10 Commandments Or 2?

10 Commandments Or 2?

I thought it would be neat to expound on the Old Testament 10 Commandments and the New Testament 2 Commandments, and to show that they are different, and yet, very much the same! First, let us print both versions, the Old Testament, and then the New Testament and then discuss what we have.

"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 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. 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. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 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." (Exod. 20:2 - 17) Okay, now let's see these two New Testament Commandments; "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'" Matt. 22:36-40 (KJV)

Are Jesus' Commandments different than those of the Old Testament, or no? I tell you, they are the same! The new are a consolidation of the old! Look very closely at the first 4 Commandments of the Old Testament; are they not inclusive of loving God with all your heart, soul and mind? Look at the other 6 of the Old Testament; are they not crafted in wisdom such as that one in obedience of them has no alternative but to love thy neighbor as thyself? And here is another wonder to you, because Jesus' 2 new Commandments are yet of old! "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:" (Deut. 6:5 - 6) "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." (Lev. 19:18) So what have we got here? Jesus has abbreviated the wording out of the 10 Commandments into 2 derived from Deuteronomy and Leviticus, and look what He said; "ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS HANG ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS." His 2 Commandments give us that we have to think before interacting with our neighbors, don't we? Whatever I do, will my neighbor appreciate it? If I were my neighbor, would I like what I'm doing? Sort of a "WWJD - (What would Jesus do). Then also there is the greatest and first that He gave. We can all be in deep pondering as to what all we can do to demonstrate our love for God, and our best source for that information is right there in the Bible, cover to cover! Jesus made it easy to know how to love Him; "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15) One can see how Jesus equates love with obedience here. So it's really quite simple: read and obey. Whatever commandments He has in the Bible, commit them to our behavior, and we are loving Him!

So let us obey the 2 Commandments, and in doing so we will be obeying the 10! Treat others how we want to be treated at all times, and obey God in all the commandments and statutes that He gave, and we have done all He wants of us!