The Ten Commandments
March 14, 2010
For a couple of years of my life, I was a Biblical archeologist. So I love the great archeology finds that have shed light on the Bible. One of the greatest of these was the discovery of the Law Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon, nearly 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus. The publication of this code was one of the great moments in the history of law. Hammurabi had huge stone monuments set up in all the corners of his empire with the words of the law written on them so that all the citizens would know and obey the law. Back in graduate school at Harvard, when I studied the ancient Akkadian cuneiform, we looked at Hammurabi in the original language.
We find a great similarity between the Code of Hammurabi and the Law of Moses in the Old Testament. One similarity is the lex talionis. That is the principle of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” We sometimes add, “and a claw for a claw.” That last phrase comes from Roman law, which is why we call it lex talionis, Latin for “the law of the claw.”
Code of Hammurabi 196: If a citizen has destroyed the eye of another citizen, they shall destroy his eye. 200: If a citizen has knocked out the tooth of another citizen, they shall knock out his tooth. Ex. 21:23-25. But if [someone causes] a serious injury, you are to take [from him] life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. This principle of “an eye for an eye is deeply rooted in Semitic culture to this day. This is why it is so hard to make peace between Israelis and the Palestinians. They both come from traditions which believe that one killing should be avenged by another.
One thing that makes the Ten Commandments a good summary of God’s law is the very thing that separates them from the code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi says: If you do this wrong thing, then here is what your punishment will be. The Ten Commandments, on the other hand, are an absolute imperative: Thou shalt not. Not if you do it, but rather, God says absolutely, “Do not do it at all!” And God says it in the second person singular to make it very personal to you and me: “You, personally, do not do it.”
Methodists have traditionally been big supporters of the commandments of God. (By the way, the version of the Ten Commandments that we usually see pictured is the Protestant version. All the versions use Exodus 20, but Jews divide the first commandment differently, and Catholics divide the last one differently.) If you go to John Wesley’s chapel in London, you will see the 10 Commandments posted on the front wall behind the pulpit, just as it is in a number of Anglican and Episcopal churches. John Wesley said that God has given human governments the concept of the rule of law in order to protect us. It is a part of God’s Prevenient Grace, which Wesley called Preventing Grace. Law does indeed prevent a lot of evil. The Apostle Paul says that the law is kind of like a tutor to watch over us and keep us in line until we learn what is right and wrong.
Several of the Psalms celebrate the value of the law. Our Psalter today, from Psalm 119, the longest chapter of the Bible, is written in praise of the law. And Psalm 19, offers some beautiful poetry on this topic:
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey, pure honey from the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-11
But the law cannot save you. You cannot save yourself by simply obeying the law. This is one of the greatest misconceptions about the Christian faith. We think that we can save ourselves by doing good things, but this is contrary to the Bible. We encourage good deeds, but we can only be saved by the Grace of God, which we receive through faith in Jesus Christ. Still, Jesus spoke favorably toward the law. He said, “I have not come to destroy the law, but so that the law could be fulfilled through me.”(Mt. 5:17)
Jesus realizes the limitations of the commandments, and he sets a deeper standard, a standard not just of outward obedience, but rather purity of heart. He says in Matthew 5:21ff., “You have heard that it was said to those of old (this is a Rabbinic manner of speaking) [ ], 'Thou shall not murder,’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Christ holds us to an even higher standard than the 10 Commandments.
We are prone to hold others to strict standards under the law, but we are very often quick to forgive ourselves. Jesus said, “First get the log out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to take the speck out of another person’s eye.” And Jesus offers another way to go deeper beyond the Ten Commandments when he gives us the Golden Rule. This is a cornerstone of the Law of the Heart. “Whatever you would like others to do for you, do that same thing for them.” (Luke 6:31) This takes a second step beyond the Ten Commandments by beings positive rather than negative. Several other religions have a negative Golden Rule, sometimes called the Silver Rule: “Don’t do unto others what you do not want them to do to you.” Only Christianity has the Golden Rule: “Do unto others.” Don’t just avoid harm. Also make sure you are doing good to others.
Jesus summarizes his law of love in a new commandment. John 13:34: “A new commandment I give you: that you love one another as I have loved you.” This takes the Golden Rule a step further, because Christ not only loved others, he did it to the point of sacrificing himself. To love others as Christ loved us is to love sacrificially. It is to give ourselves for them.
Romans says that the real reason for keeping the law is love. Do you remember Romans 13:9-10? “For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and [every] other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Jesus summarizes this more explicitly when he quotes Deuteronomy and Leviticus in Matthew 22:36ff. One of them asked him, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (and with all your strength).' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
The whole law comes from these 2 commandments. First, and foremost, to love God with all your being. And then to love your neighbor. From this perspective, let’s look back again at the actual content of the Ten Commandments. The first four are about love for God; the last six are about love for other people.
As the final part of looking at these commandments, I want us to look at the specific content of each commandment and take an introspective spiritual inventory, asking ourselves: How am I doing in this area? Perhaps something in these commandments has spoken to you. Perhaps you need let something go. Maybe you need to do better. Maybe you and the Lord are due for a good, long talk.