I was thinking about the Ten Commandments recently and decided to review them and their meanings since I had not done so for a few years.  I know we studied and thoroughly discussed them in our Confirmation classes about 55 years ago. I know the teaching came from
Luther’s Small Catechism and would have reflected the Protestant faith as it should considering we were being confirmed in the Lutheran Church.

When I did a little exploration, I found details I wasn’t aware of previously. First of all, the Ten Commandments exist in different versions.  One can be found in the Book of Exodus 20 and the other in the Book of Deuteronomy 5 and refer to different places where Moses received the stone tablets, but in actuality, they may have been the same location.

The Ten Commandments are not recognized in the same manner in all religions.  In Judaism, Christianity and Islam they are recognized as ethical standards. Interestingly enough, even in the atheist Soviet Union, the Moral Code of the Builder of Communism was a set of rules that resembled the Ten Commandments. I wonder how many of their people are aware of that?

Additionally in my exploration, I found the Bible does not assign a number to each of the Commandments, (Bible, Qur’an, Torah) and there are varying opinions on how they should be arranged. The commandments also have different interpretations in different religions.

 All of these findings were new to me and I found them interesting. That being said, I choose to believe and follow the simple teachings of Jesus who said the Ten Commandments rested on two fundamental commandments. He said, “You must love God with your whole heart, your whole soul and your whole mind” and the second is “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” John 13:34 and 1 John 4:20, 21.

All the other commandments hinge on those two. God in his unconditional love handed down these directives by which to live…a moral compass if you will. They are called the Ten Commandments, not the Ten Suggestions for a reason. In our lives, let us try our best to follow them as He commanded. Thanks be to God.

Patty