A Quick Bible Study, Vol. 150: The 10 Commandments Are Not the 10 Suggestions

Author’s Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book “Bible Study For Those Who Don’t Read The Bible.” “Part Two,” featuring volumes 57–113, was published in December. 

Event Alert: My friend, Rabbi Aaron Allsbrook, is hosting a Messianic Jewish Passover Seder on April 6 at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. The keynote speaker is Dr. Michael Brown – well known to Townhall readers. Buy tickets early! Thanks for joining today’s study Vol. 150. This milestone number demands an important topic, so I chose the Ten Commandments. Recorded in the Hebrew Bible book of Exodus: 20, the Ten Commandments are the foundation of Judeo-Christian law and morality. How the Commandments have impacted humankind’s civil and societal development is immeasurable. I love the first simple verse that begins the Commandments:  “And God spoke all these words..” (Exodus 20:1). “Simple,” because the ancient Israelites learned the hard way that when God “spoke,” they better listen, act upon His words or suffer the consequences. And over the millenniums, that has not changed.Yet, in our modern age, with Bible literacy on the decline and Jesus-centered denominations shedding members, the Ten Commandments’ authority has not diminished. Nevertheless, due to the declining state of our culture, a more apt name is the “Ten Suggestions” – given that moral rul …