Fair use for discussion and educational purposes


The Ten Commandments are not part of the Law of Moses

Richard Anthony


Please, allow me to show you how the scripture itself proves that the "Ten Commandments" and the "law of Moses" are two completely separate laws. I will discuss seven points.
Simply stated, The "Law of Moses" has been known mainly as the "commandments of Moses" throughout the scripture, but can also be known as the commandments of God. On the other hand, the Ten Commandments are known only as the direct commandments of God, and never ever as the "commandments of Moses." And if they are not known as the commandments of Moses in the scripture, what right have we to call it such?




One

The major point of difference between these two laws is the way they were recorded:



Exodus 31:18, "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God."

No one can confuse the Ten Commandments writing with the way the Mosaic law was produced:



Deuteronomy 31:9, "And Moses wrote this law."





Two

Another major point of difference between these two laws is the way they were given to God's People.



Deuteronomy 4:36; 5:22, "Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: ...These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me."

It's important to notice that after God wrote the Ten Commandments, he "added no more" to this Law, yet God gave Moses statutes, precepts, judgments, and ordinances afterwards. If the Mosaic law was part of the Ten Commandments, there would be a contradiction here, because God did add more to this law! But there was no contradiction, because God considered the Ten Commandments to be a separate Law. The Ten Commandments were spoken by God himself to the people, so that God would instruct them. There was no mediator involved! Moses was not the mediator of the Ten Commandments. But he was the mediator of the sacrificial laws:



Exodus 33:9, "And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses."
2 Chronicles 34:14, "...Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses."

Unlike the Ten Commandments, in which God talked directly to the people, the sacrificial and ceremonial laws were spoken to Moses only. Moses was the mediator of these temporary laws, but not the Ten Commandments.




Three

God made known this distinction to Moses, and Moses explained it to the people at Mt. Horeb:



Deuteronomy 4:13-14, "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."

Please notice how Moses clearly separated the Ten Commandments which "he commanded you", from the statutes which "he commanded me" to give the people. The big question now is whether those statutes and judgments were designated as separate and distinct "law".

[See also Exodus 19:7; 39:1,5,7,21,26,29,31,32,42,43; 40:19,21,23,25,27,29,32 and Leviticus 7:38; 8:9,13,17,21,29: 9:10; 27:34]




Four



2 Kings 21:8, "Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them."

Here we are assured that the statutes which Moses gave the people were called a "law". Two different laws are being described now. God speaks of the law "I commanded" (The Ten Commandments) and also of the law "Moses commanded" (the law of Moses).

[See also Leviticus 9:5 and Deuteronomy 33:4 for the commandments of Moses. Deuteronomy 6:2; 8:11; 11:22,27,28; 13:18; 15:5; 19:9; 27:10; 28:1,13,15 and Joshua 22:5 for two different laws. And Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 for the commandments of God]




Five

Daniel was inspired to make the same careful distinction:



Daniel 9:11, "Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him."

Once more we see "thy law" (God's law, the Ten Commandments) and "the law of Moses" (the commandments of Moses), and are different in content. There are no curses recorded in the Ten Commandments that God wrote. Only the book of Moses has curses (Deuteronomy.29:20,21,27, 2 Chron.34:24).

[See also Exodus 20:6 for a passage on how the Ten Commandments were considered God's commandments, and not Moses' commandments]




Six

The following verses show that the "Ten Commandments" and the "law of Moses" are 2 separate laws, because they were separated physically:



Deuteronomy 31:24-26, "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee."

The book of statutes and judgments which Moses wrote in a book was placed in a pocket on the side of the ark. In contrast, the Law written by God on tables of stone was placed inside the ark of the covenant.



Exodus 25:16, "And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee."

The spiritual lesson of this physical separation is that we are to spiritually separate the Ten Commandments from the laws of Moses.




Seven

And, finally, the most important point. Did you know God himself wrote the Ten Commandments a second time? Moses broke the first Ten Commandments.


Exodus 34:1, "Hew thee two tablets of stone like unto first; and I will write upon the tablets the words that were on the first tables, which thou didst break."
Deuteronomy 10:1 "...Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount; and make thee an ark of wood."

Now, first of all, if the Ten Commandments were part of the Law of Moses, there would be no need for God to write the Ten Commandments a second time after Moses broke the original Ten Commandments. Why? Because the Ten Commandments would already exist inside, and be included in, and be a part of, the book of Moses. The book of Moses still existed at that time, and was still being observed. But God decided to write the ten commandments a second time, which would have been meaningless if it was considered a part of the law of Moses, or the book of Moses. So obviously, God considered His Law (His Ten Commandments), to be separate from the Law of Moses (the commandments of Moses). This shows that the two laws are to be considered separate and distinct laws from each other.




An Illustration

You and I can enter into a Covenant with each other. Our covenant can be an agreement for you to do one thing and I another. Our covenant can also be based upon the Ten Commandments. We will agree to not steal, murder, or commit adultery. Now, does this mean the Ten Commandments did not exist before we entered into our covenant with each other? No, it does not. Here's another question. When our covenant passes away because we fulfilled our agreement with each other, does that mean the Ten Commandments, which this covenant was based upon, are also passed away? No, it does not.

This illustrates how I see the Ten Commandments. Before Moses confirmed the covenant, it was a sin to steal, murder, commit adultery, etc. These laws existed before the covenant at Sinai happened. And after this covenant waxed old, and was replaced with a new covenant, the laws that say do not steal, murder, and commit adultery did not pass away with the old covenant. God still expects us to obey those laws, which reflect His Will.




Conclusion



To summarize, we can note several distinctions in the two laws. They had different authors, were originally written on different materials, were spoken by different law-givers, were placed in different locations in the ark, and they had totally different content. This shows, by example, how they are to be considered and treated as separate laws. In addition, the Ten Commandments were spoken from God's mouth (Exodus 19:19; 20:1, Deuteronomy.4:10,12; 5:22-26; 18:16, Nehemiah 9:13), and God said he would not "alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." (Psalm 89:34). The Ten Commandments went out of God's lips, so the Ten Commandments could not have been altered!

To give you a hypothetical situation, if the Ten Commandments were a part of the book of Moses, then whatever happens to the book of Moses must also, by definition, happen to the Ten Commandments. Don't you agree?

Well, if the Ark caught on fire, and the book of the covenant (Exodus 24:7), the law of Moses, suddenly burned to a crisp, would the Ten Commandments be burned up as well? No! But will the law of ordinances be burned up? Yes! The priesthood laws? Yes! The sacrificing laws? Yes! The Ten Commandments on Stone? No! Why? Because they were recorded on different materials. The tables of stone symbolize the imperishable nature of the Ten Commandments!

Now, here's a real example that will prove that they are two separate laws. Does God still expect us to sacrifice lambs, heifers, and other animals today, to atone for our sins? No, these sacrificial laws were changed. Does God still expect us to not steal, murder, lie, and commit adultery? Yes! Therefore, this simple fact that God does not expect us to obey the sacrificial laws of the Old Covenant, but does expect us to keep the laws of the Ten Commandments, prove that they are not part of the same law!

Moses' law was the temporary, ceremonial law of the Old Testament. It regulated the priesthood, sacrifices, rituals, meat and drink offerings, etc., all of which foreshadowed Christ Jesus. This law was added "till the seed should come," and that seed was Christ (Galatians 3:16,19). The ritual and ceremony of Moses' law pointed forward to Christ, and this law came to an end, but the Ten Commandments (God's law) "stand fast for ever and ever." (Psalm 111:8).

With brotherly love,

Michael

Michael,

Good study, but you need to provide a link to it.

Jesus was the ONLY person who was ever able to keep all ten of these Commandments, thus fulfilling the criteria that God put forth for those who were His people. He lived them out in His life while on this earth.

No one else was able to do so. Therefore, when Christ brought in the New Covenant, He provided a Way for these Commandments to be kept, which was by having Him living inside of us. It went from man striving to keep these laws and never succeeding, to being able to succeed by what Christ did. The 10 Commandments were not done away with, but what changed is how a believer keeps them.

We cannot keep them by our own striving, as that has been proven to be impossible. But we can keep them when we give our lives to Christ and rest in His finished works. What man was incapable to do in his own power, Christ is able to do through him. It went from natural striving to spiritual resting in Him.

I hope you understand what I am saying, as you seem so adamant that it is by your own striving that you keep these commandments, and Michael, that is impossible without Christ. Maybe you can see how Jesus became our Sabbath rest, and the only way to keep the Sabbath holy is to rest in Him everyday!

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!

Patti C.

Patti,

I am not saying that by trying to keep them; I somehow am going to be able to do what Jesus did for all! And that is to save myself from everlasting cutting off. Salvation is of the Lord, Jesus Christ, our savior!

What I AM saying is what the Bible plainly says. That the 10 commandments are as relative today as they were when God gave them to Moses on tablets of stone!

Jesus did not come to throw out the 10 commandments! He did not do away with the laws taught by Moses and written in Moses hand writing. He even SAID that! He came to fulfill the LAW.

Patti, all you have to do is go to Revelation 22:14 and read it for yourself:

Revelation 22:14.....Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

What do you say to this statement by Jesus about doing Gods commandments?

You cannot throw the baby out with the bath water! The LAW was the method given for establishing the blood sacrifice of animals to atone for sin and to show mankind that he was incapable of keeping himself holy unto the LORD. Jesus took away sin by walking a perfect life within the law and never sinned, then became our sacrifice for death and sin. THUS, he said it is finished, when he gave up his spirit.

What did he finish? The need for man to atone for sin, thus doing away with the laws of sacrifice and the associated laws written by Moses. They were not done away with as Jesus said, they were merely fulfilled for mankind because mankind was incapable of keeping these 613 laws written by Moses and called the Law of Moses.

You read the study about this, what is the problem that you can't agree with? I think it is Biblically presented and cut and dried for all to be able to understand.

We don't stop keeping God Almighty's Commandments because we have been saved by Jesus sacrifice. We stop having to KEEP sacrificing animals to get the blood atonement for our sins. That includes all of the 613 laws of Moses! The 10 commandments are FOREVER! That is why God used his own finger to write them and put them in STONE! In fact, he did it twice, as to establish a witness to the fact. Everyone makes mistakes and strays aloof of the commandments, but we have an intercessor now that can plead our cause to God for forgiveness, as long as we repent and keep growing in Christ's spirit.

James 1:22....But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James 1:25....But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. What do you think James meant by the perfect law of liberty?

Jesus is our rest from everlasting cutting off and the associated fear that goes with that. We now have hope of salvation and through faith we do wait on it with patience.

The 10 commandments of God Almighty are still ALIVE today and more important than ever. I hope and I will pray for you Patti because I need to do what God has put on my heart, and so be it.

YBIC
Michael

Patti,

I believe Michael has presented very good evidence that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Laws of Moses and thus we are free of those yet, we are to do our best to keep the Commandments written by the Finger of God, through which our very own crowns will be based upon.

If there were no Commandments to follow, there would be no need for the crowns promised for various deeds.

Think of it this way, we have a bunch of Televangelist who say they are born-again, yet they are so free of keeping the commandments, they actually believe they have a license to do as they will because they are saved by Grace. OK, so when they die, do they have the same level of rewards of that humble, poor man who know who he is and stood at the back of the temple saying, 'Forgive me Lord, for I am a sinner'?

Patti, it appears as if you are speaking too freely in your declaration of what life in Christ is all about. I know, by the person that you are, who loves the Lord with all your heart, that you live your life by those very rules set down by the Ten Commandments but apparently you don't want to admit to it....it is within your heart, your very being is being guided by what you know is right or wrong according to the teachings of the Ten Commandments.

I think that you assume that to follow the Ten Commandments that somehow you will be transported back to some Jewish way of doing things. On contrary, it is they who have short changed themselves because they are still hung up on the 613 laws. We are free in the Lord Jesus Christ and as His Saints, who are called by His Name, we keep His Commandments. We are truly free, the Jews are still in bondage. We are the one that it speak about the A/C coming after the rest of those that believed on His Name and kept His Commandments.

love,
gerlinda
Gerlinda

Dear Gerlinda and Michael

I am going to make this as simple as absolutely possible, as I have been trying to do with every response to you both. I just do not get how you come up with such confusing, mixed up concepts, that you accuse me of supporting! They are so far from what I am saying that it is almost unbelievable! I just do not understand why you keep doing this, I wish it were a joke so I could laugh, because it has become very frustrating to be so misunderstood!

Old Covenant (old will or contract) written in stone
Between man and God

Man STRIVING in his own righteousness to please God and failing miserably!!

New Covenant (will or contract) This supersedes the Old!!
Between God and Jesus

Man RESTING in Jesus and His completed works, and SUCCEEDING in keeping the Commandments of God.

The problem must lie in you not understanding the New Covenant or you would see that it is in no way about your striving or your righteousness.

I keep the commandments of God by being a born again believer with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is no other Way!!

You are both mixing Law and Grace and that is wrong!! That is what I object so strongly to. It is rather ironic that you want me to join you in doing that. I see it as 2 blind people trying to teach a seeing person how to be blind!

You have used examples of things that I have NEVER put forth in any article or study I have ever written...such as the 10 Commandments are done away with, and that resting in Christ gives us a license to keep sinning! I am amazed you come up with such ideas when nothing could be further from what I am truly saying.

And you, Gerlinda, trying to figure out why I cannot agree with what you are calling truth by saying I am afraid to be too Jewish. My dear, it is you who cannot see what I am saying because maybe it is not Jewish enough!

Come on now, at least try and understand what I am saying, and then deal with that issue, and that issue alone, in your responses. I just bumped up 3 of my studies to aid you in comprehending this. Maybe it is too simple for you. I am just at a loss as to why you keep kicking against the goads.

So keep striving in your own power if you want, as for me, I will continue to keep the commandments of God by resting in Christ and His righteousness.

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

Patti C.

bump