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The Ten Commandments

Од страна на New Christian Bible Study Staff, John Odhner
Rembrandt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

There was a famous billboard, with this text: "What was it about 'Thou shalt not'... that you didn't understand?"

It was a good billboard. But, do people still even know the Ten Commandments? Bible literacy is probably lower than it's been for a long time; maybe than at any time since the Protestant Reformation got rolling back in 1517. It's more than a little worrisome. Still, the Ten Commandments are basic to both Christianity and Judaism, though; hopefully they're still part of the bedrock of society.

In the Bible, in the Book of Exodus, God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses, on Mount Sinai, inscribing them on two tables of stone. Here's that brief, power-packed story: Exodus 20:1-17.

Swedenborg had much to say about this story, and about the commandments. One of the most interesting passages in his description is about why the ten commandments were given in such a miraculous way. Here's a link to that passage, in his work entitled "True Christian Religion": True Christian Religion 282.

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Exodus 20:1-17

Студија

      

1 God spoke all these words, saying,

2 "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

4 "You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,

6 and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 "You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 You shall labor six days, and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;

11 for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.

13 "You shall not murder.

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

15 "You shall not steal.

16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

      

Од делата на Сведенборг

 

True Christian Religion #282

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282. CHAPTER FIVE

THE CATECHISM OR THE TEN COMMANDMENTS EXPLAINED IN BOTH THE EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL SENSES

There is no nation throughout the world which does not know that it is wrong to commit murder or adultery, steal, and bear false witness. Equally it is known that were there no laws against such wickedness, any kingdom, republic or established society would be at an end. So would anyone suppose that the Israelite nation was so much more stupid than the rest as to be ignorant that these acts were wrong? One might therefore be amazed that these laws, which are universally known on earth, were proclaimed in such a miraculous fashion by Jehovah Himself from Mount Sinai. But pay attention: they were proclaimed in such a miraculous fashion, so that it should be known that those laws were not just civil and moral legislation, but also Divine laws, so that acting against them was not only wronging the neighbour, that is, one's fellow citizens and society, but also sinning against God. So by being proclaimed by Jehovah from Mount Sinai they became religious laws. It is obvious that any commandment given by Jehovah is intended to be a religious command, something that must be done, if one is to be saved. But before explaining the commandments I must first speak of their holiness, to make it clear that they have a religious content.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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