출애굽기 Chapter 20

Translation: ESV

1

And God spoke all these words, saying,

Key Message

The Ten Commandments are the core of the covenant that God spoke directly; before being rules, they are a declaration of relationship.

▸The introduction to the Ten Commandments.

The introduction to the Ten Commandments. 'All these words' refers to the ten commandments that follow, emphasizing that they were spoken directly by God. Other laws were conveyed through Moses, but the Ten Commandments have the special authority that God spoke them directly to the people. This directness is the basis for the unique status of the Ten Commandments.

Related Verses

The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire.
2

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Key Message

The Ten Commandments are not conditions for salvation but the way of life for those who have been saved; first comes grace, then the commandments as a response.

▸The Ten Commandments begin not with a command but with God's self-introduction and a declaration of salvation history.

3

You shall have no other gods before me.

Key Message

The first commandment is the demand to place God alone as the first priority in life, and the essence of all idolatry is placing something else in God's place.

▸The first commandment is to serve only Yahweh as God.

4

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Key Message

God is a transcendent being who cannot be expressed or limited by any form that humans create, and idols are an attempt to place God under human control.

▸The second commandment forbids making images of God.

7

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Key Message

God's name is identical with His nature, and using that name lightly is treating God lightly.

▸The third commandment prohibits using God's name 'in vain (lashshav, emptily).

8

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Key Message

The Sabbath is not the cessation of work but participation in God's creation rhythm, a confession of faith that one lives by God's gift.

▸The fourth commandment is to keep the Sabbath day holy.

12

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Key Message

Honoring parents is respecting the intergenerational authority God has established and preserving the channel of life for the transmission of faith and wisdom.

▸The fifth commandment is to 'honor' parents—the only commandment in the Ten Commandments that has a promise attached ('that your days may be long') (see Eph.

13

You shall not murder.

Key Message

The basis for prohibiting murder is that humans are created in God's image, and the sanctity of life is grounded in creation theology.

▸The sixth commandment 'You shall not murder (lo tirtsaḥ)' goes beyond a simple prohibition of killing to declare the sanctity of life.

14

You shall not commit adultery.

Key Message

Marriage is a covenant and prohibiting adultery protects covenantal faithfulness, which reflects the faithfulness required in relationship with God.

▸The seventh commandment prohibits adultery.

15

You shall not steal.

Key Message

Respecting another's property is treating that person as made in God's image, and honest labor and sharing are the positive side of the prohibition against stealing.

▸The eighth commandment prohibits stealing.

16

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Key Message

Truth is God's nature, and bearing false witness against a neighbor is an act that steals that person's honor and life, and goes against God's nature.

▸The ninth commandment prohibits 'false witness.

17

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.

Key Message

The prohibition of covetousness is the conclusion of the Ten Commandments, showing that all external sins begin with inner desire and declaring that inner holiness is the ultimate goal of the law.

▸The tenth commandment prohibits coveting.

18

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off

Key Message

God's presence is an encounter that overwhelms the entire human being, and this reverence is the healthy fear that protects from sin.

▸The response of the people of Israel experiencing God speaking directly is fear and trembling.

20

Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.'

Key Message

The purpose of experiencing God's holy presence is to form healthy reverence that protects from sin, and this reverence is the motivation for a holy life.

▸Moses comforts the fearful people and interprets the purpose of this fear.