At face value, the Ten Commandments can seem intense and unforgiving. But Emanuel Swedenborg’s understanding of the internal sense of the Bible—spiritual meanings that lie beneath the literal words—can give us a new perspective on these familiar rules.

In this episode of their Swedenborg and Life web series, hosts Curtis Childs and Jonathan Rose study the inner meaning of the first commandment.

(References: Apocalypse Revealed 950; Arcana Coelestia 8864, 8865, 8868, 8869, 8875, 8878, 8879, 8880, 8881)

There was a famous billboard, with this text: "What was it about 'Thou shalt not'... that you didn't understand?"

It was a good billboard. But, do people still even know the Ten Commandments? Bible literacy is probably lower than it's been for a long time; maybe than at any time since the Protestant Reformation got rolling back in 1517. It's more than a little worrisome. Still, the Ten Commandments are basic to both Christianity and Judaism, though; hopefully they're still part of the bedrock of society.

In the Bible, in the Book of Exodus, God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses, on Mount Sinai, inscribing them on two tables of stone. Here's that brief, power-packed story: Exodus 20:1-17.

Swedenborg had much to say about this story, and about the commandments. One of the most interesting passages in his description is about why the ten commandments were given in such a miraculous way. Here's a link to that passage, in his work entitled "True Christian Religion": True Christian Religion 282.