Where does the Sabbath commandment belong in the Ten Commandments?
The Sabbath commandment belongs with the first five commandments, which address man's relationship to God. Its wording includes 'the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,' the connecting link that ties the first five together. Some groups place it with the final six concerning man's relationship with man, but the 'Lord thy God' phrase argues otherwise.
Les teaches that the Sabbath commandment should be grouped with the first five commandments because they describe man's relationship to God. He points to the phrase in verse 10, 'the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,' as the connecting link. He notes that some groups take this commandment and put it with the final six as part of man's relationship with man, but he prefers to keep it with the first five on the board. He also includes the fifth commandment, honoring father and mother, in the first five because verse 12 says 'that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' The last five commandments lack the phrase 'the Lord thy God' and therefore deal with man's relationship with man.