The 10 Commandments

Deuteronomy 5 New International Version (NIV)

The Ten Commandments

⁷ “You shall have no other gods before^[b] me.

⁸ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁹ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

¹¹ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

¹² “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

¹⁶ “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹⁷ “You shall not murder.

¹⁸ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ “You shall not steal.

²⁰ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

²¹ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

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Heather's shortened version:

1. You shall have no other God's before me. (Do I have other God's?)
2. You shall not make a carved image of heaven above or earth beneath.  You shall not bow down to them or serve them.  (Do I have something I worship that I don't even realize?)
3. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain. (Seems most children and adults go through this phase)
4. Remember the sabbath, keep it holy.  (we/our family/our culture are not great at this)
5. Honor your father and mother. (what does honor mean?)
6. You shall not murder.  (makes sense)
7. You shall not commit adultery. (makes sense)
8. You shall not steal. (makes sense)
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (does this mean lying/gossiping?)
10. You shall not covet your neighbors house, wife, servant, belongings, anything. (jealousy? I had a phase of this - hardened my heart - very sad - changed who I spent time with)

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Heather's thoughts:
1. I feel like this list has been lost in the contemporary world.
2. I feel like I should teach these to my children.
3. But first, I need to know them myself.
4. I do agree with them.
5. I have struggled with some of them.
6. I don't understand them all and how they apply to me.
7. I have life experience/struggles with most of these.

Dear Lord, help me to know you, help me to gain wisdom from your word, help to practice what you preach, help me to teach what you teach.  Amen.