Right after Jesus repeated the first part of the Great Commandment, quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 6, He said this, quoting from Leviticus 19:18: “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). So, if the first four commandments tell us how to love God with all we are and all we have, the last six commandments tell us how to love our neighbors.

And just as love for God involves reverence and devotion to Him, love for others begins with reverence for our parents and indeed for all those God has placed in authority over us. In fact, God promises long life and security within our borders to those who keep the Fifth Commandment – and the history of the world is full of contrary examples, from the French Revolution to Mao’s Cultural Revolution to the recent riots of the “woke.” No, efforts to defy authority and stamp out tradition only lead to chaos and violence.

But respect for authority and reverence for tradition aren’t the only pillars of a safe and prosperous society. Respect for human life, the maintenance of marriage vows, and the safety of private property are all critical components of any healthy community. Moreover, justice can only be rendered by our court system if judges can count on witnesses to tell the truth, and if juries pronounce their verdicts based on the law and the facts instead of personal prejudice. In short, God gave us these commandments for our good – loving one another is simply the best way for all of us to be safe, well, and prosperous.

In fact, it’s the only way. For what happens when a culture abandons these laws? What happens when 60 million babies are slaughtered in the womb, and when divorce is allowed for any reason or for none at all? What happens when witnesses refuse to tell the truth about crime in their neighborhoods? We modern Americans don’t have to wonder, do we?

But the Tenth Commandment may be the most important of all. For if we don’t covet our neighbor’s things, we’ll be less likely to steal or kill. If we don’t covet our neighbor’s wife, we’ll be less likely to break our marriage vows. No matter how many commercials try to make us dissatisfied with our current condition or possessions, being content with what God has given us is critical not only to our own happiness but to our social stability. It’s a key part of what it means to love one another.

Now, as we continue our study of the Law of Moses, we’ll discover lots of different ways in which these Ten Commandments should be expressed. But as Jesus told us, there is simply no substitute for these fundamental principles. Only love for God and love for one another, the kind of love God’s law describes, makes it possible for people and their societies truly to flourish.

Exodus 20:12-21 (NASB)

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.
19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”
21 So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.