The Shield of Faith: Decalogue (“10 commands”)

It may seem strange to follow up a post on the First “Commandment” of the Decalogue with one on the Tenth. But I think it may help demonstrate to you how all Ten are a unified message, not simply a list. Consider what happens if he go straight from One to Ten. I submit that this sounds quite natural and logical:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me… You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
Exodus 20:2, 2, 17 ESV

I recently had a chance to plan a Sunday School lesson of “the first commandment”…

(I use quote marks because the term common at Mount Sinai is “word” or “matter.” Maybe “rule” would cover the nuances better. It is not wrong to call them commandments. Jesus (Matthew 19:17), Paul (Ephesians 6:2), and Luke (23:56) refer to them as “commandments,” for instance. But it is not the word used in the Pentateuch, even though they are emphatically commanded by God to keep the Ten Words.)

When I set about the task, it surprised me that it did not seem obvious how to go about it. What point do you make about the First Word if you are not 1. Refuting atheism and defending theism, or 2. teaching a series on “The Doctrine of God,” or 3. teaching about the Trinity or the incarnation, etc.? In other words how do you exhort Christians to live better, or to amend their lives, to conform better to the First Word in a practical way?

Category: The Shield of Faith: Decalogue (“10 commands”)

The Path to Personal Integrity from First Command to Tenth

The Obedience of Faith in the First Word