Logic of the Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-1 “And He said to him, “‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40, NASB). This past week my niece Teresita and I are discussing some mental disease issues that plague our family and many other people in the world. We talk about the role of genetics and culture in our lives. Are more people manifesting mental illness these days because there are more things to trigger certain behaviors? For example, we ask if the lack of affirmation of one’s worth something that leads to feelings of isolation and depression. During our conversation the issue of the Ten Commandments and other codes of living are discussed. Does the lack of an accepted moral code give permission for some to treat others in ways that trigger behaviors that leads to great harm; even death? Why is there so much violence in our culture today? Especially, why are teens shooting up their schools and recklessly killing their schoolmates? What can we learn from the Ten Commandments about human behavior? Is their logic in them? Are they arranged in a logical sequence? In this article I take the position that the Ten Commandments are arranged in a logical sequence that helps to stabilize a community and the lives of the individual members living in the community. When we read the passage at the beginning of this article we should be aware of three points. First, the community and its individual members are to love the Lord. Second, every member in the community is to love their neighbor as they love themselves. Thirdly, the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments. In the third point we can see two things. First, one must love the Lord and their neighbor if they will obey the commandments. Secondly, everything that is written in the Law and everything that the Prophets say is based on the commandments to love the Lord and love your neighbor. So, what is the logic in the Ten Commandments? Why are they arranged in the order that they are given? Before I begin let me make one thing clear. The commands of God do not have a Plan B. There are no options. If you are driving down the highway and you see the sign that the speed limit is 55 M.P.H. you do not see an option. You do not see a sign that says, if you want to you can decide to drive at the speed 75 m.p.h. If you are speeding the officer may let you continue. The officer may stop you and give you a speeding ticket, or the officer may give you a warning and not give you a ticket and give you permission to continue on your journey. Regardless, there are no options. In the commandments of God there are no options. You obey or you disobey. Now, I will discuss the logic in the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20:1-2, God states His right to exercise authority over the people. They had been slaves in Egypt and subject to the authority of the Pharoah. However, God contended with Pharoah through ten plagues until Pharoah agrees to let the people leave Egypt. After the people leave Pharoah changes his mind and decides to capture his runaway slaves. God defeats Pharoah at the Red Sea, drowning his army in the sea (Ex. 14:21-31). Now, instead of being under the authority of Pharoah the people are under the authority of a new Lord; a new God. The first four commandments tell the people the things that are necessary for them to do if they will love the Lord their God with all their heart, their soul, and their mind. These four commandments establish a stable and trusting relationship between their God and themselves. If they disobey the relationship becomes unstable, inconsistent, and none trusting. This instability, inconsistency, and lack of trust lead to a deep seated hostility even though this may not at first be apparent. There are pent up emotions and hostilities in the mind. These lead to violence either to oneself or to another person. The scriptures give us a classic example. In Genesis 4 Abel brings God an acceptable offering. His brother Cain brings an offering that does not meet God’s requirements. Cain gets angry with God. He cannot kill God so he displaces his anger onto his brother. Cain murders Abel. The first four commandments if obeyed will keep the community and its individual members in harmony and fellowship with the Lord their God. The first commandment calls for loyalty and commitment to the Lord as their only God. ‘“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3, NASB). The second commandment explains the reason for not worshipping other gods. “For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me” (v. 5). The word “jealous” means that God claims exclusive rights to His people. He will not share His people with another god. The people cannot be faithful to God and worship other gods at the same time. The worship of other gods by one generation has effects lasting until the third and fourth generations. The third commandment results from breaking the second commandment. The word “vain’ means that one is not to use the Lord’s name when His name has lost its meaning in the life of the one who uses it. For example, don’t make an oath using the name of the Lord when you do not regard His authority in your life. The fourth commandment is to set aside one day of the week to rest and focus on God. These first four commandments are designed to keep the community and its individual members in a right relationship with God, and to receive all the blessings that come with that right relationship with the Lord. The next six commandments build upon the first four. In fact, as we have seen in the example of Cain one cannot maintain a right relationship with others if they do not have a right relationship with God. In order to perpetuate this relationship with God the fifth commandment states that children are to honor their father and mother. The family life is established as the primary source of maintaining the right relationship with God from generation to generation. The family offers stability, consistency, and trust among its members. The giving and receiving of love within the family provides for the resources necessary for a good life. The sixth commandment, “Thou shall not murder” points out that violence and murder takes place when a person is lacking in their love for God and family. Murder stems from anger and hostility because of the lack of love in ones primary relationships. The seventh commandment, “you shall not commit adultery” is primarily between a husband and wife. Just as the Lord will not share His people with another god, a husband or wife will not share their spouse with another. This commandment will keep the family together in harmony and fellowship. Let me say that the biggest threat to a relationship between husband and wife is the interference from an outside party. The commandment “You shall not steal” prevents hostilities between two or more people. If one receives the blessing that come with a right relationship with God and family there will be no need to steal. The desire to steal comes from a perceived or real unmet need or it comes from greed. The integrity of the community cannot be maintained if there are people who bear false witness against their neighbor. False witnesses lead to injustices in the community. The guilty escape due punishment and the innocent are unjustly punished and victimized. The last commandment “You shall not covet” prevents one from desiring to take something that belongs to someone else. The person that covets is the person that is at risk of committing adultery, murder, stealing, and lying. The person who is guilty of breaking one of the last six commandments falls short of the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” I hope that the reader of this article can understand that God does not just throw out some rules to control people. God gives the people these commandments because of His love for them. God knows that if the people will obey these commands they will be blessed by God and their fellow community members. Moses gives this exhortation as the Israel is about to enter into the Promised Land: ‘“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all nations on earth. “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God”’ (Deut. 28:1-2, NASB).