The Ten Commandments. God’s Instruction Manual for LifeSample

God gave the Israelites his instruction manual for life

The people of Israel had a special relationship with the Lord God. They were the descendants of Abraham, to whom God had promised: “I will make of you a great nation” (Genesis 12:2). God had also promised that these descendants would live in the land of Canaan (see Genesis 15:18-21). But during a famine, they moved to Egypt and stayed there for generations. Their relationship with the Egyptians deteriorated and they ended up in slavery. Then God intervened, and He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

The Israelites had to cross a desert in order to reach the land of Canaan. During this journey, God gave them a lot of instruction. Part of it were detailed laws for Israel’s temple service, animal sacrifices and ritual purity. Other laws were about civil rights. But the Lord also gave them his “ten commandments”, a basic constitution of moral standards. These are repeated in other parts of the Bible, and turn out to be God’s general “instruction manual” for humans. Not just for ancient Israelites, but also for present day people worldwide. Do join us as we study them in more detail over the next few days!

Are there certain moral standards you consider universally valid?