Read Exodus 19:9–25. How did God prepare Israel to receive the Ten Commandments?
God gave specific instructions for what the Israelites were to do in preparation for the giving of the law at Sinai. Their external purity was to reflect their total dedication to God. They needed to be ready for the splendid manifestation of the Lord’s glory that was about to come. And when it did, it was accompanied by “thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled” (Exod. 19:16, NKJV).
The Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) is the heart of God’s revelation and biblical ethics. It forms the substance and foundation of divine standards for all humanity; its principles are eternal and universal.
According to the biblical account, the Decalogue was announced by God (Exod. 19:19; Exod. 20:1; Deut. 5:4, 5, 24) and was written by Him (Exod. 24:12, Exod. 31:18, Deut. 5:22). It was twice given to Moses as a special gift (Exod. 32:19; Exod. 34:1; Deut. 10:1, 2).
In the book of Exodus, the Decalogue is called “the Testimony” (Hebrew: ‘edut; Exod. 31:18); or it is named “the words of the covenant” (Hebrew: dibre habberit; Exod. 34:28). In the book of Deuteronomy, they are written on “the tablets of the covenant” (Deut. 9:9, 11, 15, NKJV). Neither book in Hebrew uses the term “the Ten Commandments” (Hebrew: mitzwot, “commandments”). Instead, three times they call it “the Ten Words.” The Hebrew is ‘aseret haddebarim, from dabar, meaning “word, sentence, matter, thing, speech, story, promise, utterance.” (See Exod. 34:28, Deut. 4:13, Deut. 10:4.)
There are two versions of the Decalogue with very slight differences; the first one is recorded in Exodus 20:1–17 and the second in Deuteronomy 5:6–21. The second version, presented orally by Moses to Israel, occurred almost forty years after Sinai, just before the people entered the Promised Land (Deut. 1:3, 4; Deut. 4:44–47). These circumstances explain the slight differences between the two.
When Paul summarized the law as being love, he quoted from the Decalogue (Rom. 13:8–10). Love is, indeed, the sum of God’s law because He is a God of love (1 John 4:16).
How do you understand the idea of the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s love? What does that mean? How is God’s love revealed in them?
Supplemental EGW Notes
The Lord then gave Moses express directions in regard to preparing the people for him to approach nigh to them that they might hear his law spoken, not by angels, but by himself. “And the Lord said unto Moses, go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.” The people were required to refrain from worldly labor and care, and to possess devotional thoughts. God required them also to wash their clothes. He is no less particular now than he was then. He is a God of order, and requires his people now upon the earth to observe habits of strict cleanliness. And those who worship God with uncleanly garments and persons do not come before him in an acceptable manner. He is not pleased with their lack of reverence for him, and he will not accept the service of filthy worshipers, for they insult their Maker. The Creator of the heavens and of the earth considered cleanliness of so much importance that he said, “And let them wash their clothes.”
“And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it. Whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death. There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through, whether it be beast or man, it shall not live. When the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.” This command was designed to impress the minds of this rebellious people with a profound veneration for God, the author and authority of their laws.
“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.” The angelic host that attended the divine Majesty summoned the people by a sound resembling that of a trumpet, which waxed louder and louder until the whole earth trembled.
“And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” The divine Majesty descended in a cloud with a glorious retinue of angels, who appeared as flames of fire.—Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, pp. 262–264.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.