What Are The Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments (also known as the Decalogue) are ten laws in the Scripture that Yahuah gave to the nation of Yisrael shortly after the exodus from Egypt. The Ten Commandments are essentially a summary of the 613 commandments contained in the Old Testament Law. The first four commandments deal with our relationship with Yahuah. The last six commandments deal with our relationships with one another. The Ten Commandments are recorded in the Scripture in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 and are as follows:
1) “You shall have no other elohims before me.” This command is against worshiping any elohim other than the one true Elohim. All other elohims are false elohims.
2) “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, Yahuah your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” This command is against making an idol, a visible representation of Yahuah. There is no image we can create that can accurately portray Yahuah. To make an idol to represent Yahuah is to worship a false elohim.
3) “You shall not misuse the name of Yahuah your Elohim, for Yahuah will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.” This is a command against taking the name of Yahuah in vain. We are not to treat Yahuah’s name lightly. We are to show reverence to Yahuah by only mentioning Him in respectful and honoring ways.
4) “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it Kodesh (Set-Apart). Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahuah your Elohim. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days Yahuah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore Yahuah blessed the Sabbath day and made it Kodesh.” This is a command to set aside the Sabbath (Saturday, the last day of the week) as a day of rest dedicated to Yahuah.
5) “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land Yahuah your Elohim is giving you.” This is a command to always treat one’s parents with honor and respect.
6) “You shall not murder.” This is a command against the premeditated murder of another human being.
7) “You shall not commit adultery.” This is a command against having sexual relations with anyone other than one’s spouse.
8) “You shall not steal.” This is a command against taking anything that is not one’s own, without the permission of the person to whom it belongs.
9) “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” This is a command prohibiting testifying against another person falsely. It is essentially a command against lying.
10) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” This is a command against desiring anything that is not one’s own. Coveting can lead to breaking one of the commandments listed above: murder, adultery, and theft. If it is wrong to do something, it is wrong to desire to do that same something.
Many people mistakenly look at the Ten Commandments as a set of rules that, if followed, will guarantee entrance into heaven after death. In contrast, the purpose of the Ten Commandments is to force people to realize that they cannot perfectly obey the Law (Romans 7:7-11), and are therefore in need of Yahuah’s mercy and grace. Despite the claims of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16, no one can perfectly obey the Ten Commandments (Ecclesiastes 7:20). The Ten Commandments demonstrate that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and are therefore in need of Yahuah’s mercy and grace, available only through faith in Yahusha HaMashiach.
Source:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Ten-Commandments.html
