The second way that “Commandment” is used in the Hebrew Scriptures is the word Dabar (דָּבָר ). This is “after EVERY THING I have commanded.” Basically it’s a summarization of previous commands; so now, let’s look at EXACTLY what the “10 Commandments” are…
The ten commandments, or "the ten words" or "the ten sayings" (עשרת הדברים transliterated Asereth ha-D'bharîm) are the basis on which the Mosaic Law (law of Moses) were based on. They contain ten divine principles that Jehovah asks all people, believer and non-believer alike, to observe because these are His divine qualities and in following them we reflect His glory.
Before I start, I will tell you that aspects of the law were present in the garden of Eden. However, they were formalized at Mount Sinai with Moses. The 10 Commandments (or Aseret Hadibrot, “The Ten Statements,” in Hebrew) were communicated by God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, 40 days after the Exodus from Egypt. The event is known as the Giving of the Torah. God then carved the Ten Commandments onto two tablets of stone, which he gave to Moses. Moses smashed the tablets, and God carved the Ten Commandments onto a second set of tablets, which were subsequently placed in the Ark of the Covenant.
In English these “Commandments/Statements” are:
am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of anything that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any manner of work—you, your son, your daughter, your man-servant, your maid-servant, your cattle, and your stranger that is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day, and hallowed it.
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his manservant, his maid-servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
According to Chabad, you can read the commandments down each tablet, or we can read them from side to side. This Midrash provides the connection:
Commandments 1 and 6: Every human is created in the image of G‑d, so murder is an affront to the Creator.
Commandments 2 and 7: When one worships a deity other than G‑d, it is as akin to adultery. G‑d is our loving spouse (and much more).
Commandments 3 and 8: A person may feel that stealing is only between him and the victim, but it is also a crime against G‑d, whose name will ultimately be taken falsely.
Commandments 4 and 9: Through keeping Shabbat, we testify that G‑d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. When one disregards Shabbat, he testifies falsely about the Divine origin of the universe.
Commandments 5 and 10: The juxtaposition of jealousy and honoring parents tell us that one who lusts after that which is not his, will ultimately give birth to a child who curses his parents and honors others instead.
The Mosaic Law goes into more detail (613 laws—which includes the 10 Commandments) about the day-to-day life of the Israelites... behaving neighborly, dietary concerns, health and welfare. A perfect system for an imperfect people. However, each of the laws may be traced back to one of the ten commandments as its basis for existence.
The Ten Commandments were also given with a few small changes to the Children of Israel about 38 years later. This is recorded in the book of Deuteronomy in Chapter 5. All of The 613 Mitzvot are actually contained within these Ten Mitzvot. This does not mean that the 613 Mitzvot are easy to find there, or that they are performed just by observing these Ten. This is meant mostly in a spiritual sense, and because 5 of them have to do with our relationship with God, and 5 of them have to do with our relationships with each other. However, one does good to remember that the laws of the Sabbath Day are not binding on everyone, however they are binding on only the Jewish people.
In Romans 3:20 Paul said, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”Without the standard provided by the Law there’s no way to tell what is sin and what is not, just like without a posted speed limit there’s no way to tell what is speeding and what is not.
When Jesus clarified the requirements of the law in Matt. 5-6, He showed that God’s standards are so high that even the Pharisees, who were obsessive about keeping the law, could not hope to achieve the righteousness God requires (Matt. 5:20). His purpose was to demonstrate man’s inescapable need for a Savior.
In summary the Law was given to quantify God’s requirements for righteousness, so we would know what He expects, and to convince us that without a Savior we can never meet His requirements.
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