After the Ten Commandments, Yahweh specifies many more in agreement with them and the two main ones: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:35-40).
[I recommend that you open your Bible and review the passages indicated so you can see their connection with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17.]
Exodus 20:22-26 builds on the first and second commandments (you shall have no other gods / you shall make no image). They preserve the purity of worship to Yahweh without distracting attention to material decoration or the human body.
Exodus 21:1-11 builds on the eighth and tenth commandments (you shall not steal / you shall not covet). It specifies laws of protection by love to a vulnerable group: servants and slaves, especially female ones; it also respects the property rights of owners.
Exodus 21:12-36 affirms the sixth commandment (you shall not murder). They are laws for the protection of the vulnerable, especially those who are attacked unjustly. It includes protection of those who are incorrectly accused of murder.
Exodus 22:1-6 is rooted in the eighth commandment (you shall not steal) and declares the restitution due for robbery or damage to another’s property.
Exodus 22:7-15 warns against covetousness and ensures the integrity of the eighth and tenth commandments.
Exodus 22:16-17 is an application of the seventh commandment (you shall not commit adultery).
Exodus 22:18, 20 refers to the first commandment (you shall have no other gods). We can consider Exodus 22:19 in association with the second commandment (you shall make no image) in that it prohibits the perversion of elevating a created being to an unworthy position.
Exodus 22:21-27 demonstrates love to a vulnerable and poor neighbor in agreement with the eighth and tenth commandments (you shall not steal / you shall not covet).
We can consider Exodus 22:28 as an application of the fifth commandment (honor your father and your mother), giving honor to others in authority.
Exodus 22:29-30 is an interesting application of the tenth commandment, to not covet that which belongs to God.
Exodus 22:31 touches on a topic that we will see in much greater detail in the book of Leviticus: the holiness laws.
Applications from the eighth, ninth and tenth commandments (you shall not steal / you shall not bear false witness / you shall not covet) are found throughout Exodus 23:1-9.
Exodus 23:10-12 explains another application of the fourth commandment (remember the Sabbath day).
Exodus 23:13 is an application of the third commandment (you shall not take the name in vain).
We will see Exodus 23:14-19, the three times of the year when the Israelites celebrate a feast to Yahweh, in much greater detail when we read Leviticus 23 and Numbers 28 – 29.
Therefore, we can consider almost all of these laws as applications of the Ten Commandments that we saw in Exodus 20:1-17. We can organize them this way:
Laws about the first and second commandments (you shall have no other gods / you shall make no image): Exodus 20:22-26; 22:18-20
Laws on the third (you shall not take the name in vain): Exodus 23:13
On the fourth (remember the Sabbath day): Exodus 23:10-12
On the fifth (honor your father and your mother): Exodus 22:28
On the sixth (you shall not murder): Exodus 21:12-36
On the seventh (you shall not commit adultery): Exodus 22:16-17
On the eighth (you shall not steal): Exodus 21:1-11; 22:1-15, 21-27; 23:1-9
On the ninth (you shall not bear false witness): Exodus 23:1-9
On the tenth (you shall not covet): Exodus 21:1-11; 22:7-15, 21-27, 29-30; 23:1-9
And in agreement with what we read in Matthew 22:37-40, all of these serve to teach and remind us how to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
[I recommend that you open your Bible and review the passages indicated so you can see their connection with the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17.]
Exodus 20:22-26 builds on the first and second commandments (you shall have no other gods / you shall make no image). They preserve the purity of worship to Yahweh without distracting attention to material decoration or the human body.
Exodus 21:1-11 builds on the eighth and tenth commandments (you shall not steal / you shall not covet). It specifies laws of protection by love to a vulnerable group: servants and slaves, especially female ones; it also respects the property rights of owners.
Exodus 21:12-36 affirms the sixth commandment (you shall not murder). They are laws for the protection of the vulnerable, especially those who are attacked unjustly. It includes protection of those who are incorrectly accused of murder.
Exodus 22:1-6 is rooted in the eighth commandment (you shall not steal) and declares the restitution due for robbery or damage to another’s property.
Exodus 22:7-15 warns against covetousness and ensures the integrity of the eighth and tenth commandments.
Exodus 22:16-17 is an application of the seventh commandment (you shall not commit adultery).
Exodus 22:18, 20 refers to the first commandment (you shall have no other gods). We can consider Exodus 22:19 in association with the second commandment (you shall make no image) in that it prohibits the perversion of elevating a created being to an unworthy position.
Exodus 22:21-27 demonstrates love to a vulnerable and poor neighbor in agreement with the eighth and tenth commandments (you shall not steal / you shall not covet).
We can consider Exodus 22:28 as an application of the fifth commandment (honor your father and your mother), giving honor to others in authority.
Exodus 22:29-30 is an interesting application of the tenth commandment, to not covet that which belongs to God.
Exodus 22:31 touches on a topic that we will see in much greater detail in the book of Leviticus: the holiness laws.
Applications from the eighth, ninth and tenth commandments (you shall not steal / you shall not bear false witness / you shall not covet) are found throughout Exodus 23:1-9.
Exodus 23:10-12 explains another application of the fourth commandment (remember the Sabbath day).
Exodus 23:13 is an application of the third commandment (you shall not take the name in vain).
We will see Exodus 23:14-19, the three times of the year when the Israelites celebrate a feast to Yahweh, in much greater detail when we read Leviticus 23 and Numbers 28 – 29.
Therefore, we can consider almost all of these laws as applications of the Ten Commandments that we saw in Exodus 20:1-17. We can organize them this way:
Laws about the first and second commandments (you shall have no other gods / you shall make no image): Exodus 20:22-26; 22:18-20
Laws on the third (you shall not take the name in vain): Exodus 23:13
On the fourth (remember the Sabbath day): Exodus 23:10-12
On the fifth (honor your father and your mother): Exodus 22:28
On the sixth (you shall not murder): Exodus 21:12-36
On the seventh (you shall not commit adultery): Exodus 22:16-17
On the eighth (you shall not steal): Exodus 21:1-11; 22:1-15, 21-27; 23:1-9
On the ninth (you shall not bear false witness): Exodus 23:1-9
On the tenth (you shall not covet): Exodus 21:1-11; 22:7-15, 21-27, 29-30; 23:1-9
And in agreement with what we read in Matthew 22:37-40, all of these serve to teach and remind us how to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
RSS Feed
