Exod 20:17 There is a certain progression in these last five commandments we covered going from actions (murder, adultery, stealing) to words (false witness) and then inward desires, the latter in turn giving rise to actions and words prohibited before.[1]…

Exod 20:16 This commandment is primarily concerned with false testimony in court and therefore with justice through telling the truth. The law elsewhere expands on this and warns against lying to one another and slandering a neighbour (Lev 19:11, 16).…

Exod 20:15 Stealing in the ancient Near East was a capital offence, but in Israel it only required restitution (reimbursement and additional compensation – Exod 22:1, 7, 9), hence it was of a different order from murder or adultery. On…

Exod 20:14 The prohibition about adultery is the command that has lost the most weight in Western societies. Not only does marital unfaithfulness loom large on our TV screens but sexual promiscuity has become so commonplace that no one raises…

Exod 20:13 Perhaps the most fundamental command in any society is the prohibition of murder. In keeping with the rest of the Ten Commandments that focuses on larger principles, the word here, which is not the usual one for murder,…

Exod 20:12 Given the prominence of discussions relating to child abuse in our world, the command to honour parents may have become more controversial than it needs to be. Obviously, such a command should never be used to enforce obedience…

Matt 11:28-30 In my last post, I reflected on the background to the Sabbath command within the OT, today I consider what we do with such a command. Should Christians keep a rest-day? Should it be on Saturday or Sunday?…

Exod 20:8-11 Symbolic actions can be hugely significant. They can transform our attitudes, as in the case of my friend who had a difficult relationship with her mother. She wrote her a letter and put into it all her anger…

Exod 20:4-7 We might wonder what meaningful application might be drawn from these two commandments for today. After all, making images of either God or other gods is hardly a temptation among evangelical Christians. In a similar way, not taking…

Exod 20:1-3 Most of us have met people who do not wish to be associated with the Church yet maintain that they are trying to be good and keep the Ten Commandments as a baseline. What they have in mind,…