They are among the most famous, familiar, and influential precepts known to humanity. They have offered a framework of moral, ethical, and spiritual conduct which continues to prove lofty, indeed, loftier, than anything we have ever seen before or since. So profound has been their influence that they have been rightly viewed as the foundation of the western legal system, the rule of law, and of moral society. It also inspired a legendary movie by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Charlton Heston.
Of course, we are talking about the Ten Commandments, God’s law as given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Known as עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת, Aseret ha’Dibrot, the 10 Commandments have had a profound influence on the Hebrew people, the Old and New Testament, and the world. They are mentioned twice in the Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:4-21. Since Deuteronomy is the retelling of the Law to the generation of Israelites born in the wilderness, it is fitting that it be repeated (Deuteronomy means the ‘second’ [recitation] of the law).
There are some echoes of the Ten Commandments among ancient civilisations, particularly the Hittites and Mesopotamian empires. One specifically is the Code of Hammurabi, which is similar in some ways but glaringly different in others. Hammurabi refers to the Babylonia gods, thus making it polytheistic. He also talks about himself a lot, too. The 10 Commandments talked about the one true God and Moses, ‘the law-giver,’ is not mentioned at all.
From this we can draw the principle that when men make the laws, they are often above them. When God makes the law, then the law is above man. Rule of law ultimately derives its legitimacy from the fact that God is the ultimate source of laws and rights, and no human should be allowed to infringe of them. ‘Not under man, but under God and law,’ a phrase posted at the Harvard Law School, sums it up excellently.
Background: Under the leadership of Moses, the children of Israel made a wholesale escape from the bondage of the land of Egypt. They were at the foot of Mount Sinai (which could be the traditional site in the Sinai Peninsula, though there is a growing school of thought that it is Jebel il Louz in NW Saudi Arabia – after all, Paul speaks of Mount Sinai being in Arabia [Galatians 4:25]).
Chapter 20 of Exodus begins with the phrase: And God spake all these words. So we learn that the 10 Commandments were oral at first and they came directly from God. So what you read following are God’s words. These commandments were written on 2 tablets of stone by the finger of God (Exodus 31:18), which eventually were housed inside the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:21; Deuteronomy 10:2,5). Because Moses was the one to receive the law, he is called the great law-giver. However, this is a little misleading: it is God who is the great law-giver, Moses was the law-receiver.
TO BE CONTINUED