Exodus 20 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Exodus 20:1-17

1 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 labour 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 ‘Honour 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 neighbour.

17 ‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.’

A. Find Out:

1. How did the Lord identify Himself? v.2
2. In the 2nd command how did He identify Himself? v.5
3. How was that seen as good? v.6
4. Why was the 7th day so special? v.11
5. Who was to rest on the 7th day? v.10
6. What promise comes with honouring parents? v.12

B. Think:

1. How are these commandments about Israel ‘s relationship with God?
2. How is the 5th command so crucial in God’s eyes?
3. How would you summarise the last 5 commands?

C. Comment:

      Many people today will say that they believe the ten commandments are a perfect basis for a stable civilized society, but few when questioned realise that the first four are all about a relationship with the Lord.

      In the first four our attitude towards God is challenged: do we ensure we have no rival to God, that we set up no alternative to God, that we respect and remember Him and honour Him as Lord of creation. The fifth commandment was the first command with a promise (see Ephesians 6:2,3) emphasizing God’s regard for the most basic building block of human relations, child to parent. What that fails, society fails.

     The last five commands establish our behaviour in a society. The rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16 -19) was told by Jesus to keep these commands and Jesus later summarised them all as two simple instructions (Matthew 22:36 -40), “Love God and love your neighbour as yourself”. As we walk daily in the Spirit (Romans 8:4) we will be fulfilling the law. We build ON these foundation stones, we don’t keep digging them up to check them, for that just brings failure and despair (Romans 7:15 -24), but they ARE the basics that underpin our lives.

D. Application?

1. “Love” with no content is meaningless. If you wonder what “love”  means, return to these commands.
2. Absence of these suggests a godless and unrighteous society or life.

Passage: Exodus 20:18-26

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us or we will die.’

20 Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites this: “You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

24 ‘“Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honoured, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.”

A. Find Out:

1. What was the reaction of the people? v.18
2. What didn’t they want to happen? v.19
3. What did Moses say God had done? v.20
4. What did the Lord tell them not to do? v.23
5. What were they to do? v.24
6. How long were they not to do it? v.25

B. Think:

1. What impression had Israel received of the Lord?
2. How had God tested them?
3. How did the Lord say they could express their worship?

C. Comment:

     Having heard and seen signs of the Lord’s presence on the mountain, the people are fearful and are quite sure in their minds that they want to keep the Lord at a distance. He appears a mighty and a powerful and fearful God and so they obey His instructions and stay at a distance. The Lord has succeeded in creating a sense of respect for Himself in them. Then the Lord directs Moses to reiterate to the people that they are not to make idols or anything else as a representation of Him but, knowing they need some expression of worship, they should offer sacrifices rather than bow down to images. Sacrifices mean giving up something to God, making an effort to present something to Him. It requires much greater effort to bring a sacrifice than bow before an image.

     The Lord also gives instruction about the sort of altar they are to create on which to sacrifice. First it should preferably be earth i.e. of simple unadorned construction. If it was of stone it was to be just piled rough stones, none of which had been worked upon. The Lord wanted any construction of the altar to be simple so that the people would not start making a big thing of it and concentrate more on the ritual than the simple act of worship.

D. Application?

1. “Dress up” our worship or is it that simple offering of the heart?
2. Worship must be in spirit & in truth (John 4:24 )