SELECTED ARTICLE
Exodus 20
The Decalogue (The Ten Commandments)
(See Decalogue.)
Exodus 20:1
Exodus 20:1 (ESV)
“And God spoke all these words, saying,”
The giving of the Decalogue begins with a simple but profoundly significant statement:
“And God spoke…”
This should be understood as God speaking directly to the assembled nation of Israel as they stood together at the foot of Mount Sinai. Scripture has already established that God spoke with Moses in the hearing of the people (Exodus 19:16–19), so that they would know beyond any doubt that Moses was God’s appointed mediator.
From my observation, it is important to recognize that the Ten Commandments were not originally addressed to Israel’s religious leaders, priests, or scholars. They were spoken directly to the covenant community as a whole.
The language of the Decalogue reflects this purpose. Its commandments are expressed in clear, straightforward language that every Israelite could understand. They address the everyday temptations and responsibilities of ordinary people rather than abstract theological concepts intended only for the learned.
This public proclamation also established the highest possible authority for the commandments that followed. Israel did not first receive these commands through Moses; they first heard them spoken directly by God Himself.
Exodus 20:2
Exodus 20:2 (ESV)
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Before giving a single commandment, God first identifies Himself.
These are the first words spoken directly by God to the ears of the assembled nation after His dramatic manifestation upon Mount Sinai.
From my observation, this order is deeply significant.
God does not begin with a command.
He begins with a declaration.
“I am the LORD your God…”
Before Israel is instructed how to live, they are reminded who God is and what He has already done for them.
God identifies Himself as the One who delivered them from Egypt and from the bondage of slavery.
No credit is given to Moses.
No credit is given to Israel.
The Exodus is attributed entirely to God.
This is consistent with the entire Exodus narrative.
When God first called Moses, Moses repeatedly objected and pleaded that someone else be sent (Exodus 4:1–17). Likewise, the people of Israel had become so discouraged by their harsh slavery that they were unable even to listen to Moses’ message of deliverance (Exodus 6:6–9).
From my observation, had the Exodus depended upon either Moses or the people of Israel, it would never have occurred.
It was accomplished solely through God’s sovereign purpose, His power, His grace, and His faithfulness.
Therefore, God alone rightly receives the glory for Israel’s redemption.
This principle establishes an important theological pattern that extends throughout Scripture.
The Exodus serves as a paradigm of salvation.
Just as Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was accomplished entirely by God, so our salvation is accomplished entirely through Jesus Christ.
Neither Israel rescued itself from Egypt, nor do we rescue ourselves from sin.
In both cases, salvation belongs to the Lord.
For this reason, it is significant that God’s declaration of redemption precedes the giving of the Law.
Before Israel hears,
“You shall…”
they first hear,
“I am the LORD your God who brought you out…”
From my observation, this demonstrates that redemption precedes obligation.
God first establishes relationship.
Only then does He establish covenant responsibilities.
This order should not be overlooked.
It prepares the reader to understand the commandments that follow within the context of an existing covenant relationship rather than as conditions by which Israel earned God’s favor.
This introductory declaration also prepares the way for one of the greatest failures recorded in Israel’s history.
When we later arrive at Exodus 32, these opening words become especially significant.
The people who fashioned the golden calf were not ignorant of God’s identity.
They had personally witnessed His mighty acts.
They had heard His voice.
They knew that it was the LORD alone who had delivered them from Egypt.
Their later actions must therefore be understood in light of the covenant revelation they had already received.
COMMANDMENT ONE
Exodus 20:3
Exodus 20:3 (ESV)
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT TWO
Exodus 20:4–6
Exodus 20:4–6 (ESV)
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image…”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT THREE
Exodus 20:7
Exodus 20:7 (ESV)
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT FOUR
Exodus 20:8–11
Exodus 20:8–11 (ESV)
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT FIVE
Exodus 20:12
Exodus 20:12 (ESV)
“Honor your father and your mother…”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT SIX
Exodus 20:13
Exodus 20:13 (ESV)
“You shall not murder.”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT SEVEN
Exodus 20:14
Exodus 20:14 (ESV)
“You shall not commit adultery.”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT EIGHT
Exodus 20:15
Exodus 20:15 (ESV)
“You shall not steal.”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT NINE
Exodus 20:16
Exodus 20:16 (ESV)
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
(Commentary to be added.)
COMMANDMENT TEN
Exodus 20:17
Exodus 20:17 (ESV)
“You shall not covet…”
(Commentary to be added.)
Exodus 20:18–20
Exodus 20:18–20 (ESV)
“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.’ Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin.'”
Following the giving of the Decalogue, Scripture records the immediate response of the people.
Having witnessed the thunder, lightning, trumpet blast, smoke, and the overwhelming manifestation of God’s presence upon Mount Sinai, the people were overcome with fear. Their response was entirely understandable. They stood at a distance and pleaded with Moses:
“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
From my observation, we should not underestimate the intensity of this moment.
The people had witnessed God answer Moses in thunder, exactly as He had promised in Exodus 19:
“…that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”
Their fear arose from encountering the awesome holiness and majesty of God.
This passage provides an important confirmation of what was established in Exodus 19.
Scripture plainly states that the people both saw and heard God’s interaction with Moses. Whether every individual understood every word spoken directly by God or whether Moses faithfully communicated God’s words as mediator is not the central issue.
What Scripture clearly establishes is that the people understood God’s commandments.
The Decalogue was not hidden from them.
Nor was it communicated privately to Moses alone.
Israel first received these commandments by hearing them spoken from heaven during this extraordinary encounter with God.
From my observation, this made the deepest and most authoritative impression possible upon the nation.
The commandments were not merely the words of Moses.
They were recognized as the very words of God.
This explains why Moses immediately reassures the people:
“Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin.”
At first glance, Moses’ statement may appear contradictory.
He tells the people not to fear while simultaneously saying that God desires the fear of Him to remain before them.
The distinction is important.
Moses is not telling the people to abandon reverence for God.
Rather, he is encouraging them not to allow overwhelming terror to drive them away from God.
Instead, they are to possess a reverential fear—a deep respect and awe for God’s holiness—that produces obedience rather than panic.
From my observation, this reverential fear becomes one of the great themes throughout Scripture.
It is not the fear of a tyrant.
It is the proper response of sinful humanity standing before a holy God.
Such fear serves a gracious purpose.
It restrains sin.
It reminds humanity of God’s holiness.
It continually calls God’s people to humble obedience.
Thus, the public giving of the Decalogue accomplished more than the communication of ten commandments.
It established forever that these commands originated with God Himself.
The Opening Law of the Covenant Collection
The giving of the Ten Commandments concludes the public proclamation of God’s Decalogue.
What follows marks the beginning of the broader Covenant Collection, in which God privately reveals additional laws to Moses that will govern Israel’s covenant life.
This distinction is important.
The Decalogue was spoken directly by God in the hearing of the entire nation.
The Covenant Collection that follows was given privately to Moses, who would then faithfully communicate it to the people.
Exodus 20:21–22
Exodus 20:21–22 (ESV)
“The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: “You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.”‘”
The people remain at a distance while Moses alone approaches the thick darkness where God had manifested His presence.
From this point forward, Moses once again functions as the covenant mediator between God and Israel.
God then declares:
“You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.”
This statement is remarkably important.
God Himself reminds the people that they have personally witnessed this encounter.
Their confidence in Moses’ authority is therefore not based merely upon Moses’ testimony.
It is grounded in their own experience.
They had seen God’s manifestation.
They had heard His voice.
They knew that Moses spoke with God.
From my observation, this removes any legitimate doubt concerning the divine origin of the Covenant Collection that follows.
Although the remaining laws would now be communicated through Moses rather than spoken publicly to the entire nation, Israel had already witnessed God’s authentication of His chosen mediator.
There could therefore be no reasonable question that the laws Moses would deliver originated with God Himself.
Exodus 20:23–26
Exodus 20:23–26 (ESV)
“You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.”
These verses introduce the opening law of the Covenant Collection. Although they immediately follow the Decalogue, they should be distinguished from the Ten Commandments themselves.
The Decalogue was spoken publicly by God in the hearing of the entire nation. The Covenant Collection now begins as God privately instructs Moses, who will faithfully communicate these additional laws to the people.
From my observation, this distinction is important because it provides valuable context for one of the most debated events in Israel’s history—the making of the golden calf in Exodus 32.
The Relationship Between the Decalogue and the Covenant Collection
Scripture clearly establishes that the people of Israel heard the Decalogue before the events of Exodus 32.
They had personally heard God declare:
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Immediately afterward, the opening law of the Covenant Collection adds another important instruction:
“You shall not make gods of silver to be with Me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.”
From my observation, these two commands are closely related, yet they are not identical.
The First Commandment addresses who is to be worshipped.
The opening law of the Covenant Collection addresses how the true God is to be worshipped.
The distinction may be summarized as follows:
The First Commandment declares:
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Its emphasis is upon exclusive devotion to the LORD alone.
The opening law of the Covenant Collection declares:
“You shall not make gods of silver to be with Me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.”
Its emphasis is upon the manner of worship.
God is not to be worshipped through man-made images or physical representations associated with Him.
Thus, while the two commands complement one another, they address different aspects of covenant faithfulness.
There Is a Right Way to Worship God
This distinction becomes even more significant when considered alongside God’s own explanation:
“…You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.”
God had revealed Himself through His voice.
He had not revealed Himself in any physical form that could be reproduced.
From my observation, this provides the theological basis for the command.
Because God had not revealed Himself through any visible image, Israel was not to create one.
No carved image.
No idol.
No figure fashioned from gold or silver.
No physical representation was authorized to accompany the worship of the living God.
True worship was therefore to be directed toward God Himself rather than toward any object that claimed to represent Him.
The Golden Calf (Exodus 32)
This distinction has led some Jewish scholars to suggest that the sin of the golden calf may be more nuanced than is often assumed.
Many Christians naturally conclude that Israel violated the First Commandment by worshipping another god.
Some Jewish interpreters, however, argue that the people were not attempting to replace the LORD with an entirely different deity.
Rather, they were attempting to worship the true God through a visible representation that He had expressly forbidden.
Whether or not one ultimately accepts that interpretation, it raises an important question worthy of careful consideration.
The people had recently witnessed:
- the plagues upon Egypt,
- the Passover,
- the pillar of cloud,
- the pillar of fire,
- the crossing of the Red Sea,
- God’s provision in the wilderness,
- His descent upon Mount Sinai,
- and they had heard Him speak.
From my observation, it seems difficult to believe that a nation having witnessed such extraordinary manifestations of God’s power would so quickly abandon belief in the LORD altogether.
This does not excuse their actions.
Nor does it lessen the seriousness of their sin.
Rather, it suggests that the nature of their sin may deserve closer examination.
Were they attempting to worship another god?
Or were they attempting to worship the true God in a manner that He had explicitly forbidden?
Scripture itself does not leave us free to dismiss either question lightly.
The opening law of the Covenant Collection demonstrates that proper worship involves not only worshipping the right God but also worshipping Him in the manner that He has prescribed.
A Principle That Extends Beyond Israel
From my observation, this principle extends well beyond the events recorded in Exodus.
Throughout Scripture, God consistently determines both the object of worship and the manner in which He is to be worshipped.
Sincerity alone is not sufficient.
Good intentions cannot substitute for obedience.
The worship that pleases God is worship that is offered according to His revealed will.
This principle is seen repeatedly throughout both the Old and New Testaments and ultimately reaches its fullest expression in the worship offered through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest.
Concluding Observation
The opening law of the Covenant Collection therefore serves as a fitting transition from the Decalogue to the remainder of Israel’s covenant legislation.
God had first revealed Himself.
He had spoken directly to His people.
He had established His exclusive right to their worship.
He now begins to instruct them concerning the proper manner in which that worship is to be expressed.
From my observation, understanding this progression provides valuable context for interpreting the events that follow in Exodus, particularly the tragedy of the golden calf. It also reminds us that biblical worship has always been defined by God’s revelation rather than by human imagination.