Sculpture by International Artist Phillip Ratner “No document in world history so changed the world for the better as did the Ten Commandments.”
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Dennis Prager’s new video series on the Ten Commandments offers insight into the profound historical impact and continued relevance of the most important laws ever written. “No document in world history so changed the world for the better as did the Ten Commandments,” Prager says in the introduction to the video series. “Western civilization – the civilization that developed universal human rights, created women’s equality, ended slavery, created parliamentary democracy among other unique achievements – would not have developed without them.”
The crucial premise of the Commandments, Prager states, is their source: “an Authority higher than any man, any king, or any government.” Moses did not give the law; the biblical text makes clear that “God spoke all these words.” In this way, the Commandments transcend the whims and inevitable tyranny of man, who will define morality in terms of what benefits him.
Prager uses murder as an example of a moral issue that man without God will redefine as right for his own gain. For those who would argue that man does not need God to determine that murder is wrong, he points to the recent past where Communists and Nazis at the behest of the state killed around one hundred million citizens in the absence of a Higher Authority.
It’s all too easy to be swayed by a government or a demagogue or an ideology or to rationalize that the wrong you are doing isn’t really wrong. And even if you do figure out what is right and wrong, God is still necessary. People who know the difference between right and wrong do the wrong thing all the time. You know why? Because they can. They can because they think no one is watching. But if you recognize that God is the source of moral law, you believe that He is always watching.
The transcendence of man-made systems of authority is crucial in the First Commandment (in the Jewish enumeration), when God chooses a profound way to describe himself:
“I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
Prager argues that understanding the significance of this statement is essential to understanding all other Commandments. First, God establishes himself as the source of morality, the foundation of “ethical monotheism,” an objective code of right and wrong emanating from God rather than man. In this way, no man-made political system can redefine morality. But another crucial aspect of the First Commandment is God’s emphasis on freedom:
Note that God is not saying in this introduction to the Ten Commandments that He created the world. It surely would have made a lot of sense for God to introduce the Ten Commandments with the statement, “I am the Lord your God who created the world.” That is, after all, pretty impressive, and would make sense: “I created the world: You better listen to Me.” But no, the one thing God declares is that He took the Children of Israel out of slavery and into freedom. That’s how much God hates slavery and how important God considers freedom. The Founders of America based their entire view of America on this belief — that God wants us to be free. That is why the most iconic symbol of the American Revolution, the Liberty Bell, has only one sentence inscribed on it — a verse from the Hebrew Bible: “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.”
God Wants Us to Be Free
Although the First Commandment (“I am the Lord your God”) appears simple at first glance, it actually set into motion the most revolutionary idea in human history — ethical monotheism, the belief that there is one God whose main wish is that people treat each other decently. Dennis Prager explains that without this commandment, the following nine mean little. With it, the Ten Commandments becomes world-changing.
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There Are More Idols than Ever
Today, the idea of idol worship feels ancient and remote to many people. Thus, the Second Commandment, “You shall have no other gods,” doesn’t seem applicable in modern society. But the opposite is true. We have more false gods than ever — art, education, fame, money, to name just a few. Over the past century the worship of false gods has led to massive evil; Communism and Nazism are just two examples. On a personal level, the worship of false gods leads to unhappiness.
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The Worst Sin You Can Commit
Not all sins are equal. Some are worse than others. The worst of one of all? Committing evil in the name of God. This commandment is often misunderstood because it’s mistranslated. It’s not concerned with saying God’s name “in vain” like “God, did I have a terrible day at the office.” It’s about using God’s name in the commission of evil. We see this today when Islamists invoke God’s name while they murder innocent people.
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Don’t Be a Slave
Setting aside of day of rest each week was a revolutionary concept when it was first introduced as the Fourth Commandment. But this Commandment does more: it extends that day of rest to slaves and animals and thus set in motion the slow process of ending slavery and the compassionate treatment of animals. As Dennis Prager explains, the power of the Fourth Commandment to change your life is no less real today than it was for our ancient ancestors. Just ask the spouse of a workaholic how she would feel if her husband took off a day each week to spend with family and friends.
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Even if You Don’t Feel Like It
Children owe their parents one thing. And no, it’s not love. The Fifth Commandment understands that sometimes it’s difficult or even impossible to love your parents. But it’s almost always possible to honor them. Dennis Prager explains what that means and why it’s so important. And consider this: if your children see you honoring your parents they are much more likely to honor you.
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You Can Kill, but You Can’t Murder
If asked to state this Commandment, most people would say “Do Not Kill.” This is understandable because the classic King James Bible translates it this way. But the English language has changed since 1610. Furthermore, Hebrew has two words for killing just as English does. The correct translation, as Dennis Prager explains, is “Do Not Murder.” Once you grasp this, the meaning of the commandment changes entirely.
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The Best Way to Protect the Family
Why do the Ten Commandments single out adultery as particularly harmful? Because adultery can destroy the foundational unit of a society — the family. If exposed, adultery leads to sense of betrayal. If hidden, it forces the offending spouse to lie. Children are often the unintended victims. This may be one of the most difficult Biblical laws to follow, but it’s also one of the most important.
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Keep This and You’ll Keep Them All
There is one commandment that, if followed by all of humanity, would instantly create a peaceful world: Do not steal. The Eighth Commandment implicitly prohibits murder (stealing a life), slavery (stealing a person’s freedom), adultery (stealing a spouse), humiliation (stealing dignity), and so many other sins laid out in the Bible. If there is one Commandment that summarizes the other nine, this one is it.
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Lying is the Root of Evil
The most important ingredient to building a moral society is truth, both inside and outside a courtroom. The prohibition against “bearing false witness” does not only demand that truth reigns supreme in a trial, but that it is a societal value throughout the culture. Bad things happen when people believe lies. With truth, we can build a decent society. Without it, even the other nine commandments won’t help.
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The One Thought You Should Never Have
There is only one Commandment that prohibits a thought, and it is this: “Do not covet.” Why does the Bible, which is preoccupied with behavior, legislate a thought? Because to covet, to want what belongs to someone else, is the root of the preceding four commandments and often leads to evil. Before someone murders, steals, lies, or commits adultery, the desire to take what is rightly someone else’s usually comes first.
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Dennis Prager
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