Reimagining the Ten Commandments

Many of you have heard of Judge Roy Moore, the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. He was reelected to that position in 2012 after having been removed from that same position nearly a decade before during the controversy about displaying the Ten Commandments in the Alabama State courthouse. That particular display of the Ten Commandments weighed 5,280 pounds, or just over 500 pounds per commandment.

When the monument was finally removed from the courthouse in 2004, Judge Moore would take it with him to rallies wherever he went, transporting the mammoth display on the back of a flatbed truck. Each time he removed the monument from the truck, he had to use a five-ton crane, and the crane would buckle visibly under the weight.

One preacher jokes that while it is true that Jesus once chided the Pharisees for neglecting the weightier matters of the law, surely, a two-and-a-half ton statue was overkill. (Thomas G. Long, “Dancing the Decalogue,” in The Christian Century, March 7, 2006, p. 17).

But the real problem with the monument was not its ostentatious size.

The real problem with the monument was that it did not include the most important part of the commandments. It omitted the part that says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” In Jewish tradition that part is so vital that it is actually considered the first commandment, while in our Reformed Protestant tradition, it is usually considered the preface. But calling it a preface does NOT make it an optional preface. Without that powerful affirmation that I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, the Ten Commandments is nothing but a list, or a prop for a Mel Brooks movie on the History of the World. 

Here's a popular illustration of the Ten Commandments. Alas, notice how this illustration also omits the most important part, the affirmation that "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

Preacher and writer Tom Long points out that many people think of the Ten Commandments as weighty burdens or encumbrances placed on our personal behavior. Most people cannot name all ten, but they are convinced that at the heart of each commandment is a finger-wagging “thou shalt not.”

For others, the commandments are heavy yokes to be placed on the necks of a rebellious society. As Tom Long points out, for such an understanding of the Decalogue, a two-and-a-half ton rock sitting on a flat bed truck is a perfect symbol. We forget that the prophet Isaiah once chided the Babylonians for hauling their heavy idols on the backs of weary animals. If Isaiah had seen Roy Moore’s truck, he’d no doubt be worried about the springs and shocks. (Long, “Dancing the Decalogue”).

The Ten Commandments are not meant to be heavy burdens. They are instead a breathtaking announcement of freedom. Instead of thinking of them as ten burdensome commandments, we can think of them as a description of a life that is truly free.

Because the Lord is your God, you are free not to need any other gods. That’s the first rule.

The second—you are free from dehumanizing idols, and you are free to worship and adore the God who can never be reduced to a manageable size!

#3—You are free from those who would try to use God’s name to manipulate you.

#4—You are free to rest on the 7th Day. Did you hear that? You are free to rest!

#5—You are free from the prison of self-centeredness and you are free to honor your parents and your ancestors in the faith.

#6—You are free from the murderous cycle of violence, and you are free to live in God’s shalom (peace).

#7—You are free from the destructive path of adultery and you are free to live a life of faithfulness in commitment.

#8—You are free from the constant worry that someone is trying to take your stuff, and you are free to live off what God provides you.

#9—You are free from gossip and lies about your character, and you, in turn, are free to speak the truth in love.

And finally, #10—You are free from the never-ending cycle of always wanting more.

Do we live up to these freedoms perfectly? No. But these are the freedoms we are called to embrace. The old slavery of the past—to cherished idols, to destructive patterns of gossip--may be familiar, but we are called instead to embrace the road to true freedom. The late Fred Craddock, who was a wonderful preacher and storyteller, told the story of an elderly man whose only close friend was his dog. The love between them had deepened through the years. Now both had begun to feel the pain and burden of age. The dog, 12 years old, could hardly walk and was covered with an irritating rash. The elderly man lifted the dog into his arms and carried it to the car where it lay on the seat beside him on the way to see the veterinarian. From the parking lot the old man carried the dog gently inside.

“Can I help you?” asked the veterinarian.

The old man, still holding his dog said, “First, I must ask you a question. Do you love animals above everything else?”

The veterinarian replied, “Well, I love God first. Jesus says in Mark 12:30, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ And of course a second command is to love thy neighbor as oneself. We must put these things first, and then we can think about the animals.”

“Then, I must go elsewhere,” said the old man as he moved to the door.

“Why? What is wrong” asked the vet.

“This dog is my friend,” explained the elderly man, “and I feel I can trust him only to the care of a veterinarian who practices what he preaches.” (Fred Craddock, Craddock Stories, St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001, pp. 16-17).

The commandments are not meant to be burdensome constrictions, as in, first we love God, then we love neighbor, and then we can think about the animals. A true love of God and neighbor would have freed the veterinarian to reach out to the man and his dog with empathy and compassion. That’s what true freedom looks like.

Who are the saints? Who are the ones we commemorate on this All Saints’ Sunday? They are the ones who walked the road before us, who walk this road beside us,and who will walk this road, each of them, all of them, showing us, by their example, what it means to live in true freedom.

All glory and praise be to our God. Amen.

Questions: In our discussion of Brian McLaren's book We Make the Road by Walking, we've seen how the Ten Commandments are truly intended to be liberating pronouncements. Is this a new way of thinking about the Ten Commandments for you?

How important would you say that the pronouncement--I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery--is to understanding the Ten Commandments as a whole.