The Story

Three months after God brought His people out of Egypt, they came to Mount Sinai, the same mountain where God had spoken to Moses from the burning bush. The whole camp spread out below the mountain, and God came down on the top of it in fire and glory. There was thunder and lightning, a thick cloud, and the sound of a trumpet, louder and louder, and the whole mountain shook. The people trembled at the foot of the mountain as God Himself spoke to them out of the fire and the cloud — "God spake all these words".

Then God gave His people ten great rules — the Ten Commandments — rules for loving God and loving each other.

First, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." God alone must be first in our hearts — no idols, and nothing worshipped but Him. Second, God must not be carved or pictured into an idol to bow down to. Third, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain" — God's name is holy, and we must use it carefully and with respect, never as a joke or a swear word. Fourth, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." — one day in seven is God's special day of rest and worship.

Fifth comes our memory verse: children are to honour their father and their mother, and God attaches a promise to it. Sixth, we must not murder. Seventh, husbands and wives must keep the promises they made to each other on their wedding day. Eighth, we must not steal what belongs to someone else. Ninth, we must not tell lies about other people. And tenth, we must not covet — we must not sit wanting and wanting the things that belong to our neighbours, but be content with what God has given us.

When the people heard the thunderings and saw the lightnings and the smoking mountain, they were afraid and stood far off. They begged Moses to speak with God for them, and Moses went up into the thick darkness where God was.

God did not give these ten rules to be unkind to His people. He gave them because He loved them — to keep them safe, to show them how to live happily together, and to teach them how holy and good He is. His rules are good rules, from a God who loves us.