The Ten Commandments divide into two groups of five — the first five are marked by the repeated phrase 'the Lord thy God,' and the last five address wrongs against other people.
Les Feldick points out that the expression 'the Lord thy God' is attached to every one of the first five commandments. The King James text shows this phrase in Exodus 20:2, 20:5, 20:7, 20:10, and 20:12. The final five commands, Exodus 20:13-17, forbid murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and coveting — actions that concern a person's relationship with other people.
Exodus 20:1-17 — The full text of the Ten Commandments is where each of the first five commands contains the phrase 'the LORD thy God' and where the last five commands address social wrongs.
Exodus 20 records the Ten Commandments as the words of God to Israel. In the King James text, the first five commandments are each tied to the phrase 'the LORD thy God.' The opening preface says, 'I am the LORD thy God' (Exodus 20:2). The second command includes 'I the LORD thy God am a jealous God' (Exodus 20:5). The third says, 'Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain' (Exodus 20:7). The fourth calls the seventh day 'the sabbath of the LORD thy God' (Exodus 20:10). The fifth promises long life 'upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee' (Exodus 20:12). The final five commands are worded differently. Exodus 20:13-17 says, 'Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house... nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.' These final commands govern how a person treats other people.
Les Feldick draws attention to the wording of the first five commandments in Exodus 20. He teaches that the phrase 'the Lord thy God' is attached to every one of these first five commandments, making that phrase the textual marker for the Godward group. He also stresses that the fourth commandment is not only the command to remember the Sabbath in verse 8; verse 9 is part of that same command, so it includes the six working days along with the seventh-day rest.
Les points out that as he goes through the first five commandments, the expression 'the Lord thy God' is attached to every one of them. This repeated phrase is the textual marker that identifies the first five as a distinct Godward group.
Yes. Les teaches that verse 9 is part of the fourth commandment just as much as verse 8. The command includes the six days of labor and the seventh-day rest; it is not meant to be split apart.
Exodus 20:13-17 forbids killing, committing adultery, stealing, bearing false witness against a neighbor, and coveting a neighbor's house, wife, servants, livestock, or anything that belongs to him. These commands directly govern relationships between people.
Les teaches that the Ten Commandments are not religious doctrine; they are the criteria for social behavior and are simply the mind of God for mankind's own good. When a society rebels against these basic tenets, it is in trouble, and empires have fallen.
First Five Commandments Marked by 'The Lord Thy God'
Les shows that the phrase 'the Lord thy God' is attached to every one of the first five commandments, which is the textual evidence for dividing them together. He also treats verse 9 as part of the fourth commandment.
The 3 Parts of the Law & Why They Don't Save You
The Ten Commandments were written on cold old tables of stone, and they were unmovable. And as I pointed out in the last half hour, what could the law do? Nothing but condemn. The law had no power whatsoever to help a man keep from stealing. The law had no power to keep somebody from committing adultery. All it could do was say, don't you do it, or you'd better do it.
What Does the Bible Really Say About Obeying Government?
So since we're under Grace, and not under Law, and love is the dominant force now in the life of the believer. Remember love is the fulfilling of the Law, so when love is operating, my look what happens. You don't commit adultery, you don't kill, you don't bear false witness, you don't covet, and if there's any other commandment, it's love your neighbor as yourself.
Ten Commandments as Behavioral Criteria
Les says the Ten Commandments are a criterion for social behavior, not religious doctrine, and everything in them is for mankind's own good.
Dead to the Law, Married to Christ — What Romans 7 Really Means
I don't care how irreligious a person can be, I don't care if he's an atheist, those commandments of God are still hanging over him. He can't escape them. And when one day he comes before the great white throne, he's going to be judged according to that law. Don't ever lose sight of that. The law, the Ten Commandments, are perfect, they're righteous, they're holy, and they're eternal.
Ten Commandments Establish a Good Society
Les explains that displaying the Ten Commandments does not impose one religion; they simply establish good social order, and ignoring them brings societal collapse.
Did Adam Sin Out of Love? The Hebrew Servant Explained
All right, in Exodus chapter 21, now this is just after the law was given in chapter 20, and we have a set of rules and regulations, not concerned with the Ten Commandments per se, but that was part of their civil law. In other words, how to get along with their neighbor and how as an employee to get along with his boss and so forth.
Understanding Cain and Abel: Faith, Sin, and Civilization Explained
That's all that's wrong. There's nothing else that has come between these two brothers except this one fact. And so now Cain becomes envious. Do you realize that you cannot break a single one of the Ten Commandments without first being guilty of envy? Turn with me again, I'm sorry. Go back again to the New Testament. Go to Romans chapter 7, I think it is. Romans chapter 7.
Exodus 20:2: I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
This opening statement places 'the LORD thy God' at the head of the first command.
Exodus 20:5: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
The second command repeats the phrase 'the LORD thy God' when forbidding idolatry.
Exodus 20:7: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
The third command repeats the phrase in the prohibition against taking God's name in vain.
Exodus 20:10: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
The fourth command identifies the Sabbath as 'the sabbath of the LORD thy God.'
Exodus 20:12: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
The fifth command keeps the phrase and groups honoring parents with the Godward commands.
Exodus 20:13-17: Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
These five prohibitions directly govern how a person treats other people.
The first five commandments center on God and are marked by the repeated phrase 'the Lord thy God.' The final five commandments forbid killing, adultery, stealing, false witness, and coveting — actions that concern relationships with other people.
Les points out that the phrase 'the Lord thy God' is attached to every one of the first five commandments. The Sabbath command itself contains that phrase in Exodus 20:10, so it belongs with the Godward group.
No. Les says the Ten Commandments are not a religious doctrine or a criterion for salvation. They are the criteria for social behavior and are for mankind's own good, which is why he sees no problem with them being displayed in public schools.
No. Les teaches that verse 9 is part of the fourth commandment just as much as verse 8. The command includes the six working days as well as the seventh-day rest; it is not meant to be split apart.
Watch the Teaching: The Ten Commandments Explained: Why "Love" Isn't Mentioned