Exodus 19-20: Moses Receives the Ten Commandments

Exodus 19 and 20 are where Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God. This happened on Mount Sinai in the Sinai Desert. The setup of this scene is in chapter 19, and the Ten Commandments are written in chapter 20. God spoke the Commandments and wrote them in stone.

These commandments are vitally important to us today. Not only was God entering into a covenant with the Jewish people. He was also giving us a chance to live. Do you believe the Ten Commandments give you rules to live by?

Exodus 19 and 20 Summary

Open Bible and the pages look like they're turning to Exodus. — Image of an open bible, Courtesy of Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Exodus 19 starts in the third month after the Jewish people left Israel. They came to Mount Sinai after crossing the Wilderness of Sin. During the first two days there, God told Moses that all the people should be consecrated to the Lord. Remember, the entire point of the Jewish people being freed was so they could worship God.

On the third day, there was lightning and fire in a cloud at the top of Mount Sanai. The fire and the lightning was the Lord, conversing with Moses. The Lord wanted only Moses to climb the mountain to him. Moses said, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

In chapter 20 of Exodus, the Lord gives Moses the Ten Commandments. As Western society is strongly influenced by these ideas, they are quite relevant to modernity. It is worth reiterating these rules here, as they were spoken by God.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

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

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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. 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.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Modern Revelence

The Ten Commandments remain highly relevant today and hold cultural significance, especially given their influence on Western society. We have laws prohibiting stealing and murder, and if you commit adultery, that is grounds for divorce for your spouse in many cases. These books of Exodus are crucial.

Parting Shots

When the reader considers that the Ten Commandments influence Western society, it is clear they are significant. What God told Moses in the twentieth chapter of Exodus took a back seat to the golden rule that Jesus espoused in Leviticus 19:18: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Disclaimer: This article contains a summary of Exodus 19-20 as well as interpretive insights from the author. Interpretations of biblical texts can differ, and this piece represents one approach to understanding the passage.