Category Archives: The Ten Commandments

Law, The Ten Commandments

Commandment #5 – Honour your parents

Opening Question

What’s the best thing you have learned from your parents?

Exodus 20:12

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

In the beginning (5 mins)

What can we say about family from the first pages of the bible?

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:23-24; 3:20; 4:1-2,25-26

We see God’s design for husband and wife to procreate and another family to be formed. Being God’s design is the key. Note that Gen 4:25-26 describes a new generation who are being taught to call on the Lord. The next generation must hear and respond to the gospel!

Also Genesis 17:1-9

Abraham means something like ‘father of many’ and Verse 9 declares that he and his descendants are to keep this covenant so that they will be blessed in the land and they will be God’s people.

The command to Israel (5 mins)

What are the points that come from Exodus 20:12 and how does our tour of Genesis show the importance of this command?

  1. Respect and appreciate your parents
  2. Because of the covenant between God and Abraham and Israel.
  3. Parents are given the duty to teach their children about this covenant and pass on to them the need to remain faithful to the LORD. Children need to give ear to their parents and not abandon the covenant. This is the ordered way since creation.

Israel’s history (10 mins)

Read Deuteronomy Chapter 6.

  1. What is the responsibility of the parents?
  2. What is the expectation of the children?
  3. What clues do we see in this chapter that tell us that Israel did not keep this commandment well?

The Gospel (10 mins)

What difference has Jesus made to our understanding of this command?

  • Matthew 10:34-39 (see also 19:27-30)
    • Israel was a nation under the Old Covenant that tied them to family and to the land. Jesus is not interested in breaking up families but he desires us to choose the kingdom over family. His teaching is with regard to children needing to opt into the kingdom of God despite the teaching of their parents. The order is not rebellion but a covenant that is no longer dependent on parents to teach the children. Literally, children in the first century will leave their Jewish faith and put their trust in Christ.
  • Matthew 12:46-50
    • The family of God transcends blood relations. We will learn of the covenant with Christ in the church.
  • Matthew 15:1-9
    • Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for dodging the 5th commandment with some loopwhol of higher loyalty to God. It is difficult to reconcile his rebuke here with the earlier passages in Matthew. But both the old covenant and the new share this: loving God and neighbour – God desires mercy rather than sacrifice. Honouring the 5th commandment is about living in submission to God – to love relationships under God. 
  • Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:20-21
    • The 5th commandment is not overturned by the gospel. Parents ought to do better in the family because of the gospel.

Christian Living (15 mins)

The 5th commandment remains a created ordinance and the nurture of children is best found inside the family unit. A family who raises children to know and love the Lord is a blessed family (not to be confused with happy and perfect!) Anybody who finds the Lord ought to find a family in the church. No matter what your circumstance, we are all called to love the Lord with all our heart and to love our neighbour as ourselves. Parents are a gift and even under the curse we can learn something from them.

If you are running out of time, you may need to discuss how this teaching affects each other and pray for one another. Support for Fathers and Mothers; prayer for those who still have parents; prayer to forgive others and to repent ourselves.

If you have more time – or for homework…

The following verses share Paul’s response to the gospel and the blessing of his own mothers.

  • Galatians 1:13-20 (he was called from his mother’s womb and left the tradition of his parents to follow the true gospel of the Lord)
  • Romans 16:13 (Paul mentions a spiritual mother)
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8 (Paul remembers that sharing the gospel went further than knowledge but came with love like a mother to children).
  • 2 Timothy 1:3-5 (generational faith is seen in the family of Timothy)

Law, The Ten Commandments, Worship

Commandment #4- Remember the Sabbath

Opening Question

What image comes to you when you think of rest? (what does ‘rest’ mean for you?)

Exodus 20:8-11

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Notes: the word ‘sabbath’ means ‘to cease’ or ‘to desist’.

In the beginning (5 mins)

What does the 7th day after creation teach us? Read Exodus 20:11 and Genesis 1:31-2:3.

  1. The six days account for the whole process of creation from beginning to end. That is, after six days, it is all finished and therefore God rests (literally ‘ceased’) from his labour. He declared it to be very good and then he rested. The work was done. And God did it all!
  2. There was no evening on the seventh day. Thus, no eighth day nor a second week to continue anything unfinished. This rest points to a completed work and that is what makes it significant. It’s not the length of the week that is significant but the promise of completion and the glory in God’s work.

The command to Israel (5 mins)

Read the rest of the command (Exodus 20:8-10). What was Israel instructed to do (or not do)? What does it teach them?

See also, Exodus 16:23; 23:12 31:13-16; Lev 19:30; Numbers 28:9; Isaiah 56:2, 58:13-14; Ezek 20:12,20

The Sabbath was a gift for Israel and all who lived within Israel’s society. A reminder that God had redeemed them, they are his. God made them holy. It is a reverent day. A special day. A holiday. It is a day of blessing because of their relationship with Yahweh.

Essentially, it functioned like the earlier covenant sign of circumcision. Anyone failing to observe the Sabbath showed their disdain for the special relationship established between the LORD and Israel – that God has blessed them and made the holy.

Israel’s history (10 mins)

Lookup these verses and describe how Israel performed under this command.

  • Exodus 16 (the chapter is long and can be summarised reading verses, 2-5, 15-31, NB verse 29); see also Jeremiah 17:21-27; Ezek 20:12-13; 22:8
  • Luke 13:14

The Gospel (10 mins)

How did Jesus regard this law?

  • Matthew 11:28-32 – Is the Sabbath meant to be treated as a burden?
  • Matthew 12:1-13 – What does Jesus mean in verse 7 and 8? Are we to think of the Sabbath day as a sacrifice (a legal requirement to offer to God?) Is the Sabbath a blessing or a rule? What’s the difference? How did Jesus justify the disciples eating the grain?
  • Mark 2:23-27 (parallel story to Matthew). What does Jesus mean in Verse 27?

Christian Living (15 mins)

With the resurrection of Jesus, and sins paid for, a Christian church known as the holy people of God, the sabbath rest transformed from the shadow of what was to come into the reality of life in Christ.

  • Hebrews 4:1-11 – what is the rest that Hebrews refers to? How was the 4th Commandment pointing to this? The Sabbath rest is about faith in God and knowing that He provides both physically and spiritually. We must not be driven to keep working as if we have no provision from God. Jesus gives us permanent rest in his covenant. Our greatest work is to enter the rest before it is too late! Ie, be saved!
  • Colossians 2:16-17 – What is the Sabbath day described as? It is a shadow and the reality is in Christ.
  • How do we keep the Sabbath today? 
    • We trust in the LORD – every day.
    • Live in the new life that we found in Christ – he has made us holy and sanctifies us every day (Romans 6:8-14). We live under grace.
    • Accept the gift of physical rest – knowing that God is bigger than our daily problems. See Psalm 46 (esp v10); Psalm 4:8.
    • Pray with thanksgiving for all of our needs – “Give us today our daily bread.”
    • Assemble with Christians (the church) for good order. We assemble for encouragement and fellowship – to hear God’s word and reset (Acts 2:42). We could do this every day but that is simply impractical and unnecessary!
    • We have observed Sunday as the day for church (not necessarily the Sabbath) because we are no longer under ritual but we are under good order (1 Corinthians 14:40) and meeting regularly (Hebrews 10:25). The Christian Sunday is not an equal to the Sabbath because we have found our rest in Christ every day but we have celebrated Sunday because it is the day that he rose from the dead and brought life to us.

Mission, sin, The Ten Commandments

Commandment #3 – The Lord’s Name

Note to leaders: while the content below helps you build a knowledge of this topic for the study, it will be helpful to work out what bits you go through with your group and which bits you might put aside to use only if it comes up and time permits.

The opening question addresses how we commonly treat this command but the study will point us even deeper.

Opening Question

What is your reaction to hearing the name of Jesus used poorly or the phrase, OMG? Why do you react this way?

Exodus 20:7

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”

In the beginning (5 mins)

How is the theme of God’s name developed prior to the Ten Commandments?

Genesis 2:19-20; 3:20 (Adam was instructed by the LORD to name every animal. What he named them, that is what they were called. Man had authority to assign names to things. This seems trivial but demonstrates the purpose of names – they are not just words but are intrinsically linked to the person or animal that it was assigned to, and they have a meaningful role. The one who names something gives it meaning.)

Genesis 4:26 This use of the LORD’s name was not in vein but in prayer. In fact, the first prayers referred to in the bible. Mankind was divided between those who call on the name of the LORD for help and those who do not. They are, in the context, waiting for the seed of Eve to come and save them from the curse of sin (Gen 3:15).

What people are named and what that means is a key point in most of the accounts in Genesis (eg, Gen 27:36)

Exodus 3:11-15; 6:2-3; 15:2-3; The name is not simply a label but a revelation of His authority and power. It’s not just a word but a relationship. Man has not named God but God has declared his name to us.

“A study of the word *‘NAME’ in the OT reveals how much it means in Hebrew. The name is no mere label, but is significant of the real personality of him to whom it belongs. It may derive from the circumstances of his birth (Gn. 5:29), or reflect his character (Gn. 27:36), and when a person puts his ‘name’ upon a thing or another person the latter comes under his influence and protection.”

(New Bible Dictionary, “Names of God”, IVP)

Some more background: Technically speaking, there is only one name for God given in the Old Testament which is Yehwah – also referred to as Jehovah and translated as LORD in the bible. The word, god, in the bible can be used to refer to the LORD or to mythical god’s – context gives meaning. And the word, lord or Lord, refers to a person of power.

The command to Israel (5 mins)

Compare the NIV translation of Exodus 20:7 with another translation like the ESV. What is God teaching Israel?

take/misuse: make wrongful use of.

vain: describes unreality.

“The command prohibits use of the name for any idle, frivolous, or insincere purpose” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 196). This would include perjury, pagan incantations, or idle talk. The name is to be treated with reverence and respect because it is the name of the holy God.

(Notes from the NET translation)

The command goes further than this, however, as we see the way Israel misused God’s name and how clearly Jesus represents it.

Israel’s history (10 mins)

Deuteronomy 18:19 gives a positive use of the name of the LORD. Ezekiel 36, however, is very condemning. Read Ezekiel 36:16-32 and talk about what it means to misuse the name of God. 

  • Deuteronomy 18:19 – if a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh, he is representing God and must be listened to. A prophet takes the LORD’s name carefully.
  • Ezekiel 36:16-32 – Israel was giving Yahweh and bad name. They misrepresented him. But God will re-establish his great name by pouring out his grace once again on Israel. This is a pointer to the gospel.

The Gospel (10 mins)

What difference has Jesus made to our understanding of this command?

  • John 5:43; 10:25 show us that Jesus came, like a prophet, in the name of God, whom he referred to as Father!
  • Matthew 6:9-13 The Lord’s prayer includes our plea for God’s name to be hallowed. As a prayer, it is a request for this to be fulfilled here on earth. Christ’s disciples will carry his name (see John 15:21)
  • John 14:13-14; 16:22-28 Jesus instructs his disciples to pray in his name!
  • Conclusion: Jesus comes in the name of his Father and teaches that when he leaves, his followers will pray in his name and be treated good or bad because of his name.

Christian Living (15 mins)

The name of the LORD was entrusted to Israel and yet they misused it in their disobedience. Yet God continued to bless Israel and the world through sending Jesus, his son and our Lord. The command to misuse the LORD’s name goes beyond swearing and involves representing God and his goodness to the world. We return to a familiar passage which we may think of when praying the first request in the Lord’s prayer…

  • Philippians 2:9-11 (also Ephesians 1:19b-23
  • 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (see here how we represent the name of Christ on earth as we call people to repent and believe.

So far, the commandments have built upon each other to teach us about gospel and mission: 1) we know that there is only one God and we must not compromise that truth for ourselves or anyone else in the world (Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour); 2) We must worship God only and do so in Spirit and in truth (Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, nobody comes to the Father except through him; 3) He entrusts his name and reputation to us as we represent God in the world (exalting Jesus’ name above all others). 

How do you represent the name of Jesus? If you say you are a Christian, does the world see it?