Exodus 20

This chapter stands at the center of Exodus. In Exodus 19, the people arrived at Mount Sinai, purified themselves, and gathered at the foot of the mountain; in this chapter God speaks to them directly. A series of ordinances follows, beginning in Exodus 21.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 God identifies himself as the LORD who brought Israel out of Egypt, where they had been slaves.
• Verses 3–6 He commands the people to have no other gods and not to make graven images or bow down to them.
• Verse 7 He commands them not to take the name of the LORD in vain.
• Verses 8–11 He commands them to keep the Sabbath holy. On this day the whole family, servants, livestock, and even the stranger are to rest; the reason given is that God created in six days and rested on the seventh.
• Verse 12 He commands them to honor their parents and promises that their days will be long.
• Verses 13–17 He forbids murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and coveting a neighbor's possessions.
• Verses 18–21 Trembling at the thunder and the sound of the trumpet, the people ask Moses to speak to them instead of God. Moses draws near to the thick darkness where God is.
• Verses 22–26 God forbids making gods of silver or gold. An altar is to be built of earth or of unhewn stone, and no one is to go up to it by steps.

Key Verses

• Exodus 20:2 "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt…" — This preamble shows that the commandments were given to a people who had already been redeemed.
• Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." — This is the starting point for the remaining commandments.
• Exodus 20:8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." — This is the central verse in discussions of the Sabbath and the Lord's Day.

People and Places

• The LORD — The God of Israel, who in this chapter proclaims the commandments directly.
• Moses — Stands between God and the people and conveys God's words.
• Egypt — The land where Israel had lived in slavery.
• The mountain — Unnamed in this chapter, it is Mount Sinai, continuing from the previous chapter.

Points for Reflection

• Dividing the commandments: The text does not number the Ten Commandments. The Reformed tradition and the Orthodox Church treat verse 3 and verses 4–6 as two separate commandments. The Catholic Church and Lutherans combine them into one and divide the prohibition of coveting in verse 17 into two. Jewish tradition counts verse 2 as the first of the Ten Words.
• The basis of the Sabbath: This chapter grounds the Sabbath in creation, while Deuteronomy 5 grounds it in the deliverance from Egypt. Most denominations worship on Sunday in commemoration of the resurrection. The Seventh-day Adventist Church keeps Saturday as the Sabbath (Sabbath and the Lord's Day).
• Connection to the New Testament: Jesus summarized the commandments as love for God and love for neighbor (Mark 12:28–34). Paul taught that the commandments concerning one's neighbor are fulfilled in love (Romans 13:8–10).

In the Korean Church

• Many churches teach the Ten Commandments, together with the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer, as the foundation of Christian instruction. In the past, many churches also hung the Ten Commandments, written out, at the front of the sanctuary.
• The first and second commandments are frequently cited as the basis for holding memorial services instead of ancestral rites (Ancestral Rites and Memorial Services).