What do the 10 Commandments teach us about God?

What do the 10 Commandments teach us about God?

1. “You shall have no other gods before Me”–Here we see that God is jealous (Exodus 20:5), in the sense that He is passionate for us and wants us for Himself. “You are not your own; you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19,20). “We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” (Ps. 100:3).

2. “You shall not make for yourself a graven image”—”God is Spirit” (John 4:24) and is invisible (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16).  Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God”, “the exact radiance of the glory of God” (Heb. 1:3).

3. “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.”– The name of the LORD represents who God is, and therefore is powerful. It is “the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9); “the name of the LORD is a strong tower” (Proverbs 18:10).

4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”—The LORD has accomplished our salvation, so we rest in Him and in His good work. “My soul find rest in God alone” (Ps. 62:1); “Come to Me, all you who labor, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:29).

5. “Honor your father and your mother”—God is our heavenly Father (Matthew 23:9), worthy of all honor (Matthew 6:9), who gathers us into families (and a church family) (Ps. 68:5,6) , which He uses to parent us (1 Thess. 2:11).

6. “You shall not murder”—God is Life (John 1:3,4), the Giver of Life (Ps. 36:9), and to know Him is to have everlasting life (John 17:3) . Therefore, God wants us to defend and protect life. (Proverbs 24:11,12).

7. “You shall not commit adultery”—Our God is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13); He is our covenant-keeping God (Deut. 7:9); He created marriage (Gen. 2:22-24), and He wants us to respect it (Hebrews 13:4). Our marriage should reflect our covenant relationship with Him (Ephesians 5:31-33).

8. “You shall not steal”—God, in His good providence, provides for us (Phil. 4:19), and He wants us to provide for—not steal from—others (Eph. 4:28).

9.  “You shall not bear false witness”–God’s Word is Truth (John 17:17); He wants us to speak truthfully (Eph. 4:15) and share His truth (1 Peter 3:15).

10. “You shall not covet”— Christ is all, and in all (Col 3:11); in His presence is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). We should delight ourselves in Him (Ps. 37:4) and be content with His provision for us (Phil. 4:11).