Are there really only ten?

Exodus 34:11-26 Psalm 119:1-24 Matthew 5:17-20

What do we really know about the so-called “Ten Commandments”? For instance, how did it become established that there is even such a document which only contains “ten” commandments? Actually, the phrase “ten commandments” is in the Hebrew text, but it is not associated with the better-known passages of Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5. Rather, the biblical ten are found in Exodus 34:11-26. I wonder why it is that this seemingly genuine “ten commandments” has not gotten the press that these other two have?

It is a popular notion among Christians that we had even begun to argue about the appropriate posting of these Ten Commandments in public places, namely court houses and school houses. The reasoning behind each is relatively sound: the Torah is the first established social “order”. It is the foundation for what our legal system entails today. The Law is designed and intended to bring order out of chaos, and this is precisely the purpose of our contemporary criminal justice system.

And even though many would be hesitant to suggest that our faith is reduced to nothing more than a simple list of do’s and don’ts, there is in addition to a social order also a moral order. Having children in our public schools exposed to these “ten” commandments arguably might help to bring about some positive changes for young people if they are exposed to sound, moral teachings, but even the best of moral teachings cannot go far without teachers, specifically adults who order their lives in such a way as to honor these commandments. At the very least, there can be no real harm unless we would care to argue the finer and secular constitutional points about state vs. religion.

Perhaps the reason the passage from Exodus 34 does not resonate with Christians is that it seems to emphasize what would be considered exclusively Jewish practices. Yet even in light of the singular presence of the phrase “ten commandments” in Exodus 34:28, do we then acknowledge that for as long as we have insisted upon Exodus 20 to be “THE LAW” that we have been wrong for so long? Or do we acknowledge the reality that in the Jewish tradition, the Torah (which actually means “direction” or “instruction”) contains far more than only ten commandments?

Here is a little bit of Bible trivia: which is the first commandment? If you guessed, “You shall have no other gods before Me”, you would be correct only in accordance with what has been taught over time. If, however, we consider that the first five books of the Bible comprise what we know as “Torah” or “Law” (aka, “Pentateuch”) and that every word spoken by the Lord should be considered a “commandment”, then the very first recorded commandment would necessarily be, “Let there be light” because it was spoken and “there was light”. Thus it is that this particular commandment is one of only a few for which it can be said that perfect obedience was the end result.

My only point is this: that we not try to package and condense our religion according to traditions that have no basis or foundation in fact or faith. The only thing that separates what is commonly referred to as the “Ten Commandments” in Exodus 20 is a literary break in the story. After the “10th” commandment against covetousness, chapter 20 ends with the people being afraid when they see the lightening and hear the thunder coming from the mountain.

Exodus 21 then begins with, “These are the laws you are to set before them [the Israelites]”. After this is the law established and categorized according to how it is written and laid out. It should be clear that there is certainly more for Israel - and us - to know than only ten commandments even though it is written that Moses only carried two stone tablets (could it be that rather than focusing on the set number of “stone” tablets, we would do well to consider that these commandments are “written in stone”?).

There is a clear social order by which a nation is shown how to establish itself and to also set itself apart from the other nations especially in what is offered in Exodus 34. Without the Law, Israel is nothing more than a nomadic people aimlessly wandering in the wilderness with no clear established order, no real cohesive national identity, and certainly no sense of purpose. If anything, these “Ten Commandments” serve as a preamble or an outline of what is to come.

This in no way is a suggestion that these “ten” can be summarily dismissed as insignificant. It should only serve as a reminder that while children’s Bible study classes consist of a lot of memorization – which is important – it is equally important to move beyond the simple “1-2-3” of early childhood Christian education and delve more deeply into the Word of the Lord which is much more profound that one thru ten. For instance, is it more important to know “which” commandment is “You shall not steal”, or can this single commandment stand on its own without being relegated to an ordered “list” that can only be applicable according to its ranking?

What I intend to explore in the coming weeks is a systematic approach to an exploration of the Law and hopefully demonstrate that what some try to relegate to antiquity status is as relevant for us today as it was for the nation of Israel then. Jesus and the apostles quoted the Law constantly. Jesus even specifically mentions to the rich young man in Mark 10 the significance of only a few of these commandments to a life in pursuit of righteousness, but He then takes it a step further. Jesus goes beyond the written Law itself and yet summarizes the Law at the same time. The summary? It’s not about the individual. “Jesus said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. On these two commandments hang ALL the Law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

“This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord’, for they all shall know Me…” Jeremiah 31:33-34


But the passage in Jeremiah does not suggest that the Lord is suddenly going to “posses” us one day and eliminate our capacity to think for ourselves and respond according to that which is most important to us. Instead, it seems that Jeremiah is offering the Lord’s promise toward those who make a commitment to live the Word, feel the Word, breath the Word, and “do” the Word as James encourages us to do. Perhaps it is that there will finally come a day when we are so consumed with the Word that as it is written upon our hearts and firmly within our minds that we have finally reached a point when our understanding of our Lord will qualify and quantify every single thing we do and every single word we speak. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:34b

Worshipping “in spirit and in truth”, as Jesus teaches us, should come to be more than a conscientious and deliberate act as a particular situation might warrant; it should come to be the very essence of our being. It is that level of spiritual perfection that John Wesley encouraged his students to strive for in daily living and practical application of the Word of the Lord. It is this never-ending quest for perfection that will put the Holy Father first in every situation, in every thought, in every deed. “Then will they know that you love Me, when you obey My commandments.”