The Ten Commandments

Micheangelos's Moses in Rome

Do you recognize any of the following commandments?

"You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord is "the Jealous One";  a jealous God is he."
"You shall not make for yourselves molten gods."
"You shall keep the feast of Unleavened Bread."
"The first-born among your sons you shall redeem."
"No one shall appear before me empty-handed."
"For six days you may work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; on that day you must rest even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting."
"You shall keep the feast of Weeks with the first of the wheat harvest; likewise, the feast at the fruit harvest at the close of the year."
"You shall not offer me the blood of sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall the sacrifice of the Passover feast be kept overnight for the next day."
"The choicest first fruits of you soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord, your God."
"You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."

They were not all familiar with me either until I read them this morning.  Every morning I begin my day with two of the oldest Glenmarians, Fr. Jim, 94 years old and Fr. Frank, 95 years old, praying the breviary.  This prayer is also known as the Liturgy of Hours or the Divine Office.  Fr. Frank can no longer see, so together we begin with the office of readings read out loud which is followed by Morning Prayer or Lauds. During Lent, the first reading is usually from the book of Exodus.  Today we read Chapter 34: 1ff.  Moses comes down the mountain a second time.  He already destroyed the first set of tablets when the people were worshiping the Golden Calf.  So this is the second set of tablets.  Verse 34:4 states, "Moses then cut two stone tablets like the former, and early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him, taking along the two stone tablets.  (The movie the TEN COMMANDMENTS for all its drama is not a literal portrayal of the Bible.)

In verse 10 we read, "Here, then," said the Lord, "is the covenant I will make.  .... vs 11 "But you, on your part, must keep the commandments I am giving you today."  What you read at the start of my blog is what follows in verses 12 - 26.  I know the above list is not what I memorized as a child or youth.

Yet, if you study this list, there is a call to worship, to sacrifice and to show mercy. After all, to cook a baby goat in the milk of its nursing mother seems unkind to the nanny goat, even through the animal does not witness the action.  It is a form of mercy.  So where does the list of ten commandments that we memorize come from?  Well, it comes from another part of the Bible, Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

This list reads as follows:

"I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.  You shall not have other gods besides me."
"You shall not take the name of the Lord, you God, in vain."
"Take care to keep holy the sabbath day as the Lord, your God, commanded."
"Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord, you God, has commanded you, that you may have a long life and prosperity in the land which the Lord, our God, is giving you."
"You shall not kill."


"You shall not commit adultery."

"You shall not steal."

"You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor."

"You shall not covert your neighbor's wife."

"You shall not desire your neighbor's house or field, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox, or ass, nor anything that belongs to him."



Michaengelo's Moses



Parents, priests, and others often encourage people to keep the ten commandments.  They do provide a good guide for morally living.  Yet, it is good to stop and read them directly from the Bible and not a summary list.  When I reflect on this list, it reminds me that the Old Testament is a series of books combined together. That Exodus and Deuteronomy tell the same story but in a different way.  Exodus is more a description of events whereas Deuteronomy is an entire book of how to live a faithful life to the one true God as the great teacher Moses instructed.  My warning here is to avoid biblical fundamentalism or literalism.  Also, it is important not to try an harmonize various accounts of the same story. Reading the Bible with a mind to what message God is giving you and God's people often is the most fruitful.  Biblical scholars will study and provide guidance for us in commentaries.  Yet, what is most important is to absorb the comfort and challenge of Bible in the context of its times and in the moment of life today. 

So what is the invitation of God for us in the readings of Exodus and Deuteronomy?  How do we live a life of faithfulness to God's Holy Word?  Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 ff, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.  Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place."

The fulfillment of the Law is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The coming of His Holy Spirit which lives in every baptized person enables us to keep the Law.  If I know the two great commandments of Jesus, Love God and Love your neighbor as your self, then I do not have to worry about all the laws in the Old Testament.  I do not have to sort out which law is fullfilled by the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Divine Love will never let me violate God's Law.  My sinfulness and my sinful desires may lead to violate God's law, but if rooted in Divine Love and if living in harmony with Divine Love, it will be impossible to do so.

Therefore, may we worry less about where the Ten Commandments are posted or not and worry more about them being written on our own hearts. May the sacrifice of Jesus soften our hearts so His Love may control and guide our actions.  Let us not boil a kid in it's mother's milk.