Moses received the Torah from HASHEM on Mount Sinai. Comprised of ten statements, this is a summary of the divine law which God intended to be the guide for Israel in its mandate to be a witness to the whole world that there was but one true God.
These commands can be found in the Holy Scriptures in the opening verses of the 20th chapter of Exodus (Yisro). The quoted verses below are taken from Tanach: The Stone Edition (Artscroll Series, Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 1996).
- You shall not recognize the gods of others in My presence.
- You shall not make yourself a carved image nor any likeness of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water beneath the earth. You shall not prostrate yourself to them nor worship them, for I am HASHEM, your God - a jealous God, Who visits the sin of father upon children to the third and fourth generations, for My enemies; but Who shows kindness for thousands [of generations] to those who love Me and observe My commandments.
- You shall not take the Name of HASHEM, your God, in vain, for HASHEM will not absolve anyone who takes His Hame in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it. Six days shall you work and accomplish all your work; but the sevent day is Sabbath to HASHEM, your God; you shall not do any work - you, your son, your daughter, your slave, your maidservant, your animal, and your convert within your gates - for in six days HASHEM made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, HASHEM blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
- Honor your father and your mother, so that your days will be lengthened upon the land that HASHEM, your God, gives you.
- You shall not kill;
- You shall not commit adultery;
- you shall not steal;
- you shall not bear false witness against your fellow.
- You shall not covet your fellow’s house. You shall not covet your fellow’s wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your fellow.
If you study these commands, you will discover two kinds of laws - those concerning our relationship with God, and those concerning our relationships with one another. What I find fascinating about this is that it fits so well with the answer Yeshua (Jesus) gave to the Jewish religious leaders of his day when asked to state what was the greatest commandment in the Law.
We read in the New Covenant Scriptures (commonly known as the New Testament) that one of the Pharisees, “an expert in the law”, came to Jesus and asked the following question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” The gospel writer, Matthew records Jesus’ response.
Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
By comparing the answer Jesus gave to this “expert in the law,” with the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, it is clear that the first four commandments relate to our love for God, while commandments five through ten concern our relationships with those around us. Jesus is able, in one statement, to sum up the entire Torah - love God supremely and love each other sincerely.
I suspect few people who believe there is one true God will disagree with the answer Jesus gave. But let’s go just one step further. How can we love God supremely?
From my reading of both the Tanach and the New Covenant (Testament) Scriptures, the clearest way we express our love for God is by recognizing and receiving his gift of grace to us - the salvation accomplished by the life, death and resurrection of Messiah Jesus - for Messiah Jesus is none other than God manifest in human flesh. This is how John writes of it in his gospel account:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,10-14 Holy Bible, New International Version).
Our great passion here at New Covenant Forum is to encourage conversation about Jesus, for we are convinced that he alone holds the hope of our salvation. I welcome you to join the conversation.