The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments  (Exodus 20:3-17) 

In Matthew 22:36-40 it reads:

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

From these verses we can identify that the Lord said the two “great” commandments were to “love God,” and “love our neighbors,” and “all” other commandments fall under these two “great” commandments. The list of the Ten Commandments is part of these two “great” commandments and fall under them as follows:

“love God”	“love neighbor”
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).	“Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12).
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (Exodus 20:4).	“Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7).	“Thou shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).	“Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
	“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16).
	“Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17).

We can clearly see how the commandments the Lord has given us illustrate the importance of loving Him, and all mankind. By keeping and following the Ten Commandments we are following the Lord’s greatest commandments. Unfortunately, we know and see many of these commandments being broken or disregarded on a daily basis. From the Ten Commandments above, I feel that the most commonly neglected by the world are, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” These commandments are easily overseen by the world on a day-to-day basis. First, worldly obsessions of any type can be considered false idols, and we must be aware when we are placing these things before God. Second, we hear profanity all around us. The world disregards the commandment of not taking the Lord’s name in vain. We hear so many words that are not only offensive to others, ourselves, but to the Lord as well. This is so damaging to one’s soul. Lastly, the sabbath is not observed, as it should be. We see many working, traveling, playing, shopping, and many other things that are not in accordance with these commandment. It’s so easy to neglect this sabbath and to try and justify, but in reality it is a commandment that we should use this day to rest of worldly things, and to use it to worship, grow spiritually, and closer to the Lord.

If all God’s children kept these three commandments the difference it would make in the world would be enormous. It may not seem so, but when our minds are not focused on seeking worldly things, we will have more time to seek the Lord, and help others. If we all refrained from using vulgar language or profanity of any kind, we will be more blessed, and have a more loving spirit towards others, the Lord, and ourselves as well. Likewise, giving up our Sunday activities to worship, and come closer to the Lord will enlighten our minds, and bless our lives. This can help the many problems that we are seeing on this Earth today. By keeping these commandments we will be more engaged in doing the Lord’s work, and blessed for loving him, and those around us as well as we are commanded to do.