The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 146

Yen;. 16-21.-The ten words. "And God spake all these worw:ls." "And the people l'tood afar off: &nd Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." (Ex. xx. 1, 21). Our ~ubject is the le.w of the ten commandments, and- I. The NAME8 of the code, for names are oft the keys to things. There are five chief names; four in the Old Testament and one in the New. 1. " The ten words." [" Th< ten commandments" is an unscriptural phrase.) (Ex. xxxiv. 28; Deut. iv. 13; x. 4 &,e Heb.) This name implies that the code was in a very special sense the distinct ttfteraflce of God. The utterance touched that which was central in human life, viz., dut~·. 2. " The law," i.e., the heart and core of the Mosaic legislation. All the rest w111; as the fringe to the robe of right.eousness. 3. " The testimony." God's attestation of his mind as to our moral carriage through life. 4. " The covenant." But ea.re e.bould be exercised as to the putting of this. Israel was not to keep the ten words in order to salvation, but because Israel had been saved. Spiritual obedience springs from gratitude-cannot be given as Che price of salvation. 5. " The commandments" (Matt. xviii. 17). The names of the code stamp it as unique. The Mosaic legislation stands out like a mountain range from all other codes historic in the world; but the "ten words" are the ten peaks of that mighty range. Il. 'l'BE MOMENT when God gave the "ten" was critical and significant. 1. Sub- ~ue:nt tcJ salvation (Ex. :n:. 1). Trace the evangelical parallel, show that this is the .irder of the divine love, first deliverance, and then direction for life. 2. Before ritual. Hence the subordination, even for the Jew, of ritual to morals. For us the symbolic ritual is no more. Our prerogative is that of unveiled gaze upon the spiritual. Ill. 'l'BE DELIVERY of the "ten words." [The object here should he so to describe the incidents of the delivery, on the basis of the sacred narrative, aided by topographical illustration, as to exhibit the unique che.re.cter of this code. The following hints may be of sen·ice] :-The great plain north of Sinai; Sinai to the south; the barren cha- racter of this huge natural temple [Stanley's "J.C." i. 128); on the third day every eye turned to the mountain ; mists rising like smoke ; lightning ; thunder like ten thousand trumpets; reverberation; earth-trembling. The people would have drawn away, but Moses led them near the base. He ascended; but returned, that he, a.s one of the pwpk, and with them, might hear the code. God alone. Then the very voice of very God, possibly pronouncing the " ten" in their shortest form. [Ewald : ••Israel," ii. 163, Eng. tr.] The cry of the people for a mediator. If we had to-day a phonogram even of that awful voice, some would still say, "It is the voice of a man, aud not of a god." IV. Tm;: PRESERVATION. The "ten" were-I. Graven by God. The record super- natural, like the delivery. On granite; not too large for a man to carry; graven on both sides; symbol of the completeness, inviolability, and perpetuity of the Divine law. Not.e the seven or eight weeks' delay ere the tables were given, and the intervening incidents. 2. Kept in the ark. In that which was a memorial of the desert life ; the wood, ac.acia of the wilderness. In that which was central to the life of Israel. In Iarael a sanctuary, a holiest of all, the ark, and in the deep recesses of that the idea of duty enshrined. 'l'he tables last seen at Solomon's dedication. Are they now lying with the wreck of Babylon in the valley of the Euphrates? V. Tm oBDER AND THE ABRANGEMENT. 1. There were five words on each table. So we think. Great diversity of opinion as to the division and the throwing of the " ten words" on the two tables. According to. the division we adopt, the first table concerned itself with God-his ezilltence, worship, name, day, and representative. But if the pa.rent is the representative of God, then there are suggestions for the character and the administration of the parent; as well as for the intelligent obedience of the child. 2. The five words cor,,cerning duty to God CO'TTl.e first. Religion ever comes ·before morality, a.nd morality without that foundation must he partial and imperfect. Ma.D must first be in right relation with the Father in h~ven, then he will come to be ri.eht with all the children. ·v1. 'THE COMP¥.EHEN&IVENE&s. Passages like Josh. i. 7, 8; Ps. cxix. 18, 72, imp!)· en. xx. 3-12.] THE BOOK OF EXODUR.