Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. These books tell about the birth of the Israelite nation thousands of years ago. God gave Moses a mission: to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and to help them become a light to the other nations. This rescue from Egypt was called the first Passover. But it also happened in a way that pointed to a future deliverance for all mankind.
After this, Moses still had more to do. He needed to teach the people how to live in a new way. So, fifty days after Passover, he led them to Mount Sinai. There, God gave Moses a special Law for the people to follow.
At Mount Sinai, Moses received a full law with 613 commands. But before giving the whole law, God gave a special group of ten commands, written on stone. These are called the Ten Commandments. They were different from the others—they were the moral foundation, the basic rules that came before all the others. These Ten Commandments are God’s way of showing us that we need to repent. This article will look closely at them.
Author unknown, photograph by Shai Halevi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Ten Commandments
God Himself spoke these words and wrote them on stone. Moses then recorded them in the Bible in the book of exodus:
And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
exodus 20:1–17
The Standard of the Ten Commandments
Today, some people treat these commandments like they are suggestions or helpful tips. But these are not suggestions—they are commands. So how seriously should we take them?
Before God gave the Ten Commandments, He told Moses:
Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel…”
exodus 19:3
And God added:
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine…”
exodus 19:5
And after the commandments were given, the people responded:
Then he took the Book of the covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”
exodus 24:7
Ten Commands — Not Multiple Choice
In school, sometimes teachers give you a test with many questions, but they let you choose which ones to answer—maybe 15 out of 20. That makes the test easier.
Many people think God gave the Ten Commandments in the same way—like He meant, “Try your best to keep a few of them.” We hope our good deeds will cancel out our bad ones. That’s why many people do religious activities—like going to church, praying, fasting, or giving to the poor—hoping it balances things out.
But the truth is, God didn’t give us that option. He meant for us to obey all of the commandments all the time. This is very difficult, and some people even reject the Ten Commandments for that reason.
One famous atheist, Christopher Hitchens, said this:
“… then comes the four famous ‘shalt nots’ which flatly prohibit killing, adultery, theft, and false witness. Finally there is a ban on covetousness, forbidding the desire for ‘thy neighbours’… chattel. … Instead of the condemnation of evil actions, there is an oddly phrased condemnation of impure thoughts…. It demands the impossible…. One may be forcibly restrained from wicked actions…, but to forbid people from contemplating them is too much…. If god really wanted people to be free of such thoughts, he should have taken more care to invent a different species.”
Christopher Hitchens. 2007. God is not great: How religion spoils everything. P.99-100
Why Did God Give the Ten Commandments?
Some people think that God either accepts our 50% effort or that He made a mistake by asking the impossible. But both of these are wrong.
God gave us the Ten Commandments to show us what is wrong.
Think about this: Imagine you fall and hurt your arm badly. You’re in pain, but you don’t know if it’s just bruised or if the bone is broken. You go for an X-ray, and the image clearly shows the bone is broken. Does the X-ray heal your arm? No. But it shows you the truth so you can get the right treatment.
The Commands reveal Sin
The Ten Commandments are like an X-ray. They don’t fix us. But they reveal a problem inside us—our sin.
Sin means ‘missing’ the target of how God wants us to live.
The Lord looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
Psalm 14:2–3
We all have this inner corrupting problem of sin. And even our best efforts don’t fix it. The Bible says:
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64:6
We think we’re good if we compare ourselves to others. But we’re using the wrong standard. Some people work harder to be more religious. Others just give up and live for themselves. But the Bible is clear:
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Romans 3:20
So, the Commandments are like an X-ray. They don’t heal us, but they help us see our need for help.
God’s Gift Given in Repentance
The solution God offers is a free gift: the forgiveness of sins. He gives this gift through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The article here explains this more fully.
When we trust in what God has done through Jesus, we are made right with Him—not by keeping the Law, but by faith.
… know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:16
This is how we can receive Righteousness, just like Abraham that was justified before God. But we must repent.
To repent means to change our mind—to turn away from sin and turn toward God and the Gift He offers.
repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Acts 3:19
When we repent, God no longer counts our sins against us. Instead, we receive Life.
That first Passover and Abraham’s test showed us God’s plan. Likewise, the specific day when God gave the Ten Commandments also points to something greater.
It points forward to the day of Pentecost, when God gave the Holy Spirit to live inside believers. His Spirit gives us the strength to live in a way we cannot on our own.