EXPLORE THE TEXT
As God’s people,
12 Honor your father and your mother
so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 Do not murder.
14 Do not commit adultery.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house.
Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant,his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Do not covet
This prohibition is unique among the Ten
in that it is committed in one’s heart and, therefore,
could not be subject to human legislation (but see 1 Sam. 16:7).
Such a law was also not found in the ancient world.
It deals with the motive of desire,
which is the basic meaning of the Hebrew verb (chamad).
This underscores the truth that the Ten Words are not so much laws as principles
that defined the covenant community.
The laws would be derived from these principles.
They more specifically described how Israel was to respond to God’s redemptive grace.
The command against coveting indicates that their response
had to begin in the heart with a spirit of contentment for God’s gifts.
the final six commands.
Honor is related to the word for “glorify”
and is the opposite of despising or treating dismissively
as insignificant or unimportant.
There is a time for children to “leave” father and mother (Gen. 2:24),
but they should always demonstrate respect and compassion.
An important application is providing for them when they can no longer care for themselves.
The promise of a long life is part of God’s blessing for faithfulness in the land.
The last five commands are expressed negatively but should be understood to have positive force.
Here, God’s people should do everything possible to respect and preserve human life.
This verse prohibits murder, in contrast to taking life in war or by accident.
The positive sense here is that spouses should be devoted to one another.
adultery amounts to marital treachery in the marriage covenant (Jer. 9:2; Mal. 2:10,14-16)
Adultery was one of sixteen capital crimes in Israel.
The Hebrew verb here (ganab) usually refers to taking by deception
as opposed to the force or violence of robbery (Hebrew gazal,
The distinction does not create a loophole,
each person has the responsibility to respect and guard another person’s right to their possessions.
The term is also used of kidnapping (Ex. 21:16).
The term for false refers to a “lie,”
so the positive sense of this command is, “Always tell the truth.”
In its context, the directive focuses especially on lies about another person that could cause them harm.
The term might be drawn from legal language, but it is not exclusive to that setting.
This likely also condemns gossip, in which one repeats information knowing that it might be false and harmful.
Briefly discuss the differences and similarities between the first four commands and the next six commands.
Remember the vertical and horizontal aspects.
Loving others is just as important as loving God.
silently reflect on the last six commands.
Talk with God about how they may have violated one of the commands by failing to show proper love and respect for someone else.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 72 of the Personal Study Guide: /
Direct attention back to Pack Item 4 (Poster: The Ten Commandments) and instruct the group to read through each command aloud.
Note again the key information for each one.
Challenge adults to spend time in the coming week asking God how they can grow by learning to love Him and love others more.
Guide the group to discuss the questions on page 72 of the PSG.
Talk about ways to balance the commands with grace.
Remind adults of this session’s memory verses, Exodus 20:2-3.
Note that loving God with a whole heart is the key first step toward keeping all the commandments.
Encourage adults to pray in pairs that they will root every area of their lives in their relationship to Christ.
Reinforce the session this week by emailing or texting the group with messages that acknowledge temptations related to the Ten Commandments. Provide encouragement to stand strong in the Lord and to trust Him. Urge them to continue reflecting on this week’s memory verses (Ex. 20:2-3) and to continue nurturing their relationship with God so they can nurture relationships with others.
God
To God we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. (See Luke 4:8; John 14:15.)
Memorize important concepts from Scripture.
Summarize each of the Ten Commandments in a word or two. Use those summaries as a way to memorize the list in order.