I grew up in a tradition that valued the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments were important – they were the basis of sin, God’s expectations on us, and all kinds of fun stuff.
A few years ago, the 10 Commandments got a lot of press time here in the
There are three things that most 10 Commandment conversations miss completely.
1) I talked about this in my last blog post – the Ten Commandments are based in God saying, “I am the Lord YOUR God!” We can’t forget the relationship that God puts Himself into with us!
2) He then says in Exodus 20:2, “who rescued you from the
You see, the Ten Commandments are given for saved people! They don’t make much sense until you realize the God has taken you out of the
Beyond that, the Ten Commandments are not given as conditions of acceptance. They are given because you are accepted! You are already accepted! You are already chosen and loved. You are the beautiful bride that God saw and chose and said, “YES! You are MINE!” You have been picked, loved, and freed!
Then, it’s time for the third truth we often miss about the 10 Commandments:
3) The Ten Commandments are written as promises! I’ve always believed they were things I HAD to do and NOT DO! Don’t swear, don’t kill, don’t kill, etc, etc. But, they are actually PROMISES! Check this out:
To my surprise I found that the Ten Commandments in Hebrew grammar (lo’ plus the imperfect tense of the verb) can either be translated as negative commands—prohibitions, or the same Hebrew grammar—those same words—can be translated as emphatic promises. Even the fourth and fifth commandments, that are not in negatives when it says, “Remember the Sabbath,” it doesn’t use the imperative, which is the normal way of giving a command. Those of you that are Hebrew buffs, the fourth (as well as the fifth) commandment uses the infinitive absolute which is often used for a promise in the Hebrew Bible. “You will remember, I promise you, you will remember the Sabbath.” And so it could be translated either way …
As a child I was taught the Ten Commandments starting with verse 3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” That’s not where the Ten Commandments start. That’s not where God starts speaking. It starts in verse 2 where He says, “I am the Lord your God who has brought you out of the house of bondage. I’ve redeemed you by the blood of the Lamb. You’re already saved and now I’m going to promise you power to keep My law.” And if you start in verse 2, the rest of the commandments are promises. I promise you, you won’t want to have any other gods before you. You won’t want to take My name in vain. You’ll want to remember the Sabbath. You’ll want to honor your father and mother. There is not a negative in that law! – From Love Song for the Sabbath, pages 36-37, by Richard Davidson
These are PROMISES! This is the same thing that is meant throughout the Bible:
· Jeremiah 31:33
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of
· Ezekiel 11:19
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, 20 so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.
· Romans 3:31
Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.
As we look at God’s heart through the Ten Commandments, we’ll be looking at them with new eyes – we’ll be looking at them as Ten Promises of a New Life!