Ten Commandments Essay

A commandment is a divine law, direction, or directive that needs to be carefully and rigorously followed. Therefore, obeying a mandate strictly means abiding by the rules set forth for the authority. The Ten Commandments serve as the ideal illustration of what is expected of their stringent and meticulous observance. A collection of rules or laws intended to direct people in their worship and conduct toward God are represented by the ten commandments. The ten commandments are crucial for prayer because they hold instructions on how to observe the Sabbath, worshipping one God as opposed to idols as well as the need to honor parents together with refraining from immoral acts such as adultery. Nevertheless, different religions have numbered them in diverse ways (Bennett 2017). All in all, they play an integral role concerning the human survival as well as man’s relationship with other people in the society irrespective of their gender or faith.

The ten commandments originated from God. According to the book of Exodus, God gave Moses the commandments to guide the Israelites in their day to day activities as far as worshipping God was concerned. God scribed the ten commandments on stone tablets as a symbol of a covenant between the lord and the Israelites. The provision of the commandments occurred at Mount Sinai. As a result, the ten commandments are a basis for the Christian civilization in most parts of the world. The ten commandments were provided at a time when God felt the Israelites had diverted from the kind of worship and ethics he had discerned. In a bid to ensure they had a route-map to the required ways of prayer, God gave Moses the two tablets carrying the ten commandments to safeguard the human beings would be in communion with him until eternity. As a result, the ten commandments play a vital role in the lives of human beings both in the current and future generations. As pointed out in the scriptures, the people who obeyed the Lord’s commandments merited an opportunity to walk with God in heaven such as Methuselah.

The List of the Ten Commandments

Before giving the commandments, God instructed Moses to consecrate the Israelites as a symbol of purity. As a result, observance of the commandments is vital in ensuring personal purity. According to the book of Exodus, the Ten Commandments are as follows;

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make graven images.

Thou shalt not use the Lord’s name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honor thy mother and thy father.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s property.

How the ten commandments can apply in our lives

The ten commandments serve as a way for living a fruitful life on earth. Jesus quoted them in the book of Mathew 19: 17 in summary form. Moreover, Apostle Paul in the book of Romans noted the fact that the ten laws are holy, just and right.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me

The first commandment plays a vital role in underlining the fact that God comes first. As a result, we ought to make a prophetic resistance against different adversaries about our beliefs as there are various forms of proclamations regarding the ultimate God. Similarly, the strength aims at ensuring human beings do not have another god as highlighted by the totalitarian state (Lindsley 2013).

Thou shalt not make graven images

Graven images refer to objects or representations that are perceived to convey spiritual powers. As a result, refraining from having images that we worship is vital in our day to day activities and relationship with God (Jones 2013). Several things have the potential of becoming our idols when we rely on them for several things such as security. For instance, our work can be a god.

Thou shalt not use the Lord’s name in vain

Following God calls for a total conviction in his powers and abilities. As a result, we ought to refrain from using the name of the lord in an unproductive manner as far as his worship is concerned (Park 2017). There are several ways of using the name of the lord in vain as characterized by the use of speech, gestures, oaths as well as promises. For instance, Martin Luther King Jnr denoted the fact that “God is sometimes more pleased with the curses of the wicked than the hallelujahs of the pious.”

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

The aspect of remembering the Sabbath and the following act of keeping it holy underlines the fact that we ought to devote a time for the lord about worship, devotion as well as fellowship as far as he is concerned. Dedicating time for God is essential in ensuring that we are in a position to integrate our faith and work for his glory and honor.

Honor thy mother and thy father

Heritage plays a significant role in cherishing diverse aspects of life. Honor refers to having a respectful attitude towards their position in the family. Honoring the parents is a commandment with a promise as highlighted in the book of Ephesian (Bennett 2017). Honoring the parents involves respecting both their spoken and the unspoken intentions, wishes, and obligations as highlighted “A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke” (Proverbs 13:1). As a result, parental honor plays a significant role in the growth of wisdom.

Thou shalt not kill

We should treat every human being with dignity. Since we are all created in the image and likeness of God, he is the only basis upon which condemnation of criminal activities is possible. As a result, God the justification for the existence of our dignity. We are supposed to help the poor and other people in the society who are in need instead of killing their self-esteem as we are all created in the likeness of God.

Thou shalt not commit adultery

People should practice fidelity as it plays a significant role in the existence and continuation of the society. Should marriage and family at colossal fail, the economic conditions in a country or world is bound to fail.

Thou shalt not steal

People should emulate the practices of upholding the ownership rights as far as property is concerned as stealing is evil.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

Our God is a God of truth. Hence, we ought to embrace truthfulness in our deeds. The world has fallen regarding truth pecking order as underlined by the Bible “truth has fallen in the street” (Isaiah 59:14).

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s property

Although a healthy desire is encouraged, we shun away from greedy and envious ordeals and passions. Avoiding greed and envy do not hinder serving people in a just manner.

Bibliography

Amodei, Mike. 2012. “Applying the Ten Commandments to Daily Living.” Ave Maria Press. September 26. Accessed October 25, 2017. https://www.avemariapress.com/engagingfaith/2012/09/applying-ten-commandments-daily-living/.

Bennett, Mike. 2017. “The 10 Commandments for Today.” Life, Hope & Truth. July 19. Accessed October 25, 2017. https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/10-commandments/the-ten-commandments/.

Faithlife. 2017. “Exodus 34.” Biblia.com. October 20. Accessed October 25, 2017. https://biblia.com/books/niv2011/Ex34.2.

—. 2017. “Romans 7.” Biblia.com. October 20. Accessed October 25, 2017. https://biblia.com/books/niv2011/Ro7.14.

Jones, Ron. 2013. “How Do We As Christians Apply the Old Testament to Our Daily Lives?” Titus Institute. April 14. Accessed October 25, 2017. http://titusinstitute.com/applyingot/applying.php.

Lindsley, Art. 2013. “Life, Work, & The Ten Commandments.” Institute for Faith, Work and Economy. May 15. Accessed October 25, 2017. https://tifwe.org/life-work-the-ten-commandments/.

Park, David C. 2017. “The Ten Commandments.” Get Restored Church. May 24. Accessed October 25, 2017. https://rcg.org/books/syottc.html.