Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 12 to 17, the Ten Commandments, part 3

 

Exodus 20:12 ¶  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13  Thou shalt not kill. 14  Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15  Thou shalt not steal. 16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Paul reinforces these commandments again for the Christian.

Romans 13:8  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The commandment to honor one’s father and mother is interestingly brought up through Paul by the Holy Spirit in the context of family relations.

Ephesians 6:1 ¶  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Jesus defined verse 13 and clarified it for us showing it to be a reference to killing an innocent person.

Matthew 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

This is not a commandment against defending yourself or an innocent third-party from attack.

Luke 22:35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36  Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 37  For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. 38  And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Adultery, a type of fornication where the marriage vows are broken is very serious to God. Jesus, in the following passage insists that you have committed adultery when you desire to seek after someone other than your spouse, long before any physical action is committed. It would be better if you were to blind or cripple yourself rather than do such a thing.

Matthew 5:27 ¶  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31  It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced  committeth adultery. [This sentence should be interpreted as shall marry her that is divorced for any other reason just as James 1:13 should be interpreted with evil at the end of it because the context calls for that understanding and it is not necessary to add the words in the text.]

Of course, sermons can be made about how adultery symbolizes the Hebrew people and the individual Christian holding something other than God in high esteem.

Theft undermines the very basis on which security within any civilization rests; the right of property. Outside of a Buddhist monk and his begging bowl I doubt there is any culture that doesn’t condemn stealing from someone. There will be many regulations regarding theft in the Law explained in more detail. For examples, see Leviticus, chapters 6 and 19.

Bearing false witness, lying to accuse someone falsely, is not only lying but is the most malicious gossip and the most unjust legal proceeding. God called His people not to lie to one another, true.

Leviticus 19:11 ¶  Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

But, lying to accuse someone falsely played an important part in the actions that resulted in Christ’s crucifixion for our sins.

Matthew 26:57 ¶  And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58  But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59  Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60  But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61  And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

We like to call something gossip when someone tells something true about us when we are not present but the gossip referred to in the Bible is malicious and false.