The Story of the Bible - Introduction pt. 2

Read Exodus 20:3-17

5) a) List the Ten Commandments. b) Meditate/pray – let God’s Spirit inspire you – write down what God is saying to humanity in each of the ten commandments. The first four really stood out for me.

1st commandment – Relates to God’s authority over man - No one else is to have authority over me but God. No one is to control my life but God. Not money, not spouse, not children, not job

2nd commandment – Worship - I am not to worship anyone or anything but God.

3rd commandment – Vain – Hebrew – empty, worthless; I am to respect God. I am to have deep reverence for God. Evidence of this – How I use his name. I am not use it to express my feelings about something (surprise, anger). His name is not to be used as an adjective/adverb. Not to be used flippantly in conversation. See Yahweh article in last week’s handout on how the Jews respected God’s name.

4th commandment – Follow God’s example. “Holy” means to set apart/be different. One day of the seven day week is to be different than the others. Rest one day out of seven.


6) Do you notice a division within the Ten Commandments? The first four are concerned with relationship between humanity and God. The last six are concerned humanity’s relationship with one another. Focus on the first four commandments: