How to explain the Ten Commandments

The ten commandments in the Bible have ancient teachings, Jewish and Christian traditions. They represent the first laws that united the ancient Israelites with God. The Law appears in the context of an account of a trip to a town of faith and liberation that extends for hundreds of years. Explain the Ten Commandments in the general context of that path of faith, to show the value of the commandments and the journey in contemporary life.

one

Describe the Ten Commandments as part of a historical narrative. Place the Ten Commandments in the context of the book of Exodus and the journey of the Israelites to freedom by God's grace and love. Read Exodus 18.1, which describes the slavery of the Israelites under Pharaoh. Talk about how the people must have felt after living for such a long time in these conditions.

two

Read the Covenant at Sinai in Exodus 19: 1-24: 18. Explain that God gave the Law to Moses and the Israelites, as a way for the people to express their faithfulness, as a sign of reverence for God's gift of freedom and for the future promise of a land and a people. Emphasize the idea of ​​a contract and a love relationship between God and the people.

3

Tell the story of the Ten Commandments in the context of the events that followed the Sinai Alliance. Read Exodus 32-33 in which people become impatient, yield to the temptation to form an idol, and disobey the first commandment. The point of Exodus 33: 17-23, the verses in which, after the Israelites showed such disrespect, God maintains fidelity to the Covenant, even showing himself to Moses. Emphasize the magnitude of that love.