Ten Commandments

by EA916 60 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot

    Look real close:

    203 “You shall have no other gods before me.

    4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

    7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

    8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

    12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

    13 “You shall not murder.

    14 “You shall not commit adultery.

    15 “You shall not steal.

    16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

    17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:3-17 New International Version

    34 The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

    4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

    8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

    10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.[a] 14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

    15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.

    17 “Do not make any idols.

    18 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

    19 “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.

    “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

    21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.

    22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

    25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.

    26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

    “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

    Exodus 34:1-26 New International Version

  • Viviane
    Viviane
    Village Idiot, that's seems really weird. Those list of commandments, that God said would be the same... they aren't the same.
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot
    Jesus taught repentance and forgiveness not stoning. It makes perfect sense then that the Ten Commandmentsbeing eternal do not include stoning.

    Viviane,

    Slow down there, turbo dog. Jesus taught that the whole of the law, ALL of it, was perfect and would not pass away. That means the stonings, too.

    32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses. - Numbers 15:32-36 New International Version

    Question about the above scripture: Didn't Jesus write the Old Testament? Didn't he also write this:

    23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

    25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

    27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:23-28 - New International Version

  • LisaRose
    LisaRose
    Should we still be keeping the 10 commandments?

    If you mean do I follow every law supposedly written on stone tablets by Moses, no, why would I? If you are a Christian, why wouldn't you follow what Jesus said at Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

    If you mean do I believe it's wrong to kill my neighbor or steal, then yes, in that sense I follow some of the ten commandments, but those are universal laws, most religions and countries have rules about that kind of thing. Frankly, there is nothing special about the ten commandments and some of them aren't even practicle in this day and age. What if doctors or policemen kept the Sabbath and refused to work? Tough luck for you if you had a heart attack or your house gets robbed . Also, my neighbor doesn't have an ox or a donkey, so I don't worry about coveting it.

    As for the ten commandments being eternal, well, eternity is a long time, check back in a few million years.





  • Viviane
    Viviane

    Say whaaaaat? The ten commandments are eternal because there are no punishments, but God punished people for breaking them and Jesus both agreed with the Law as perfect and then said it was wrong?

    That's crazy, man.

  • EA916
    EA916

    The 10 commandments are to protect us. They show the love of God. Lets view them one by one.

    1.) You shall have no other gods before me.

    - Why wouldn't God want us to have other gods? Maybe because He cares for us that he only want us to follow and obey him. If we put God before anything, we will be blessed. Even something small like money or sex can become a "god" in our lives. Whatever takes the first place in your life, other than God, that can become a god to us. God wants what is best for us.


    2.) You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

    - There are many people who worship images of "Jesus" or other gods. This commandment is pretty simple to understand. God is saying, you don;t need something concrete to worship me and to talk to me, you can do that anywhere, because I am God Almighty. God does not limit himself to a certain place, but rather He is everywhere.


    3.) You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

    - There are many people who misuse the name of God by disrespecting Him. Even the way we act with someone can be misusing the name of God by our actions. As Christians, we are called to represent the name of God.


    4.) Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

    - This is the only commandment that says "REMEMBER". Could it be that many people would forget the significance and importance in the Biblical Sabbath? Going back to creation week, God blessed, sanctified, and made the Sabbath Holy. Was the Sabbath made for himself or for us? He made everything for our own good. The Sabbath is a day of rest and restoration, it brings us back to remembering our creator and where we came from. Speaking from my own experience, the Sabbath has been a true blessing in my life. It gives me comfort and reassurance that there truly is a God that created me in his image, redeemed me, and restores me.


    The first 4 commandments shows the love we have for God. Jesus summarized it perfectly "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)


    5.) “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

    - Why wouldn't this be relevant to us TODAY? Honoring and respecting our parents is something that we need to practice. Is it important? YES


    6.) You shall not murder.

    - Very simple to understand. God is protecting us from murdering another human being. Not only can we kill something fiscally, but psychologically as well. Words can kill someone. Let us not commit murder. Let's preserve the life that God has given to us and others. Is this commandment important for us TODAY? YES


    7.) You shall not commit adultery

    - God has set forth this commandment to protect our families. How many families are being destroyed in these days because a wife or husband decided to go and get with another married person. This not only destroys themselves, but the kids, and the entire family. Let us preserve our families as well. Is this commandment important to keep? YES


    8.) You shall not steal

    -SIMPLE, DO NOT STEAL WHAT BELONGS TO OTHERS


    9.) You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor

    - If you have nothing good to say about someone, you shouldn't say it at all. There are many people who make up rumors and they end up destroying the life of the person they rumored about. It's just not right. Don't do it.

    10.) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor

    - When we begin to mourn because we don't have enough money, or because we don't have the house another person has, or for any other reason to want something of someone else, we turn into someone who is always complaining in life and we are just not happy. Let's be blessed for what we have right now. If you only have 5 dollars for the week, make the best of that. Let's not complain about having the things other people have. Be blessed and let God come first.


    The last 6 commandments shows our love toward our neighbors. Again, Jesus summarizes these 6 - "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mathew 12:31)


    The ten commandments are a testament to Gods love for us. Why don't people view them like this? I'm not sure.

  • Viviane
    Viviane
    Why wouldn't God want us to have other gods?

    Slow down there, turbo dog. It doesn't say to not have other gods, it says to have no others before him. Other gods are fine.

    God is saying, you don;t need something concrete to worship me and to talk to me, you can do that anywhere, because I am God Almighty.
    Are you forgetting pole with the snake or the temple? Interesting.
    Even the way we act with someone can be misusing the name of God by our actions. As Christians, we are called to represent the name of God.

    Jesus endorsed slavery and rape. Is that a good way to represent God? If not, are you disagreeing with Jesus?

    Going back to creation week, God blessed, sanctified, and made the Sabbath Holy.

    God rested from all the work he had done. God rested. Why would God rest? Was he tired? God and run low on energy after doing work? Interesting idea. God can work hard and need a nap. Interesting that you endorse the idea that he is not all powerful. If he was, he would not need to rest.

    Honoring and respecting our parents is something that we need to practice.

    Are you suggesting that a parent who smokes and drinks around their kids and physically abuses them should be honored? There are no qualifications to this, so the obvious answer would be that yes, you do. If not, are you suggesting there be amendments to the commandment that God didn't think of?

    God is protecting us from murdering another human being.

    The commandment is not to not murder. The word associated with means slaying, killing, murdering or destroying. Still, not murdering is a good idea, but hardly unique or a novel ideal originating with the 10 commandments.

    How many families are being destroyed in these days because a wife or husband decided to go and get with another married person.

    Have you read the Bible? Patriarchs were horning it up with temple concubines, sleeping with women not their wives and sleeping with their wives servants ALL THE TIME and with God's approval. Adultery doesn't require both parties to be married. God approved of that all the time. In fact, polygamous marriages were also something God supported. It seems more like the rule was not "don't commit adultery" but rather "don't bone another man's property".

    SIMPLE, DO NOT STEAL WHAT BELONGS TO OTHERS

    Or, you know, don't do exactly what God commanded the Israelites to do? Don't steal except when it's OK?

    If you have nothing good to say about someone, you shouldn't say it at all.
    That's not at all what the commandment says. However, not lying is a good idea, except when it is. Like if you're being questioned by Nazi's as to where some Jews are hiding or when Jesus said he would be back before the people standing in front of him were all dead. Unless he didn't realize he wouldn't...

    Still, lying has it's place.

    Let's be blessed for what we have right now. If you only have 5 dollars for the week, make the best of that

    Yes, the poor mother who can't feed or clothe her children should be happy with what she has and thank Jesus for it.

    The ten commandments are a testament to Gods love for us. Why don't people view them like this? I'm not sure.

    Well, now you have the information you need to be sure why not.

    **Edited to add*** Oh, and on adultery, God was totally against it, except that time he got busy with another man's fiancee, a virgin no less.

  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot
    EA916, "The 10 commandments are to protect us. They show the love of God. Lets view them one by one."

    As I previously brought up, which 10 Commandments? Exodus 20 or Exodus 34?
  • donny
    donny
    Which list of 10?
  • Viviane
    Viviane
    As I previously brought up, which 10 Commandments? Exodus 20 or Exodus 34?
    I asked him that earlier. Curiously, he completely ignored it.

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