Having been introduced to two covenants in the first two weeks of Lent (with Noah in Genesis 9 and Abraham in Genesis 17; see Lent 1 and Lent 2 for comment), we follow the great saga of Israel’s founding myth in our Old Testament by reading the Ten Commandments. This is a point of high drama and significance in the Exodus narrative, and indirectly introduces us to the third great covenant between God and Israel, that established at Mt. Sinai with all Israel (Exodus 19-24).

After going up to the top of Mt. Sinai to receive instruction from God, Moses is sent down to the people. They are not to approach the mountain of the Lord, only Moses and Aaron are permitted to come close to God. The people must stand a long way back or they will incur God’s anger (Exod. 19:12-13). In this way the writer indicates that a great sense of fear and awe, as well as consecration, accompanies the giving of the commandments. In particular, it emphasizes the fundamental importance of the Ten Commandments for the people of Israel.

Eoxdus 20 begins with: ‘Then God spoke all these words’. While these words relate specifically to the commandments immediately following, they also include all the laws in Exodus-Numbers associated with Mt. Sinai. In Hebrew, they laws in Exodus 20 are known as the ‘ten words’, and for the most part are expressed in brief sentences. Tradition says God gave these ten words directly to the people. Later, Moses is summoned alone to the mountain to receive the tablets on which they are written for posterity (Exod. 24:12-18). All other laws will be given indirectly, through the mouth of Moses (or his spokesman, Aaron).

The version of the Ten Commandments in Exodus (cf. the version in Deuteronomy 5) was edited and updated by the compilers of the Torah according to the later conditions of the Israelite people. The Exodus version was probably edited following the exile in Babylon. The specific collection of laws would have been selected from among the many moral and social laws in currency in Israel over many generations. The priestly writers who compiled the Exodus version of the ‘ten words’ would have intended that these indicate not only basic rules for life in Israelite society, but also the very nature of God. In the ancient world law was considered as coming directly from the gods (or God in the case of Israel). It was as much about revelation of who God was as of what was appropriate human behaviour.

Hence, at the start of the Ten Commandments God introduces ‘himself’. In the context of the story in Exodus it is not surprising that God introduces himself as the one who has rescued the people from slavery in Egypt. This God, with whom they will be in covenant, has already committed himself to this people. The laws that follow will give them guidance in that way of life. Thus the covenant, and the law within that, is an instrument of mutual relationship in which the faith of the people responds to the love and grace of God. This is the understanding behind the law and its observance (cf. Deut. 30:15-19). It is a lack of understanding of law (Torah) in that sense that leads some Christians to say it is purely ‘legalistic’, and does not reveal a God of grace (as known by Christians).

The first commandment is that ‘you shall have no other gods before me’. There is no mention of the local gods of other peoples, but for the people of Israel there is to be recognition that Yahweh is the one and only God. No other gods will be tolerated.  This is, in fact, a practical monotheism. The idea in the first commandment is linked with the second commandment in vv. 4-6, which spells out the implications for worshipping the one God. ‘Idols’ translates the Hebrew which means ‘carved image’ but other kinds of ‘idols’ are also considered (cf. Deuteronomy 7-9).  There follows another commandment related to the holiness of God. Verse 7 forbids the use of God’s name in the swearing of false oaths, which means that illegal, immoral, life-depriving activities should not be executed in God’s name.

Verses 7-9 indicate the practice of ‘rest days’. The weekly Sabbath, alluded to here, was probably based on a quarter of the lunar cycle. In this version the people are to observe the Sabbath in remembrance of God as creator of all. In all things that govern their life together, the people are foremost to remember whose they are. Verses 12–17 are societal or ‘relational’ commandments, concerning familial relationships (particularly with father and mother), and rules necessary for the peaceful ordering of human community. They indicate a society in which there was no social welfare system capable of caring for the elderly apart from the care of their children. They mark out the strict boundaries past which no one may trespass. Murder (v. 13) relates to unauthorized killing, although it does not directly refer to killing animals, capital punishment for crime, or suicide. Adultery (v. 14) in ancient Israelite society had a direct bearing on whether or not a man could claim his wife’s children as his own.   Men also took concubines and had sexual relations with female slaves, so the ancient meaning is more to do with property rights and inheritance than to a moral view of the exclusive ‘sanctity of marriage’. The keeping of commandments 8-10 (vv. 15-17) ensured the peaceful interaction of the settled community. They concern honesty and trustworthiness where a neighbour’s property is concerned, acknowledging that it can be thought that leads to action as in the idea of ‘coveting’ (v. 17).

Following the giving of the commandments is a scene in which the people standing back from Mt. Sinai witness a spectacular sound and light show. They know that the God who has given these ‘ten words’ is sovereign of all.

Today’s reading continues the theme of covenant promise from Genesis in Lent 1 and 2. The law of the Sinai covenant is presented. It suggests that what we look toward in Lent, the death and resurrection of Jesus, is the fulfilment of that ancient commitment by God to his covenant people. The legal requirement on those people is a reminder of the commitment made to God by his people, and as such undergirds the period of Lent in which we examine and prepare ourselves for Easter. On the other hand we cannot forget the purpose of the law in the Old Testament. In the words of Deuteronomy, it is that we may be able to choose life. That choice is what is also effected in the events of Easter, and above all at the behest of God. It is not something we earn or achieve by our own righteousness.
 
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