We ought to be able to keep these at our fingertips, the real “10 Secrets of Successful People.”
Exodus 20 begins with what are often called the Ten Commandments (vv 1-17), but in Hebrew, the Ten Words. “God spoke all these words” (v 1). Many more details will follow, but what an amazing list! Atheists often make fun of these, but imagine condensing the whole moral code down to a few sentences. Experts have given up on calculating how many laws and regulations there are in America, but the US Code alone has about 22 million words. (The whole NKJV Bible has just over seven hundred and seventy thousand words.) We will consider these Ten in the next episodes, but let’s begin with a few observations. Right away, we see the relationship between what we believe and how we behave. The number 10 in Scripture often speaks of human responsibility mirrored in the digits of our hands and feet, emphasizing our work and our walk. It’s interesting to note as well that the 10 plagues in Egypt were accomplished by “the finger of God” (8:19) and these 10 commands were also written with “the finger of God” (31:18). The list has two sets of five—ideal for two tablets of stone. We find out later (32:15) that “The tablets were written on both sides.” Jesus explained the two that embrace the rest: over the first five we could write, “Love God,” and over the second five, “Love your neighbor.” The first five show what God rightfully deserves, concluding with His right to establish the family as an outpost of divine rule, and the second five are to protect man’s God-given rights. If just these commands were obeyed, what a wonderful society we would have! The people had confidently declared, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (19:8). But as usual, when all is said and done, more is said than done!