GOD’S TEN COMMANDMENTS “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2) Rajan George 1
God’s Ten Commandments The commandments of God: Irreversible and Perpetual
3 The commandments of God: Perpetual And Irreversible Considering that there are many questions today about the Commandments of God, I thought it would be wise to discuss the serious nature of a document that proceeded from God’s mouth and was later, twice, inscribed on tablets of stone by His own hand more than 3,400 years ago. “And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” — Deuteronomy 4:12-13 Apostle Paul writes, “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God.” All other parts of the Scriptures were written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That is indisputable. However, what has come under severe challenge are the very words that God first spoke and then reaffirmed by writing them down Himself on tablets of stone. (2 Timothy 3:16) God is immutable by nature; He does not change or progress in knowledge. He is an omniscient God who knows all things from the beginning and far into the future. It is impossible to conceive that there could be any man on earth who can challenge the comprehension and authority of God in any form.The prophet Isaiah declares that God reveals all things from the beginning to the end: “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:10) The word that goes forth from God’s mouth shall not fail, change, or transform but shall accomplish the tasks He intended. Isaiah further affirms: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) Man Cannot Alter God’s Word Man is not authorized to alter what the LORD God has proclaimed. “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)Unless empowered by God, no man should even attempt to do so. It is a violation of the divine will and an intrusion into the LORD’s domain to alter His written words. Man is strictly forbidden from such an endeavor, and anyone who does it, justifies it, or follows such violations, does so to their peril. They place themselves outside God’s boundary.Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 5:17-20) Vulnerable souls follow these lies as if they are revelations from God, while they refuse to accept the genuine word of the LORD. Ten Commandments: A Reflection of the Character of God One of the major reasons why this discussion is important is because the
God’s Ten Commandments Commandments of God are a reflection of the character of God. For those who believe in the immutability of of God, it is not hard to understand that God does not change. If so, the character of God will not alter and cannot be altered by man. On that premise, the Commandments of God also cannot change. There might be an effort on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities to claim that they are empowered by Jesus to change the Commandments of God at their will. There is no scripture to substantiate their claims. They are deceiving their congregations, who blindly follow their dictates. They base their arguments on the authority Jesus gave to His disciples: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19) On another occasion, noticing that there were believers who would not heed admonitions or warnings, Jesus empowered the disciples to expel such devious members from the congregation after due process for their recalcitrance and rebellion. The process is described in this scriptural passage: “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:15-18) These words authorized Peter and the other disciples of Jesus to bind or loose on earth whatever they needed to advance the cause of the Kingdom of God — not to contradict or change God’s law. It is like a master giving his servant the authority to open or close the door. That power does not entail him to change the door or the lock but to open or close the existing door. The disciples were authorized to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven and to shut it out for those hard hearted men who rebel against the Word of the LORD. The context is best understood when we read the following text found in the Gospel of John. “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (John 20:221-23) It was a non-transferable gift only received by the disciples. The only ocassion we find a disciple asking for a double portion of the Spirit is when Elisha pleaded with Elijah to grant him the double portion of the Spirit Elijah had and see what Prophet Elijah said: “Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” (2Kings 2:9-10). Later in life we see Elisha fulfilling some of the same miracles, God performed through Elijah. This experience is an anomaly. We do not see any evidencce in the scriptures that spiritual gifts from God ever transferred to the ministers who succeeded the Apostles or Christ’s disciples. It has not happened ever, nor it will happen in the future simply because, it is God’s relationship with the individual that enbles him to receive spiritual gifts of different kinds. Therefore the claim that the authority that has been given to Apostle Peter and the Disciples of Christ is being transferred to the present day priestly class of the modern churches that had persecuted the True followers of Christ is a blatant lie, that cannot be corroborated with true evidence. It is a deception which only trapb the feeble, the lazy, the rebellious and the gullible. The Disciples Were Not Empowered to Alter the Written Word of God The power granted to Peter and the other Apostles had nothing to do with the authority to change God’s handwritten
commandments. Any organization or person claiming such authority sets themselves against God’s government. Rebellion is not tolerated in Heaven, and rebels will not inherit the Kingdom of God. We should never forget that the angels of God were cast out of heaven for their rebellion against God’s government. The authority given to the Apostles is non-transferable. It does not automatically pass on to the subsequent generation of self proclaimed ecclesiastical authorities. It is like the gifts of prophecy, healing, or any other spiritual gift — only some are entrusted with them. A gift entrusted to one is not granted to another, nor are all the gifts entrusted to the same person. In the same way, not all people are entrusted with the same gifts Tragically, innocent people are ultimately led to eternal damnation simply because their gullibility to recognize these blind guides, who neither know the truth nor seek it but have made lying and deception their trade to advance their selfish goals. It is a perfect case of “Blind leading the blind’ as Jesus said. (Matthew 15:14) These self proclaimed leaders are deadly venomous, and they prey on who ever is willing to fall for their wicked schemes. Paul said, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (Galations 5:9) The Old Testatment is Relevant Today, as when it was Written There is a contention that the Old Testament is invalid for the New Dispensation because we are New Testament Christians. This argument falls flat in the face of the fact that the early church had only Old Testament Scriptures to refer to and that Jesus and the Apostles quoted from the Old Testament confirm the fact that the Laws, Poems, and the Prophets were the official Scriptures and that they are valid today, as it was during the early church period and when it was written. It was the same Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus got up to read in the temple. It was the same Old Testament Scriptures that the Apostles used in their ministry and quoted from in their wrtings. All the books of the New Testament as we have today, were complete before 100 AD. 5 But they were not codified until 393 AD at the council of Hippo. The Council of Carthage in 397 AD and 419 AD also confirmed the Canon. The process of determining the Canon which began in 200 AD took around 200 years. It contained the four Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Epistles of Paul and other Apostles, and the Book of Revelation, totaling 27 Books. The 4th Century Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria was the first to list all the 27 books of the New Testament. All the New Testament writers depended heavily on the Old Testament, which some Christians call ‘is not relevant to us any more’. I find the argument to be irrational. The New Testament Scriptures were a confirmation and authentication of the Old Testament Scriptures. It was not a mission to do away with the Old Testament writings. For those whose eyes are blind to see the truth behind the writing of the scriptures, you are still holding on to a lie that has been repeated to you by professional liars who were propagating lies to advance their agendas for wealth and power. You are hooked on to their lies without the slightest sense that your are being hoodwinked for your gullibility. Remember you have the liberty to believe in a lie and continue to hold fast to that deception to your own peril. This will serve as a warning for you to check out before the doors of opportunity slam shut. Abraham abided by God’s Commandments: “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Genesis 26:5 (KJV) The commandments of God were not available in written documents during Abraham’s life. If God says that Abraham abided by His Commandments, one should infer that the commandments of God were available to Abraham either by oral tradition or by special revelation. Remember, according to some historical sources, Shem, the son of Noah and the greatgrandfather of Abraham outlived Abraham by 35 years. Abraham was the 10th-generation descendant of Shem. “The Genealogy of Shem from Genesis
God’s Ten Commandments 10:10-26 “Abraham was born 292 years after the flood. Noah lived 350 years after the flood. This would mean that Noah and Abraham were contemporaries as were Shem and Eber with Jacob. Since Shem’s life span was 600 years, and his son Arphaxad was born at 100 years and Abraham was born 290 years after Arphaxad (= 390), given that Abraham died at 175 years (= 565), Shem’s life span would actually exceed the death of Abraham by thirty-five years (Mathews, K. A. (1996)”. We should be cognizant of the fact that Noah received Revelations from God, which could have been transferred to his descendants. Before giving the Commandments in writing, God’s people were required to observe His commandments: “And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” Exodus 15:26 (KJV) When the people went out to gather Manna on the Sabbath against God’s commandment, God was angry with Moses. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.” Exodus 16:28-30 (KJV) God Speaks to His People (Israelites) His commandments. It should be noted here that the LORD God spoke to His people the commandments of God. And God spake all these words, saying: 1. I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 2. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 6. Thou shalt not kill. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:3-17) “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:18-19) What God has spoken, no man can alter, for it is the word of the LORD your God. After that the LORD writes the commandments on tablets of stone and gives them to Moses. God Writes the commandments on
Tablets of Stone and hands them over to Moses “And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.” Exodus 24:12 (KJV) But when Moses broke the tablets God requires Moses to hew two tablets of stone like uto the first and return to the LORD that He might write them with His own hands. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest...And He wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” (Exodus 34:1,28 (KJV) God wrote the commandments a second time. We should realize, God’s insistence that Moses hew two tables of stone, the second time, so that God Himself inscribe the commandments (or the Covenant) between Him and His chosen people points to the unchanging nature of the written document. He was only allowed to carve the tablets upon which the Divine commandments were to be written. But when Moses called upon God with the tables of stone, the LORD spoke to Moses some gives him instructions about what He plans to do for the people of Israel and how God wanted to deal with the Canaanites. Those orders are not written by God but spoke to Moses, and Moses was required to write them down. It should be noted here that God wanted Moses to write down every other ordinance the LORD required Israel to observe, but the Ten Commandments of God, also referred to as the ‘Covenant’ was off-limit for Moses to write. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.” Exodus 34:27 God commanded His chosen people to observe the commandment, Do not add to it or diminish from it. (Man has no power to alter it) Exodus 16: 29-30 See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth 7 you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.30 So the people rested on the seventh day. “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 22:31 (ESV) “Now, therefore, hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:1-2 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.” Deuteronomy 4: 9-14 The LORD our God is One LORD “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
God’s Ten Commandments 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” Deuteronomy 6:4-8 Severe consequences for not keeping the commandments The 26th Chapter of Leviticus lists a whole slew of punishments which the LORD will impose against His people if they fail to keep His commandments. Man must keep God’s commandments. We, as humans are duty-bound to God for He has created us, and sustains us. The commandments are not suggestions. They are orders from our Creator. We live because His life flows through us. The moment the Spirit of God is withdrawn from us we cease to exist. “But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhors my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.” Leviti- cus 26:14 (KJV): “ Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. Numbers 15:31- 35 “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:23-24) “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Thou Shalt Teach Them To Thy Children And Write Them Down “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (KJV) “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9 (ESV) The Lord demands that those who love Him keep His commandments for a thousand generations. It is wrong to assume that we keep the commandments only for a thousand generations, but the entirety of the human race. We live between 84-103 generations from Adam. A covenant that has been written by the everlasting Father would never change. Even the perception that the only handwritten document from our immutable God given to
man can be altered by human proclamations is beyond the scope of imagination. Note: (Adam is our 84-87th great-grandfather, and we are in the 87-88 th generation from Adam. Noah is our 75th great-grandfather. There are 66 generations from Noah to Christ, and there are @ 78 generations from Noah to us today. Subtract two from each side (64 and 75) to get to the level of first cousins. By tallying these up, we arrive at our Lord Jesus Christ being my 139th cousin (CU) in this lineage.) If this calculation stands, we are not anywhere close to one thousand generations. “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” Deuteronomy 8:1-3 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (ESV) “...as Long As The Heaven Are Above The Earth” “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, ...” Deuteronomy 11:18-23 (ESV) “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28 -ESV) “ But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.” Deuteronomy 30:14-18 God’s Admonition to Solomon, Keep all my Commandments “And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.” 1 Kings 6:12 “And the Lord said unto him, I have heard
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