Exodus 20 Commands God’s Redeemed People How to Live

At the heart of Exodus 20 are the commandments that reveal how the people delivered from Egypt were to live before God and their neighbors. God did not begin with commands. He first declared that He was the LORD who had brought His people out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Following this declaration by the God who saved them, the passage gives specific commands to worship Him alone and not harm another person’s life, family, or property.

God Declared His Saving Work Before Giving the Commandments

God said, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery,” and then commanded the people to have no other gods before Him. The One speaking to them was the God who had already delivered them from slavery. The commandments that followed were therefore not a list of rules detached from the exodus. They explained in practical terms whom the people rescued from Egypt were to worship as God and how they were to live.

The opening commandments clearly limit the object of their worship. The people were to have no other gods besides the LORD. They were not to make images of anything in heaven, on earth, or in the waters below and bow down to or worship them. They were also forbidden to misuse the name of God. In verses 22 and 23, after reminding them that He had spoken from heaven, God again commanded them not to make gods of silver or gold. This repeated prohibition against idols makes it clear that the people were never to place God alongside images of their own making.

God also contrasted those who hate Him with those who love Him and keep His commandments. On one side is the consequence of sin; on the other is His steadfast love extending to a thousand generations. Serving God is not merely a vague feeling. It is expressed through rejecting other gods and idols and obeying His commandments.

Everyone in the Household Rested Together on the Sabbath

God commanded the people to labor and do all their work for six days, but to do no work on the seventh day. This rest was not intended for only one person. Sons and daughters, male and female servants, livestock, and foreigners residing within their gates were all to cease from work.

The passage also gives the reason: in six days God made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, God blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Remembering the Sabbath was not simply a personal habit of taking time off. It was a command to let the entire household—family members, workers, guests, and even animals—stop working on the same day.

God Forbade Both Harmful Actions and Covetous Desires

God commanded the people to honor their parents and prohibited murder, adultery, and theft. They were not to give false testimony against their neighbors. The final commandment forbade coveting a neighbor’s house, wife, servants, livestock, or anything else belonging to that neighbor.

These commandments address more than visible crimes. They prohibit taking a life, destroying a family, stealing property, and harming a neighbor through lies. They then go further by naming the inward desire to possess what belongs to someone else. The people were not merely to refrain from taking their neighbors’ belongings through their actions; they were also not to desire those things as their own.

The People Trembled, but Moses Drew Near to God

When the people saw the thunder and lightning, heard the trumpet, and saw the mountain covered in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance. They asked Moses to speak to them on God’s behalf. Moses explained that God had come to test them so that the fear of God would keep them from sinning. While the people remained at a distance, Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

God then gave further instructions not to make idols and explained how to build an altar. The people were not to make gods of silver or gold. They were to offer sacrifices on an altar of earth or uncut stones. Fearing God was not limited to trembling before the mountain. It was connected to avoiding sin according to His word and approaching Him in the way He had appointed.

Today, put one command concerning your neighbor into practice: do not say anything about another person that is contrary to the truth. Following the command in Exodus 20:16, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor,” check whether what you are about to share is true, and then speak honestly.