The ten commandments?

I thought it was supposed to be about moral rules, like not kill or steal or rape and such, but now I find it's very different. First, god gives moses tablets of stone on which the ten commandments are written. Moses smashes them. So, then god gives the exact same ten commandments to Moses again, and it turns out that they're all about not worshipping other gods, several are about unleavened (?) bread, there's something about sacrificing firstborn male sheeps and oxes to god (but not donkeys ?? or break their necks ?? wtf), not working on sunday, and all manner of nonsense, but not one of these commandments are actually important moral commandments, like don't kill or steal and so on. Could someone explain this to me, because I'm at a loss here.

🙄

Originally posted by C Hess
I thought it was supposed to be about moral rules, like not kill or steal or rape and such, but now I find it's very different. First, god gives moses tablets of stone on which the ten commandments are written. Moses smashes them. So, then god gives the exact same ten commandments to Moses again, and it turns out that they're all about not worshipping other g ...[text shortened]... n't kill or steal and so on. Could someone explain this to me, because I'm at a loss here.

🙄

Originally posted by KellyJay
The Ten Commandments remain the Ten Commandments not sure what
you are confused about.

Originally posted by wolfgang59
But why ten? Why not 8 or 17?

A reason may be the symbolism.

10 is arrived at by 8+2 (or 2+8)

2 is a reference to our eyes and means that god is all-seeing.

8 stands for 2x4 where 4 is the perfection of god and
thus 8 is double this and therefore twice as good.

So god had to give Man 10 commandments!

Originally god had only 5 commandme ...[text shortened]... th, property, a wife etc.)
Don't covet.
Have a rest once a week.
Do as your parents tell you.

Originally posted by KellyJay
The Ten Commandments remain the Ten Commandments not sure what
you are confused about.

Originally posted by C Hess
I thought that among them were things like "thou shalt not kill", "thou shalt not steal", and so on, but no, there's only things you should do with bread and what not. It's crazy.

And God spoke all these words, saying:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Originally posted by RJHinds
You can find the ten commandments in Exodus 20.

And God spoke all these words, saying:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the ...[text shortened]... his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

(Exodus 20:1-17 NKJV)

Originally posted by C Hess
I thought it was supposed to be about moral rules,

Originally posted by RJHinds
You can find the ten commandments in Exodus 20.
[quote] And God spoke all these words, saying:

“I am the Lord your God, ....

Originally posted by wolfgang59
I think they are more like guidelines rather than rules.
Its not as if they are carved in stone .....

Originally posted by C Hess
Now, see that's why I got confused. I always thought that that whole business where moses walks up the mountain for forty days or something, comes down with two tablets, smashes them beyond repair, walks back up because god's like, dude, it's cool, bring me two new tablets and I'll write it again, I always thought those ten things that god wrote on those two stone tablets were supposed to be the ten commandments, but they're not?

Originally posted by wolfgang59
I think they are more like guidelines rather than rules.
Its not as if they are carved in stone .....

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"

And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment."

Originally posted by C Hess
Now, see that's why I got confused. I always thought that that whole business where moses walks up the mountain for forty days or something, comes down with two tablets, smashes them beyond repair, walks back up because god's like, dude, it's cool, bring me two new tablets and I'll write it again, I always thought those ten things that god wrote on those two stone tablets were supposed to be the ten commandments, but they're not?