Charles (Bo) Turner © April 21, 2004
I have something to tell you. Do you remember the
Ten Commandments document which was removed by court order from the
Habersham County courthouse? Have you noticed the Ten Commandments which
seemingly have sprouted from numerous lawns in many neighborhoods? Well, these
"commandments" are not the ones handed down to Moses by the LORD GOD, according
to scripture. Let's take a look. The Exodus 20: 2-17 account (the
favorite one) are not the rules which were wrtitten down, but are the
"words" that God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. Later, Moses would return to
Sinai and God gives him "two tablets of stone" with rules written on them (see
Exodus 31:18). Moses carried the two tablets down the mountain, and he saw
his brother Aaron and the other people worshipping a golden calf statue. In a
rage, Moses slams down the tablets and smashes them to bits (see Exodus
32:19).
The word "commandments" does not appear in either
biblical text. In the first instance, they are "words which God spake," and
secondly, the tablets merely contain "testimony." It is only when Moses
goes back up the mountain for new tablets do the words "ten commandments" appear
(see Exodus 24:38). Interestingly, these commandments are very different from
the "ten rules" Moses gave to the people that the LORD GOD
first spake. Following are the actual Ten Commandments given to
Moses by the LORD GOD and these are found in Exodus 34: 13-28.
1. Thou shalt worship no other
god.
2. Thou shalt make thee no molten
god.
3. The feast of unleavened bread thou shalt
keep.
4. Six days thou shalt work, but on the
seventh day thou shalt rest.
5. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of
the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at year's
end.
6. Thrice in the year shalt all your men
children appear before the LORD GOD.
7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my
sacrifice with leaven.
8. Neither shalt the sacrifice of the feast
of the passover be left unto the morning.
9. The feast of thy firstfruits of thy land
thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy GOD.
10. Thy shalt not seethe a kid (young goat) in his
mother's milk.
It seems obvious to me when anyone takes the time
and effort to read the texts found in Exodus, they shall discover the fight
to remove the Ten Commandments from public buildings was fought over the wrong
document. Check it out. It may surprise you! SHALOM! © April 21, 2004 |
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