Exodus 20:1-12 “Resolved by God”

How did we get these Ten Commandments you ask? You might recall that it took two tries. Moses went up the mountain, Mount Sinai, to meet with God. The mountain was enshrouded in a cloud, and so Moses ascended out of sight of the people gathered below. When he came back down after talking with God and receiving the Ten Commandments on two tablets, Moses discovered that the people had already made for themselves a golden calf as an idol and were worshipping it. Moses was so upset that he threw down the Ten Commandments, shattering them on the ground. So, after chastising the people, he went back up the mountain, through the cloud, to get the Ten Commandments again from God. Do you know why Moses had to go back? He did not save his tablet to the cloud. (Ha ha)

What makes the Ten Commandments so unique is that they are directly from the voice of God and immediately inscribed in stone. Think about poor Moses having to carry those stones back down the mountain. This last week we installed a new headstone for a loved one in the cemetery. Stone is heavy! We put it on a two-wheel dolly to carry it to the place.

Just because Moses lugged these Ten Commandments all the way down Mount Sinai, should that mean that we follow them? It is not like they are written in stone, right? Wait, actually they are written in stone, but does that mean we have to follow them? The answer of course is “no.” Hammurabi’s Code is written in stone, we do not follow that anymore! That was written on a beautiful basalt pillar.

The answer to why we follow the Ten Commandments comes in the first line of Chapter 20. God is speaking these words and says that he is the God that saved the people from bondage. He is their liberator. He has a relationship with these people, all of us. We hear “I am the God that liberated you; therefore, I am now telling you how to remain a liberated people.”

If someone whom you do not know comes up to you and says: “You must do these ten things I command!” You are not going to listen to that person because he is nothing to you, right? That is why the guy with the sign on the highway saying that Jesus is coming really does not affect our hearts. We do not know who he is. We have really no relationship with him. But just think if that same person with the sign had just freed you from prison–paid the bail or what, you might think twice if he had something to share with you.

Why do we listen to Jesus’ Gospel? Who is Jesus to me or you? Ahhh, he is the one who saved us by sacrificing for our sins. He is the one who gives us liberation even unto eternal life. When you hear a command from God in the Bible please think of it as a word of liberation. God is saving you–you just maybe kind of like not following someone telling you what to do.

This is considered to be “covenantal theology” at its core. Those words are very big and confusing. A covenant is a promise between two people that is blessed by God. Marriage is a covenant, for instance. When two people are married, they promise to love, honor, and cherish all the days of their lives–forsaking all others. I almost forgot that part. Yes, forsaking all others, love, honor and cherish that one person. The verse that follows is in fact the first commandment of the Ten. “You shall have no other Gods before me.” That is the covenant. That is the promise being made. That is the relationship being affirmed.

Since I love Hebrew so much, I will just point out to you that a Hebrew idiom is being employed here. It is literally saying “Get those other lesser gods out of my face!” I just think that says it more to the point and properly.

In order to affirm that those other lesser gods are not in God’s face, we have a second commandment that states that we are not to create any idols. The irony of this commandment and why Moses smashes the tablets is that while God is writing these rules down for all of us, the people at the bottom of the mountain are melting all of their gold down into the shape of a golden calf, the symbol of the old lesser god of Canaan, Baal. Why do we keep going back to those idols? Back to the wrong gods?

I am sure you have heard this in sermons or commentaries before, “Our modern lesser gods are consumer goods–also known as ‘bling.’”

In Jesus' time, the idolatry was to Caesar–the Roman Emperor. If you recall the story of Jesus turning the tables in the temple (Matthew 21:12-13) that was because the people needed to change the Roman money that had Caesar’s picture on it to Jewish shekels so that they could bring the money to the place of offering in the temple. Today, by the way, Israeli money also has pictures of people on it like our money does. Just back in Jesus’ day, moneychangers were busy in front of the place of worship taking a cut from the funds.

The next commandment is truly enlightening: Do not misuse God’s name. It is stated more rightly “Do not say God’s name in vain.” That makes perfect sense in so far as if you were walking down the street and accidentally stubbed your toe, I would not want you to shout out my name “Olaf,” as if I were the cause of your hurt and suffering. I am not the cause of your stumbling, why would you curse me?!

The kids at the after school open gym are guilty of breaking this commandment all of the time. Of course, Jared, Mahea, or I will call them out for using Jesus as a curse word. Then, all of the sudden they are the most pious children you could have ever imagined. They are on their knees, bowing down, and shouting Hallelujah. They just do that because they think it is funny. I count it as a fresh start to true worship of the Almighty!

Another point I would like to make quickly about this commandment is that Jews will never say the name of God as it is written in Hebrew. They will see YHWH, the four Hebrew letters of the name that God gives Moses, but they replace it with the term “adonai.” This simply means “my Lord” in Hebrew.

Today, we actually do use and say the name of God. WE just had that scripture from Matthew two weeks ago. The angel tells Joseph that his son by Mary will have the name “Jesus.” So, now we DO have the ability to speak the name and to be blessed by it! We should not therefore use it to curse others–ever.

The Fourth Commandment is to “Honor the Sabbath day. To be sure, the term used here is “DAY.” Not just the one hour of worship! This means more than listening to the sermon while you are driving to work!

Resting from our work is what separates us from the animals. The wild animals we see in nature do not know what day it is. I think our cat does though. Every Sunday I see Liam the cat just curled up in a ball on a bed somewhere–honoring the Creator!

The point is that life is more than work. If we believe in God, then our lives must be more about honoring God–and we should be able to get away with doing that for at least a whole day.

The fifth command from God would, as of January 1st, 2026, be challenged by Hawaii’s Act 298 that replaces all references to mothers and fathers under the law to “birth parents rights” and “non-birth parents rights.” Honoring mothers and fathers within the context of Hebrew Scripture is a different matter than granting legal responsibilities via the courts.

The word “to honor” in the Hebrew is the same one that I mentioned to you in the lead up to Christmas in the Prophet Isaiah’s prophecies. “Kabad” in Hebrew is to “be heavy.” When used to talk about God we translate it as “glorify.” A rain cloud that is heavy with rain is glorious! So really this is saying to give weight to your mother and father. Glorify them as without them you would not be or thrive. They have given you life. This goes back to the first command of the Bible to go forth, be fruitful and multiply. The miracle of giving birth is considered in the Hebrew culture to be the most godly thing as it mimics God’s own creative power.

This is so much more than recognizing “non-birth parental rights”! Creating new life is a blessing from God. Acknowledge, please, the miracle of your own birth and the preciousness of life itself. The blessings of your birth in all goodness will come to the “thousandth generation.” We just read that in our scripture for today!

This is not just about looking back at your mothers and fathers with heaviness, but understanding that the future blessings of God for new life are here and now. What we do today matters greatly for the future of all of us. Will future generations look back at your life with the weight that your sacrifices deserve? I pray so as I honor all mothers and fathers!

We are going to continue this sermon next week. Yup, this is a two-parter as we have another five commandments to mull over in 2026.

Amen.