Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments
Chosen Bible Reading Plan Season 1, Episode 2, Day 1
20 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24 “ ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26 And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ex 20:1–26.
STOP! Do your own devotion before reading mine! Go here to review the Journey of the Heart Bible Journaling Method if you need to.
Theme(s): Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Best Verse: 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
Command to Obey: You shall have no other gods before me.
Sin to Avoid: Idolatry.
Promise to Claim: --
Application to Make: God should be my first priority in 2026.
Something New About God: --
Reflection: The preamble to the ten commandments reminds us that God loved us and saved us first, therefore we should respond with love and obedience by obeying the ten commandments. Then the first four commandments may be summarized as "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul." And the sixth through tenth commandments are "love your neighbor as yourself." The way we love our neighbor is by being God's steward and our neighbor's servant. To live these commandments, to apply them to my life, I must spend quality time with God each day. There are many spiritual disciplines that can help me focus on God, but the core ones are prayer, scripture and worship. Therefore, five days a week I will get up at 5am, begin my quiet time with prayer, then read one chapter of the bible, and then journal on it. After I get the kids out the door for school I will workout for 30 minutes while listening to worship music. This morning discipline will help me make God my first priority in 2026, it will help me to apply the ten commandments to my life each day.
