The Ten Suggestions?

It is widely accepted that the universe is governed by a set of what are called “scientific laws.”   These include: the laws of motion, electromagnetism, attraction, thermodynamics, energy, entropy, and so on.  Our understanding of these laws is not concrete, but their existence is.

A scientific law does not explain why an action takes place, but only that it does take place.  It also does not describe the result of the action, as that can vary depending on circumstances.

 

If a man jumps off of the Empire State Building without a parachute, the law of gravity predicts his accelerated motion and velocity upon impact with the ground. The law of energy describes the amount of potential energy that he possesses as he stands on the edge, and the amount of energy imparted to the concrete below when his adventure concludes. This leaves our imagination to describe his exaggerated surface area and the trauma caused to the onlookers. 

If the man believes that gravity does not exist, will he still fall?  If, during the freefall, he concludes that since he is still alive, there are no adverse effects to defying gravity, does that make it so?  It’s a lot to think about in 8 ½ seconds.

 

Most people just accept that this is just the way the universe is.  They don’t consider it bondage to refrain from attempting the stunt described earlier.  Most people do not fight against the “scientific laws” or pretend that they don’t exist.  Maybe if they were labeled “scientific commandments” more people would reject their importance and label them as “bondage” as is so common with regard to the Ten Commandments of the Bible. 

These Ten Commandments have become the victims of erroneous labeling, leading to some confusion, and the abandonment of the first one.

1.    “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”  

Where is the command here?  What place does this have in a list of do’s and don’ts? 

Interestingly enough, in the Hebrew the “ten commandments” are simply called the “ten words” or “ten statements”  (Exodus 34:28).   This first one is not a commandment, but rather a statement of fact about the identity of our King, and it proclaims by what authority the other nine statements are given. Without this one, we would be confused when the second statement proclaims: “You shall have no other gods before Me…”  We would not know who this “Me” is talking about. 

The Ten Statements contain all the necessities for a kingdom: Authority, Territory, Citizens, and Laws.

The first proclaims the authority of the kingdom.  The second and third statements are about respecting that authority.  

The Sabbath, in the fourth statement, represents the kingdom of God.  “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ‘For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His’”  (Hebrews 4:9‭-‬10, NKJV).  This is the territory of the kingdom.  

The last six statements are about mankind, and our relationship with our fellow man.  We are the citizens of the kingdom.  

All ten together are the laws of the land/kingdom.

There is a whole lot more to the Ten Statements than a list of do’s and don’ts.  Through them, we can learn about our King and His infinite wisdom!  The Ten Statements are so simple and yet all encompassing; they each have a physical and a spiritual application.  

Yeshua gave an example of this when He expounded on the 7th statement in Matthew 5:28.  

These statements can be contained on a single stone tablet, or a piece of paper, and yet they contain more wisdom than all the libraries full of man’s laws that exist!  How so?  Mankind’s laws cannot bring happiness or blessings; they cannot draw us nearer to our Creator; they cannot cause their adherents to live in harmony with each other.  In fact, the more of man’s laws that people are subject to, the more their freedoms are infringed, the more stress is compounded, and the more criminality is rampant.  

In the text below, the upper text for each of the statements is the King James Version, and the lower text is the Literal Translation

I.          I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt…

            I Am Jehovah* your Mighty One who brought you from [the] land of Egypt… 

II.         Thou shalt have no other gods before Me…   

            There will not be to you other mighty ones before My face…                          

III.       Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain…

            You will not lift up the name of Jehovah*  your God for vanity…

IV.       Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

           Remember the day [of] the Sabbath to sanctify it.

V.        Honour thy father and thy mother…

           Honour your father and your mother…

        

VI.       Thou shalt not kill

           You will not murder

VII.     Thou shalt not commit adultery

           You will not commit adultery

                                

VIII.   Thou shalt not steal

           You will not steal

IX.      Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

          You will not answer in your neighbor [for] a false witness  

X.        Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house…              

           You will not desire the house of your neighbor…

These Ten Statements are not a list of do’s and don’ts, but rather a list of realities set forth by the Creator Himself!  They are universal laws just the same as the “scientific laws” which govern the physical creation around us.  The Creator has established at creation, the principles of motion, electromagnetism, attraction, thermodynamics, energy, entropy, and His moral law.

If we defy the laws that are set forth to govern human behavior there may not be immediate consequences (at least that we can recognize)  but you can be sure that those consequences will be manifested.  Remember the analogy of the gravity skeptic that you read earlier.  The penalty for breaking the Creator’s moral law is death (I John 3:4, Romans 6:23).  It is only through the sacrifice of our Messiah that we can be forgiven and inherit eternal life!  

Adherence to these 10 laws is what is expected of us humans.   They are the foundation for all the other laws in the Bible (the instruction manual for the governance of our lives).

This post is intended to serve as an introduction for future posts that will cover each of the ten laws in greater detail.   

 *Jehovah, not His actual name.  This is a subject by itself.