The Ten Commandments TG - Helwys

1 The Ten CommandmentsLesson 1 Living Large ..3 Exodus 20:1-6 Lesson 2 Taking God Seriously ..8 Exodus 20:7-11 Lesson 3 Matters of Life and Death ..13 Exodus 20;12-13 Lesson 4 Unrealistic Commandments ? ..18 Exodus 20;14, 16 Lesson 5 Being Happy with What You Have ..23 Exodus 20:15, 17 TABLE OFCONTENTSP repare Before the SessionRead the session for today in the Study Guide. Then read the options in this TeachingGuide, placing checkmarks beside the activities you plan to include. After you have decidedwhich options to use, gather the appropriate SINYOUR TEACHINGGUIDEThis Teaching Guide has three purposes: to give the teacher tools for focusing on the content of the session in the Study Guide. to give the teacher additional Bible background information. to give the teacher variety and choice in Teaching Guide includes two major components: Teacher Helps and Teacher HelpsTeacher OptionsFind Relevance helps you zero in on why eachsession is important for theadults you Understandingpresents helful Bible Backgroundinformations and insights that will helpyou better understand the Outlineprovides you with an outlineof the main themes in theStudy Guide.

2 My Teaching Plan is aconvenient place for you tomake notes for teaching Illustrations presents material that will help you painta picture of the session. This section often presents items fromchurch history, current events, or interesting anecdotes thathelp introduce the provides teaching activitiees that will help learnersdiscuss the Scripture presents multiple collections of questions forvarious kinds of Learners helps learners become actively involvedwith the Scripture text for a particular gives you a means for wrapping up the Can Choose!There is more material in each session than you can use, so choose the options from each sectionto tailor the session to the needs of your RelevanceWhy do adults care about thissession? As recent studiesshow, society is becomingincreasingly individualistic.

3 Theneed for community seems to be dwin-dling and all in the name of individualrights and freedom. As a result, there islittle respect for rules and , Americans view rules as restric-tive, as we are taught to questionauthority if it gives even the appearanceof infringing on our personal fierce individualism is evident inall aspects of our daily routine, but noplace more clearly than our religious of us grew up with a religion full ofdo s and don ts; naturally, more timesthan not these lists took some of the joyout of life. We often felt that religion ssole purpose was to tell us what we couldnotdo, certainly not to empower us withwhat we coulddo. To some of us, the sheernotion of using established Commandments as guidelines for ourlives is frightening!The Israelites, however, learned thatthe Ten Commandments were not restric-tions on their lives.

4 Rather, the TenCommandments offered instructions onhow to live in community with otherpeople and in relationship with God. Thelist of tenets actually was liberating, eachoffering a sense of purpose and directionfor the new nation. Is it possible that theTen Commandments will have a freshword for us today?Seek UnderstandingWhat do these Scripturesmean? What do theseScriptures mean? The Hebrewshad escaped from slavery in Egyptunder the leadership of Moses. After threemonths of journeying, they had arrived atthe wilderness of Sinai. It was there thatthey camped at the foot of the called Moses to the top of MountSinai and gave him the words that wouldserve as the very foundation for covenantlife among the Hebrews. Central to thisSinai covenant were the stipulations thathave become known as the TenCommandments, or the Decalogue (liter-ally, ten words ).

5 The Decaloguecontained those principles that were togovern the relationship between Israeland the Lord. The first two command-ments of the Decalogue called Israel intototal allegiance and loyalty with two Commandments serve as thebasis for all the others, for if we followthese, our ensuing relationship with Godwill also affect the ways in which we relateto each GuideLIVINGLARGEE xodus 20:1-6 ResourcesBrevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus(Philadelphia:The Westminster Press, 1974).Joy Davidman, Smoke on the Mountain: AnInterpretation of the Ten Commandments (Philadelphia:The Westminster Press, 1954).Ruth C. Duck, Touch Holiness: Resources for Worship(New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1990).Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus, Interpretation: A BibleCommentary for Teaching and Preaching(Louisville: John Knox Press, 1991).

6 Walter Harrelson, The Ten Commandments and HumanRights(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980).Roy L. Honeycutt, Exodus, Broadman BibleCommentary,vol. 1 (Nashville: Broadman Press,1969).Kenneth Leech, Experiencing God: Theolog y AsSpirituality(San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985).Jay G. Williams, Ten Words of Freedom: An Introductionto the Faith of Israel (Philadelphia: Fortress Press,1971).My Teaching PlanIntroduction: The Ten Commandmentswere God s direct address to Israel. Thecommunity held the Commandments inhigh regard, and there was never any ques-tion that they were indeed God-given onthe appeal to obey the Commandments wasnot based upon consequences or punish-ment. Rather, the appeal was to a deepermotivation for obedience: these command-ments were from the Lord your God. Thus, obedience was clearly a matter ofrelationship to The Preamble (20:1-2)A.

7 God is identified as the Author of theDecalogue (20:1).B. The story of the Exodus is summarized,which sets the terms of the covenantwithin the context of God s redemptiveactivity (20:2).II. The First Commandment (20:3)A. You shall have no other gods beforeme. B. Israel is to give neither allegiance norworship to any other The Second Commandment (20:4-6)A. You shall not make for yourself anidol (20:4a).B. Israel is prohibited from making idolsof stone, wood, clay, or metal (20:4b).C. Israel is prohibited from worshippingthose idols, for God is a jealous God(20:5a).D. The judgment for disloyalty is sharplynoted, and the showing of steadfastlove is stated in conditional terms(20:5b-6).Conclusion: Allegiance to God aloneassures us of God s steadfast love fromgeneration to 1 Offer IllustrationsHow can I help learners think about the issues?

8 Thou-Shalt-NotsIn Smoke on the Mountain,Joy Davidmantells the following story:There is a tale told of a missionary in adark corner of Africa where the men had ahabit of filing their teeth to sharp was hard at work trying to convert anative chief. Now the chief was very old,and the missionary was very OldTestament his version of Christianityleaned heavily on thou-shalt-nots. Thesavage listened patiently. I do not understand, he said at last. You tell me that I must not take myneighbor s wife. That s right, said the missionary. Or his ivory, or his oxen. Quite right. And I must not dance the war danceand then ambush him on the trail and killhim. Absolutely right! But I cannot do any of these things! said the savage regretfully. I am too be old and to be Christian, they are thesame thing! (13)Questions Do you think many people can relate tothe cannibal s confusion, seeingChristianity as something old, rigid,and joyless?

9 In what ways do we often turnChristianity into a religion based onthou-shalt-nots rather than on life-giving affirmations of God s love forus? How can the Ten Commandments stillbe relevant to us today? Finding Life in the DesertFor three months, the Jews had been trav-eling in the desert, where their journeytook them into unknown uncertain of their future, theyfaced many dangers and perils. At the veryleast, life was uncomfortable. InExperiencing God: Theology As Spirituality,Kenneth Leech describes the desert expe-rience this way:Frequently [traveling] into the desertis linked with a turning-point in consciousness of one s loneliness,the threat of meaninglessness andemptiness in life, the intensifying ofdoubt these may propel a persontowards a desert experience whichmay change the direction of his life.

10 (160)Questions How might the Hebrews experience inthe desert have prepared them for anew relationship with God, along witha willingness to accept the conditionsof the Ten Commandments ? How might the notion of covenant have been a turning point for them? When have you experienced a similarturning point in your own life? Howmight you be different had you notbeen through the desert ?Teaching Guide5 DiscussionHow do I lead learners to dialogue about the session? Distinctly the Ten CommandmentsMany scholars have argued that the TenCommandments are quite similar to thecodes of conduct and political treaties ofother civilizations in the ancient NearEast. Other civilizations like theBabylonians, Hittites, and Assyrians, toname a few observed laws that prohib-ited such sins as stealing, lying, murder,and adultery, and they clearly spelled outthe consequences of such behaviorsthrough carefully constructed , societies have legal codes thatprovide for contexts in which people haverights and privileges, and in which theyare guaranteed protection under thoselaws.