Why TEN Commandments ?

What is the significance of both the number and the order of the Ten Commandments?

N owhere in the New Testament are the Ten Commandments listed in order from one to ten. Nowhere in the New Testament are all repeated verbatim.

Without the Old Testament we would not know the exact construction of God's Royal Law. Without the Old Testament we would not even know that the exact number is ten. For that matter how do we know that the commandments add up to ten? The answer, of course is that twice in the Hebrew Bible the expression "the ten commandments" is used (Deut. 4:13; 10:4).

But why ten commandments? What is the significance of the number ten?

Completeness and Perfection

Completeness of order, wholeness of cycle-however you want to express it, both concepts are implied in the number ten. According to the scriptures ten plagues were brought on the land of Egypt - completing God's judgment on that nation. Noah was the tenth Adam-his generation ending the antediluvian age. Ten nations or groups of nations will mark the final rising of the Roman Empire in this generation. Ten virgins represent the whole of the New Testament Church throughout the ages. But we repeat-why ten commandments?

Ten is a number of spiritual perfection. Number ten itself is, as it were, an "open" commandment. "You shall not covet...anything that is your neighbor's" (New King James). It's very nature includes any point we may think God omitted. This tenth and last commandment completes spiritual perfection because it is primarily of the thought process. You think before you do. You covet before you steal.

Before we address the order of the commandments, we must first consider their source. The preamble in any document governing the behaviour of men is of the utmost importance. The preamble to the Ten Commandments defines the source: "And God spoke all these words, saying:..." (Ex. 20:1).

Thomas Jefferson was chiefly responsible for writing the American Declaration of Independence. A group of barons for the English Magna Carta. They were all humans. But the Ten Commandments were spoken by the mouth of God (Deut. 10:12)-and written by the finger of God
Next is the prologue. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex.20:2). True the Ten Commandments are all for all mankind. But the prologue defines the state of the people to whom the commandments were initially spoken. Ancient Israel belonged to God because of what he had done for them-freed them from slavery. And spiritual Israel (the New Testament Church) belongs to God because he brought them out of spiritual slavery.

The Ten Commandments were given to the ancient nation Israel in a setting of great grandeur. The commandments according to tradition were given on the Day of Firstfruits-Hebraic equivalent of the New Testament Pentecost.

The Beauty of the Order

Commandment number one is complete in these few words: "You shall have no other gods before me: (Ex 20:3). Allegiance to God is before all. That should be obvious. Commandments two through four define the nature of this allegiance.

The general order of all ten is logical. The first four commandments tell us to love God-the last six how to love our neighbour. Both aspects are essential, but Jesus explains that loving our Creator is "the first and great commandment" (Matt.22:36-40)/

Number four acts as a bridge commandment between God and man. We are to keep the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Again it is Jesus Christ who explains that "the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Public worship binds man to God first-and then to fellow worshipers.

Number five is "Honor your father and your mother." It is easy to recognize why it precedes the last five commandments. The apostle Paul called it "the first commandment with promise." Long life would be the natural consequence of truly honoring one's father and mother. This commandment is basic to family loyalty-binding the generations together. If kept in the right spirit, it makes the keeping of the following five "five-shalt-nots" almost a matter of habit.

In a sense the last five are absolutely necessary because human beings generally do not honour fathers and mothers. As the apostle Paul explained to the young evangelist Timothy, "... The law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers..." (I Tim. 1:8-9). commandment number six thus forbids murder. It heads the "thou-shalt-nots" because it centers on the continuance of life it self. Nations as well as individuals break this commandment! Groups of men formed into nations-democratic and autocratic-now threaten all human life, chiefly by nuclear war. God says to nations: "Thou shalt not murder" (Jewish Publication Society translation).

Number seven is family oriented. The observing of it binds husband and wife, father and mother together. It forbids, in principle, all forms of sexual license-not just adultery. Its violation endangers mankind. Make no mistake about it. Herpes and AIDS are spread as a consequence of breaking this commandment.

Think and meditate about the ones that follow-against stealing, lying, coveting. As the author of a well known magazine often remind: "Knowledge without action is of no value." To derive the benefits of this basic ten-point law from the Creator God, you must observe it.