Thursday 26 April 2012

For Christians, the Ten Commandments have taken on something ofthe significance of the 'Shema' for devout Jews. Shema is theHebrew for the first word of "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God,the Lord alone" (Deuteronomy 6:4). These are the first words ofone of the three passages of Scripture at the centre of Jewishmorning and evening prayers. They are a declaration of faith in oneGod. So the Ten Commandments have decorated the walls of Christianchurches, have been repeated regularly in worship, and taught tochildren. They too have affirmed faith in one God, and have beenseen as providing a set of rules to guide the life of the believer.They have also provided the framework for secular law, and thushave been influential outside the world of the Church.

In recent years, the evangelist J John has toured the country withhis Just Ten programme, interpreting the Commandments for today'sworld. Significantly, he has worked backwards through them,climaxing on the first one: "I am the Lord your God ... you shallhave no other gods but me" (vv. 2-3). This recognition of one Godset Israel apart from other nations. The sovereignty of God isparamount, and is authority for the commandments themselves.

They can be seen as negative - eight of them contain the word"not" and of the two remaining, the rule about the observance ofthe Sabbath (verses 10-11) could be seen as restrictive, but thatdoes not take away the value of their guidance for life and faith.In Exodus 20, they are spoken directly to the people, rather thanthrough Moses or some other human intermediary, which adds to theirstrength. They are thus sometimes known as the Ten Words of God(Decalogue).

Space does not permit an examination of each Commandment in turn.As J John attempts to interpret them for today, so at verse 22begins a series of expansion and interpretation of the Commandmentswhich extends to the end of chapter 23, and is known as the 'Bookof the Covenant'.

To Ponder

Do you think that the Ten Commandments aresufficient guidance for life today? What would youadd/subtract?

Which, for you, is the most importantcommandment? Why? How much does the keeping of rules influence yourlife of faith? Is this constricting or liberating?