments to the Children of Israel.
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