8859. Exodus 20

1. And God spoke all these words, saying,

2. I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.

3. You shall not have other gods before My face.

4. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness [of things] which are in the heavens above, and which are on the earth beneath, and which are in the waters under the earth.

5. You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them; for I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, ¹ on the third and on the fourth [generations] of those who hate Me,

6. And showing mercy to thousands who love Me and keep My commandments.

7. You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain; for Jehovah will not render him innocent who takes His name in vain.

8. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9. Six days you shall labour and do all your work;

10. And the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God. You shall not do any work - you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your male slave, nor your female slave, nor your beast, nor your sojourner who is within your gates.

11. For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and sanctified it.

12. Honour your father and your mother, in order that your days may be prolonged on the land which Jehovah your God gives you.

13. ² You shall not kill.

14. You shall not commit adultery.

15. You shall not steal.

16. You shall not answer as witness of a lie against your neighbour.

17. You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, nor his male slave nor his female slave, nor his ox nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbour's.

18. And all the people saw the voices and torches, ³ and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and the people saw and were violently shaken, and stood afar off.

19. And they said to Moses, Speak yourself to us, and we will hear; and do not let God speak to us, lest perhaps we die.

20. And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come in order to test you, and in order that His fear may be before your faces, so that you do not sin.

21. And the people stood afar off; and Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.

22. And Jehovah said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

23. You shall not make [to be] with Me gods of silver and gods of gold; you shall not make [them] for yourselves.

24. An altar of soil ⁴ you shall make for Me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your eucharistic offerings, your flocks and your herds; in every place where I shall put the memory of My name I will come to you and bless you.

25. And if you make for Me an altar of stones, you shall not build it with hewn ones; for if you move your chisel over it you will profane it.

26. And you shall not go up to My altar by steps, in order that your nakedness may not be revealed on it.

CONTENTS

This chapter deals in the internal sense with God's truths that are to be implanted in the good which governs those belonging to the Lord's spiritual Church. The Ten Commandments are those truths; and the commandments that follow them in this chapter, regarding sacrifices and the altar, are outward truths concerned with worship.

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682. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Word means nothing other than His acknowledgment and living in accordance with His commandments. For the reason His name has that meaning, see the explanation of the second of the Ten Commandments, 'You are not to take the name of God in vain' [297-299]. This nothing else is meant by the Lord's name in these passages amongst others:

Jesus said,

You will be hated by all nations for my name's sake, Matthew 10:22; 24:9-10.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst, Matthew 18:20.

As many as received Him, to them He gave the ability to be sons of God, if they believed in His name, John 1:12.

Many believed in His name, John 2:23.

He who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, John 3:18.

Those who believe will have life in His name, John 20:31.

You have laboured for the sake of my name, and have not wearied, Revelation 22:3.

[2] Can anyone fail to see that the Lord's name in those passages does not mean merely His name, but acknowledging Him as Redeemer and Saviour, and at the same time obeying Him, and finally having faith in Him? For at baptism a child receives the sign of the cross on his forehead and chest, and this is a sign of his initiation into the acknowledgment and worship of the Lord. One's name also means one's character; the reason is that in the spiritual world everyone is given a name to match his character. So naming someone a Christian means that his character is such that he has from Christ faith in Christ and charity towards the neighbour. This meaning of the name is to be seen in Revelation:

The Son of Man says, You have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their clothing; and they will walk with me in white clothing, because they are worthy, Revelation 3:4.

Walking with the Son of Man in white clothing means following the Lord, and living in accordance with the truths of His Word.

[3] Name has a similar meaning in John:

Jesus said, The sheep hear my voice, and I call my own sheep by name, and I lead them out; I walk before them, and the sheep follow me, because they know my voice; but they do not follow a stranger, because they do not know strangers' voices, John 10:3-5.

'By name' means by their character as Christians; 'following Him' is hearing His voice, that is, obeying His commandments. All receive this name at baptism, for it is contained in the sign.