Exodus 20:2

The Ten Commandments

1 And God spoke ^aall these words, saying:

2 ^a“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ^bout of the house of bondage.

3 ^a“You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 ^a“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

5 ^ayou shall not bow down to them nor¹ serve them. ^bFor I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, ^cvisiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6 but ^ashowing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 ^a“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord ^bwill not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

8 ^a“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 ^aSix days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the ^aseventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, ^bnor your stranger who is within your gates.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Exodus 20:2 Mean?

In the preamble to the Ten Commandments, God identifies Himself first not as Creator but as Liberator, the Redeemer who buys His people back from bondage to a false god. He liberates and gives before He asks for righteousness and worship. His law does not enslave; it defines sin, which is what enslaves, and teaches His people how to remain free, making it "the law of liberty" (James 1:25; 2:12). Breaking it returns them to captivity under Satan, the world, and sin. The opening commands against idolatry are foundational to freedom, requiring exclusive worship of Him in the way He commands. The Sabbath likewise recalls former slavery, and God performed liberating acts on Sabbaths, from leaving Egypt to Jericho's fall.

Exodus 20:2

We have been taken out of the spiritual "house of bondage." We can see here that the Sabbath is enjoined on God's people for two basic reasons. The one reminds us that He is Creator. The other reminds us that, at one time, we were slaves.

Ezekiel 20 clearly demonstrates that when God's people do not keep the Sabbath, they lose their liberty. They go into captivity—for us, that means back to the captivity of Satan, the world, and sin. The Sabbath is given by God to keep His people free! It is the day to keep His people from going back into bondage.

God has specifically used the Sabbath throughout Israel's history as the day in which He emphasizes the Sabbath's tie to deliverance, liberty, to keeping His people free. On this day, He has pointedly performed acts of liberation for His people. For example, on what day did the children of Israel leave Egypt, the house of bondage? They left on an annual Sabbath, the first day of Unleavened Bread. On which day did they completely break free of their captors? It was on the following Sabbath, the seventh day of Unleavened Bread that they went through the Red Sea, were baptized, and went out into the wilderness. At that point, they were politically free.

On which day did God give His law? On the day of Pentecost, another Sabbath, which "if a man will keep, he will live in it." On which day did Israel go into the Promised Land? On a Sabbath day. On which day did the walls of Jericho come down? They came down on a Sabbath, and Israel made their first important conquest in the land.

This Sabbath redemption is all through the Old Testament. God did that to focus our minds on what the Sabbath is for. It is the day He has blessed for the purpose of liberation. It is the day He has blessed to continue the liberty of His people. Jesus also emphasized this in His ministry, driving this point home by how He used the Sabbath, giving us an example so that we could see how He wants us to use the Sabbath to the greatest benefit.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fourth Commandment (Part 2)

Exodus 20:2-6

God does care how we worship Him; He gives specific commands about how He wants to be glorified according to His standards and not our own. It does matter whether or not we share in the celebration of this world's pagan religious holidays. Though the Bible—the Word of God—makes no direct references to New Year's Eve, Lent, Easter, Halloween, or Christmas, the origins of these pagan holidays are mentioned as being abominations to God.

Martin G. Collins
Pagan Holidays

Exodus 20:2-3

The first commandment presents God as the sovereign Creator and Ruler of His creation. He will not allow the worship and honor due to Him to be given to others because it would only result in misdirection of life's purpose, frustration, emotional and physical pain, and ultimately death to those who worship any but Him. It therefore deals with what we worship. Most of the time, the "god" who gets between the true God and us is the self. We are to worship the Creator, the Author of a way of life that will produce right relationships. This commandment demands that we make Him the source of our values and practices.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fifth Commandment

**Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Exodus 20:2:**

Deuteronomy 27:15
Amos 4:4-5
Amos 5:5-6
Amos 5:21-24

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