The Constitution of Liberty Text: Exodus 20:1-17
Introduction: The Manufacturer's Specifications
We live in an age of rebellion, but it is a peculiar kind of rebellion. It is the rebellion of a man sawing off the branch he is sitting on, complaining about the law of gravity all the way down. Our culture is desperate for liberty, peace, and justice, but it despises the only possible source of these things. It wants the fruit of righteousness without the root of God's law. It wants to build a free society on the sand of human autonomy, and is then perpetually surprised when the tide of tyranny comes in.
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, He did not deliver them from the structured tyranny of Pharaoh into a chaotic, unstructured anarchy. He delivered them from the house of bondage into the house of liberty, and the architectural plans for that house are the Ten Commandments. These are not ten arbitrary suggestions. They are not a ladder for sinful men to climb up to God. They are the constitution of a redeemed people, the very structure of reality, the manufacturer's specifications for how human beings, and human societies, are to function.
The modern world, and tragically, much of the modern church, treats the law of God as though it were an expired warranty. It is seen as something belonging to a different dispensation, something harsh and obsolete that was nailed to the cross and can now be safely ignored. But Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He rescues us from the curse of the law, not from the goodness of the law. He died because we broke it, and He gives us His Spirit so that we might, for the first time, begin to keep it. To reject God's law as the standard for our lives, both personal and public, is to reject the very liberty that Christ purchased for us. It is to yearn for the leeks and onions of Egypt all over again. These Ten Words are not the problem; they are the solution.
The Text
Then God spoke all these words, saying, "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female slave or your cattle or your sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male slave or his female slave or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
(Exodus 20:1-17 LSB)
The Preamble: Grace Precedes Law (vv. 1-2)
Before God gives a single command, He establishes the foundation. He answers two questions: Who is speaking? and To whom is He speaking?
"Then God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.'" (Exodus 20:1-2)
First, this is divine speech. "God spoke." This is not Moses's good ideas or a committee report on best practices for desert living. This is a direct, authoritative, binding word from the Creator of heaven and earth. All ethical systems are either autonomous (man-made) or theonomous (God-given). There is no third option. Here, God asserts His authority to define reality.
Second, and this is crucial, the law is given in the context of redemption. He does not say, "Keep these laws, and I will bring you out of Egypt." He says, "I have brought you out of Egypt, therefore, live this way." Gospel precedes law. Grace is the engine, and law is the track. We are not saved by obedience, but we are saved for obedience. He is not their God because they keep the commandments; they are to keep the commandments because He is their God. This single point demolishes all forms of legalism and cheap grace simultaneously. Legalism says my obedience makes me right with God. Cheap grace says because I am right with God, my obedience doesn't matter. The Bible says I am made right with God by grace alone, which results in a life of joyful obedience.
The First Table: Our Duty to God (vv. 3-11)
The first four commandments govern our relationship with God. If you get these wrong, you cannot possibly get the others right. All sin against man is downstream from sin against God.
"You shall have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:3)
This is the commandment of exclusive allegiance. It establishes absolute monotheism. "Before me" means "in my presence" or "in my face." We are not to place anything alongside God as a rival for our ultimate loyalty. For Israel, this meant Baal and Molech. For us, it means the state, the self, money, power, or political ideologies. Whatever you look to for your ultimate security, meaning, and deliverance is your god. This commandment requires us to dethrone all idols and to worship and serve the true God alone.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol..." (Exodus 20:4-6)
The second commandment governs how we are to worship the one true God. The first says who to worship; this one says how. We are not to invent our own methods of worship. We are not to represent God with images, whether physical or mental. Why? Because God is a jealous God. This is not the petty jealousy of a rival, but the righteous, covenantal jealousy of a husband for his wife. He will not share His glory with another. And notice the multi-generational impact. Faithfulness brings blessing to thousands of generations, while idolatry brings a curse upon those who hate Him. This is not God being unfair; it is a simple statement of how the world works. A father who worships idols, whether they be of wood or of wealth, teaches his children to do the same, and the consequences cascade through history.
"You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain." (Exodus 20:7)
This is far more than a prohibition against using God's name as a curse word. It means you shall not bear the name of Yahweh in an empty or false way. Israel was God's covenant people; they wore His name. The Church is the bride of Christ; we are called Christians. To bear His name is to be His representative. To profess faith in Christ and then to live like a pagan is to take His name in vain. It is false advertising for the kingdom of God. This applies to oaths, vows, and our public witness. Our lives are to be a true and weighty testimony to the God whose name we bear.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11)
The Sabbath is a creation ordinance, hardwired into the rhythm of the universe. God worked for six days and rested on the seventh, not because He was tired, but to establish a pattern for His creation. The Sabbath is a gift. It is a weekly declaration of independence from the tyranny of endless work and the idolatry of materialism. It is a day to cease from our labors and to delight in God's finished work, both in creation and in redemption. For the Christian, our Sabbath rest is in the finished work of Christ, and we celebrate this on the Lord's Day, the day of His resurrection. It is a day for worship, fellowship, feasting, and rest, a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath to come.
The Second Table: Our Duty to Man (vv. 12-17)
The remaining six commandments flow from the first four. Because God is our Creator and Redeemer, we are therefore obligated to treat His other image-bearers in a particular way.
"Honor your father and your mother..." (Exodus 20:12)
This is the hinge commandment, bridging our duty to God and our duty to man. Parents stand as God's delegated authority. The family is the first and most basic form of government. A society that despises parental authority will soon despise all authority, including God's. This is the first commandment with a promise attached: societal stability and longevity. When families crumble, nations fall. Honoring parents is the training ground for honoring God and the civil magistrate.
"You shall not murder." (Exodus 20:13)
This protects the sanctity of human life, which is based on the image of God in man (Genesis 9:6). This is not a prohibition against all killing, such as in a just war or in capital punishment for a capital crime. It is the prohibition of the unlawful, premeditated taking of an innocent life. Jesus expands this to include the hatred and anger in our hearts, which is the root of murder (Matthew 5:21-22).
"You shall not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14)
This protects the sanctity of the marriage covenant. Marriage between one man and one woman is the bedrock of a healthy society. Adultery is not a private matter; it is an act of social vandalism. It attacks the one-flesh union that images the relationship between Christ and His Church. Again, Jesus internalizes this command, extending it to the lustful thought (Matthew 5:27-28).
"You shall not steal." (Exodus 20:15)
This protects the principle of private property. If something can be stolen, it must belong to someone other than the thief. This commandment is the foundation of a free and prosperous economy. It stands against all forms of theft, whether by an individual through fraud or by the state through confiscatory taxation and inflation. God desires a world of stewards who own and manage property for His glory, not a world of dependents beholden to the state.
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16)
This protects the principle of truth and a person's reputation. It is a direct prohibition of perjury in a legal setting, but it extends to all forms of slander, gossip, and deceit. A society cannot function without a shared commitment to the truth. When words lose their meaning, justice becomes impossible.
"You shall not covet..." (Exodus 20:17)
This final commandment is the one that lays the heart bare. It goes beyond outward actions to the inward desires. Coveting is the disordered desire for something that is not rightfully yours. It is the engine that drives theft, adultery, murder, and idolatry. This is the commandment that proves to all of us that we are sinners in need of a Savior. No one can keep this perfectly. It reveals that God's law is not merely concerned with external conformity but with the righteousness of the heart. This is the law that silences every self-righteous mouth and drives us to the foot of the cross, to the only one who never coveted, but who gave Himself for a world of covetous sinners.