Ten Words on the Mountain

Thunder rolls across the desert. Lightning splits a heavy cloud. The whole mountain is trembling and pouring out smoke like a furnace. And above it all, a trumpet blast grows louder, and louder, and louder.

Three months after leaving Egypt, the people of Israel reach the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp at the foot of the mountain. This is the very place where God first spoke to Moses from a burning bush. Moses climbs up, and God gives him a message for the people. “You have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my own treasure. A kingdom of priests. A holy nation.” Moses brings the words down, and the people answer together. “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.”

God tells Moses to get the people ready. For two days they wash their clothes and prepare themselves. Moses sets a boundary around the bottom of the mountain. Nobody is to go up or even touch its edge. This is holy ground. Everyone waits. What will it be like when God comes down? Then, on the morning of the third day, they find out.

Thunder. Lightning. A thick cloud on the mountain. A trumpet so loud that everyone in the camp shakes. Moses leads the people out to meet God, and they stand at the foot of Sinai. The Lord descends on the mountain in fire. Smoke rises like smoke from a kiln. The whole mountain quakes. The trumpet grows louder and louder. Moses speaks, and God answers him with a voice like thunder. This is not a God anyone can tame or manage. And yet he has come down to speak to them.

And then God speaks. He begins not with a rule, but with a reminder. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” First he rescued them. Now he shows them how rescued people live. Have no other gods before me. Do not make idols to bow down to. Do not misuse my name. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Honour your father and your mother. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not lie about your neighbour. And do not covet, do not long to grab what belongs to someone else. Ten words. A few about loving God. The rest about loving the people around you.

The people see the thunder and the lightning, they hear the trumpet, they see the mountain smoking, and they tremble. They step back and stand far off. “You speak to us,” they beg Moses, “and we will listen. But don't let God speak to us, or we will die.” And Moses gives an answer that sounds like a riddle. “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of him will be with you, and you will not sin.” Don't be afraid, so that you will fear. Not terror, running away from God. But deep respect that keeps you close to him and away from harm. So the people stay at a distance, and Moses walks up into the thick darkness where God is.

In the Bible itself, these are never called the Ten Commandments. In Hebrew, they are the ten words. Our word Decalogue comes from the Greek for exactly that. And here is something surprising. Jews, Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox and most Protestants all agree there are ten, but they divide them up in slightly different ways. Some count the opening words, I am the Lord your God, as the first. Others split the last command about coveting in two. The words are the same. Only the numbering differs.

Ten Words on the Mountain. You'll find it in Exodus, chapters 19 and 20. Before God gave a single command, he reminded his people that he had already set them free. The rules were not the way to earn his love. They were the shape of life with him. So here's the question to carry with you. Which of the ten words is God inviting you to live out this week?