Art Reading Scripture

Moses With The Tablets of the Law, Claude Vignon 1593-1670, National Museum of Art Stockholm

Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Exodus 34:28

Moses declared to you his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is, the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two stone tablets. Deuteronomy 4:13

Then Moses wrote on the tablets the same words as before, the ten commandments that the LORD had spoken on the mountain out of the fire on the day of assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. Deuteronomy 10:4

Luther taught the Ten Commandments first in the Small Catechism. Faith begins here. The Bible begins here. Faith and the Bible begin with the declaration of the 1st Commandment: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before (besides) me." Exodus 20:2 The Ten Commandments were recorded in two places in the Bible, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. The three passages above are the only passages of the Bible with the words, "the ten commandments." Though the Torah, the Law or Way of God for the people of Israel to live, included many other ordinances and statutes, these ten have stood out. Precise, compact, and seemingly clear they seem universal.

First, I believe faith and the Bible begin with the 1st Commandment. More, even rather than, than an account of the creation of the world, Genesis 1 asserts the 1st Commandment. It asserts that nothing in creation may be worshipped as God because everything is created by God. Before giving the commandments in Deuteronomy Moses connected the creation account to the 1st Commandment. "Since you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, take care and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not act corruptly by making an idol for yourselves, in the form of any figure - the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And when you look up to the heavens and see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, do not be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples everywhere under heaven." Deuteronomy 4:15-19 The language Deuteronomy against idolatry and the 1st Commandment precisely connects to the language of Genesis 1. Creationism is a misinterpretation of Genesis one that simply misses the point. Without the 1st Commandment neither faith nor the Bible have any foundation.

Second, while many have desired to see these as generic foundations of civil law appropriately displayed on courthouse lawns, they are not. One has only to read the 1st commandment and the two that follow to grasp this. The first three commandments are intimately tied to religious matters rather than civil ones, and are deeply imbedded in Judaism as opposed to any other religion. The "LORD," in all caps, refers specifically to the divine name revealed to Moses and Israel rather than to any other nation or in any way a reference to God generically. Likewise misuse of the name is a religious matter, rather than a matter of free speech. The Sabbath commandment refers to Saturday, the seventh day, the holy day of Israel for rest, rather than say to Sunday, a day Christians designate for celebrating the resurrection, or Friday the holy day of Islam. To read the commandments in a generic manner is an offense to Judaism and religion. More faithful than displays of courthouse lawns would be the display of these on church lawns and in the homes of God's people.

I could say thirdly, fourthly, fifthly (all the way to ten) thoughts on this. Though written simply, the commandments are complex. Luther did not limit honor to father and mother but expanded the commandment to "others in authority." Murder seems clear enough, but a soldier needed further explanation form Luther about how it applied to war. Adultery is about faithfulness in relationships, more than merely about sexual infidelity. Luther understood that the prohibition against theft included honesty in business and protection of one's neighbor's property. To bear false witness is not the generic "You shall not lie." Bearing false witness was about relationship to the neighbor. The two commandments about coveting would never come to a law court, yet the commandments double down on envy, greed, and desire that tempts us to value things and see others as things in selfish ways. God gave Moses and the children of Israel, and by extension through them to us, these words. They were intended as gifts to help us live, rather than limitations which might tempt us to evil or condemn us to guilt and shame. Spoken with a different nuance they might even be heard as promises God makes to us as we walk in the Way of the LORD. "You shall have no other gods." Because the LORD gives everything needed for life, well-being and love you need not turn anywhere else to seek these things.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus

Pastor Tim Bauer