The Ten Commandments: The Setting for the Ten Commandments

The Ten Comman= dments

Truths for All Ti= me

T= he Setting for the Ten Commandments

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Exodus 19:1-25 &= 20:18-20

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introduction=

Three months after th= e Exodus – leaving Egyp= t – the people come to Sinai. There approximately 600,000 men appeared before God to receive His covenant with them. Here they became a nation, a = holy nation, and a treasured people to God.&nbs= p; The 600,000 had been through three months of desert and must have appeared as ragged, simply clad and now nomadic shepherds. The scene out in front of Mt. Sinai had to have been most amazin= g! According to Keil & Delitsch Mt. Sinai:

“At its southern extremity Horeb, with its granite rocks, runs a= lmost precipitously to the height of 1200 or 1500 feet!”<= /p>

This was God’s = choice of place and His plan, for he had told Moses when he called Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1, 12).

Friday, Nov 9, 2001 PAX= tv 8:30 p.m.

A documentary<= o:p>

Two archeologists have discovered the location of Mt. Sinai where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.

The mountain is Jabal-Elel, a part of the Horeb<= /span> Mountain Range.

D= iscovered 12 pillars of rock at the base.

Also a picture of a g= olden calf with Egyptian writing

Rocks on top of Sinai= black: burned with intense heat;

Result of God coming = down on top of Sinai!

Located in N.W. Saudi= Arabia – the Arabian Peninsula;

Now fenced off by Sau= di government;

Dead Sea Scrolls iden= tify Mt. Sinai as in Saudi = Peninsula;

According to Josephus= , region of city of Mabian is where Mt.= Sinai was located; this would fit = the location found by the archeologists!

19:3 = “say” . . . “explain”

Two different Hebrew words:

The first “say” implies a mild form = of speech.

“The house of Jacob” refers to the women of the nation.

Tenderness must be us= ed at times in communicating God’s Law and it is to the maternal ones who a= re the most suited by nature to teach their children with tenderness.

The second “explain” is a rougher wo= rd implying firmness or even harshness,

“Israelites” here is speaking of the men of the nation.

The strength of spiri= tual and moral character must be strong in them since they are leaders of their families. As the men go, so goes the nation!

Several features of the Sinai Account seemed designed by God to strongly impress the Nation of Israel with His majesty and the holiness of His Law.

These include=

The reminder of what God had done to the Egyptians (19:3-= 4)

The striking setting or scene of the high granite mountai= n

The powerful thunder, fire and smoke on the mountain=

The powerful shaking or earthquake

The prohibition given to Moses for the people not to appr= oach God

The sounding blast of the shofar

The thundering voice = of the Almighty

In addition to these another striking feature is=

The accompaniment of = an army of angels!

Deuteronomy 33:1-2

This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God,= gave the Israelites before his death. Gn 49:1–33
He said: The Lord came from Sinai and appeared to them from Seir; He shone [on them] The bracketed text has been added for clarity. from Mount Paran and came with ten thousand holy ones, LXX reads = with lightning Or fiery law; Hb obscure from His right han= d Or ones, from His southland to the mountain slopes for them. Jdg 5:4–5; Ps 68:7–8; Hab 3:3=

Psalm 68:17

God’s chariots Hab 3:8 are tens of thousands, thousands and thousands; the Lord is among them in the sanctuary Or = in holiness as He was at Sinai.= =

Acts 7:53

You received the law under the direction of ange= ls and yet have not kept it.

Galatians 3:19b

[The law] The bracketed text has been added for clarity. was ordered through angels by means of a mediator.=

Hebrews 2:2

For if the message spoken through angels was leg= ally binding, Or valid, or reliable and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,

John Alexander Hayes &= nbsp; Presbyterian Minister

In his book, The Ten Commandments, wrote in 1931:

It may be asked why the Commandments came in this manner and under such awe-inspiring circumstances. They were thus given that they might awaken faith in the mightiness of God; that the people might understand something of the authority of God; that a basis of certainty mig= ht be given to moral truth; that the authority of conscience might be strengthened, and that a man might be aware of the power of God, who thus declared the compass of that man’s obligations.=

And the response of t= he people was that they shuddered and trembled (19:16 & 20:18).=

Survey of the Ten Commandmen= ts

The First Commandment

The Worship of God: Putting God First in Our Lives

The Second Commandment

The Conception of God: Worshipping God in Spirit and Truth

The Third Commandment

      The Honor of God:        &= nbsp;         Reverencing and Exalting God’s N= ame

The Fourth Commandment

  &nbs= p;   The Priority of God            =      Dedicating Time for Worship & Rest=

The Fifth Commandment

  &nbs= p;   The Family Relation:         Honoring Our Parents

The Sixth Commandment

      The Sacredness of Life        &= nbsp;   Protecting and Honoring Human Life

The Seventh Commandment        =

  &nbs= p;   The Sanctity of Marriage   Defending the Marriage Relationship

The Eighth Commandment

  &nbs= p;   The Rights of Property       Respecting the Possessions of Others

The Ninth Commandment

  &nbs= p;   The Value of Reputation   Refusing to = Commit Perjury or Slander

The Tenth Commandment

  &nbs= p;   The Motives of Life            =      Guarding Your Heart and Its Desires

Conclusion

Men, Are you the firm= and strong leaders of your home,

Teaching your family rever= ence for God and to walk in fear and obedience to Him?

            Are you teaching them the principles of the 10 C s?

Women=      Are you using the tenderness of your nature to nurture your children spiritually?

Are you taking time to tea= ch them the truths of the 10 C s?