M
Be ye warned, this is fairly lengthy. 
God spoke Ten Commandments at Sinai to the Israelite nation. This is recorded at Exodus 20 and again at Deuteronomy 5.
At Matthew 19, starting with the 16th verse, we have a discussion between Jesus and a rich young man about the commandments. The young man asked what good thing he must do to get eternal life. Jesus responded, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." Which ones? And here Jesus relates 5 of the 10 given at Sinai plus an additional one found in Leviticus.
What about the other five? Are they not to be followed? Is it permitted then to have other gods? To worship idols? To take God's Name in vain? To not remember nor observe the Sabbath? To covet? Are these permissible?
I would argue that they are not permissible and submit the following for your consideration. (The following is taken from a previous post on another discussion board.)
The 10 Commandments were given on stone tablets. Five were on one tablet, five on the other. And so we see that there is a relationship or correlation between commandments 1 and 6, 2 and 7, 3 and 8, 4 and 9 and 5 and 10. When Jesus mentioned five of the ten, he was in effect relating the other five as well. Allow me to illustrate.
1 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:2-3)
6 Do not murder (Matthew 19:18)
2 Do not worship idols (Exodus 20:4-6)
7 Do not commit adultery (Matthew 19:18)
3 Do not take God's Name in vain (Exodus 20:7)
8 Do not steal (Matthew 19:18)
4 Remember (Observe) the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8-11. Deut 5:12-15)
9 Do not give false testimony (Matthew 19:18)
5 Honor your father and mother (Matthew 19:19)
10 Do not covet (Exodus 20:17)
How do the commandments relate to one another?
1 and 6: One who murders violates God's express command and also snuffs out that spark of the divine that is in each of us. Also it says we might as well have stayed in Egypt where murder (throwing babies in the Nile) was an accepted practice. And one makes himself or herself their own god, having power over life and death.
2 and 7: Committing adultery puts carnal relations and the gratification of lust ahead of God. A man who commits adultery does not recognize God as being present in marriage and will ultimately be consumed. To illustrate: the word for man is 'ish' (aleph, yud, shin). The word for woman is 'ishah' (aleph, shin, hey). You will notice that the words ish and ishah are very similar, with different letters thrown in. They are yud and hey, which are part of the Divine Name (yud, hey, vav, hey). This teaches that when God is present in the marriage between man and woman, the union is blessed and holy. Without God (yud, hey) you have esh (aleph and shin), which is the word for 'fire'. Therefore, keep God at the center of marriage.
3 and 8: Taking what doesn't belong to us is a gross misuse of God's name. God's Name is holy. Stealing is a sin and as such is unholy.
4 and 9: The Sabbath is a sign between God and the people. Exodus 31:17. It is a reminder of the work of creation and that since God stopped creating on the 7th day, so too should we refrain from creating. We bear witness that God is the creator and ruler over all, including the Sabbath, when we remember the Sabbath. If we work on the Sabbath or make others work for us, we give false witness. We say God doesn't care about work and rest. God doesn't care about our hired help or the animals. That is false witness.
5 and 10: This one, I'm not so sure on the connection. Maybe if people covet and this leads to violation of the commandments then their children will not honor them. And thanks to another poster for the following insights: I had a thought about matching up #5 and 10. I personally think this that #5 has to assume that we have parents who do keep the Word of the L-rd. I've had to counsel people with issues such as this, and if our parents are not the kind of people a believer would want to emulate and please, then by "honor" we must apply a more abstract way of thinking... to bring honor to their name, by living better than they have, for example...
But assuming a G-dly family, what DOES drive the youth to fail to respect or honor their parents? It seems to me that only covetousness can do this. For example, we may covet our independence, and thus would rather do our own thing than do as our parents ask.
And as for "love your neighbor as yourself" this is found at Lev 19:18. Jesus said this was the second greatest commandment. And Paul said all the law is summed up in this command.
Be well,
Leo
God spoke Ten Commandments at Sinai to the Israelite nation. This is recorded at Exodus 20 and again at Deuteronomy 5.
At Matthew 19, starting with the 16th verse, we have a discussion between Jesus and a rich young man about the commandments. The young man asked what good thing he must do to get eternal life. Jesus responded, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." Which ones? And here Jesus relates 5 of the 10 given at Sinai plus an additional one found in Leviticus.
What about the other five? Are they not to be followed? Is it permitted then to have other gods? To worship idols? To take God's Name in vain? To not remember nor observe the Sabbath? To covet? Are these permissible?
I would argue that they are not permissible and submit the following for your consideration. (The following is taken from a previous post on another discussion board.)
The 10 Commandments were given on stone tablets. Five were on one tablet, five on the other. And so we see that there is a relationship or correlation between commandments 1 and 6, 2 and 7, 3 and 8, 4 and 9 and 5 and 10. When Jesus mentioned five of the ten, he was in effect relating the other five as well. Allow me to illustrate.
1 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:2-3)
6 Do not murder (Matthew 19:18)
2 Do not worship idols (Exodus 20:4-6)
7 Do not commit adultery (Matthew 19:18)
3 Do not take God's Name in vain (Exodus 20:7)
8 Do not steal (Matthew 19:18)
4 Remember (Observe) the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8-11. Deut 5:12-15)
9 Do not give false testimony (Matthew 19:18)
5 Honor your father and mother (Matthew 19:19)
10 Do not covet (Exodus 20:17)
How do the commandments relate to one another?
1 and 6: One who murders violates God's express command and also snuffs out that spark of the divine that is in each of us. Also it says we might as well have stayed in Egypt where murder (throwing babies in the Nile) was an accepted practice. And one makes himself or herself their own god, having power over life and death.
2 and 7: Committing adultery puts carnal relations and the gratification of lust ahead of God. A man who commits adultery does not recognize God as being present in marriage and will ultimately be consumed. To illustrate: the word for man is 'ish' (aleph, yud, shin). The word for woman is 'ishah' (aleph, shin, hey). You will notice that the words ish and ishah are very similar, with different letters thrown in. They are yud and hey, which are part of the Divine Name (yud, hey, vav, hey). This teaches that when God is present in the marriage between man and woman, the union is blessed and holy. Without God (yud, hey) you have esh (aleph and shin), which is the word for 'fire'. Therefore, keep God at the center of marriage.
3 and 8: Taking what doesn't belong to us is a gross misuse of God's name. God's Name is holy. Stealing is a sin and as such is unholy.
4 and 9: The Sabbath is a sign between God and the people. Exodus 31:17. It is a reminder of the work of creation and that since God stopped creating on the 7th day, so too should we refrain from creating. We bear witness that God is the creator and ruler over all, including the Sabbath, when we remember the Sabbath. If we work on the Sabbath or make others work for us, we give false witness. We say God doesn't care about work and rest. God doesn't care about our hired help or the animals. That is false witness.
5 and 10: This one, I'm not so sure on the connection. Maybe if people covet and this leads to violation of the commandments then their children will not honor them. And thanks to another poster for the following insights: I had a thought about matching up #5 and 10. I personally think this that #5 has to assume that we have parents who do keep the Word of the L-rd. I've had to counsel people with issues such as this, and if our parents are not the kind of people a believer would want to emulate and please, then by "honor" we must apply a more abstract way of thinking... to bring honor to their name, by living better than they have, for example...
But assuming a G-dly family, what DOES drive the youth to fail to respect or honor their parents? It seems to me that only covetousness can do this. For example, we may covet our independence, and thus would rather do our own thing than do as our parents ask.
And as for "love your neighbor as yourself" this is found at Lev 19:18. Jesus said this was the second greatest commandment. And Paul said all the law is summed up in this command.
Be well,
Leo
