Exodus 20:3‐17 * Refer also to these commandments from a marriage perspective spiritually.

1) You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.

“ And he replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

• This commandment is the first command which must be fulfilled, so that you are able to fulfill the others justly. The above Scriptures refer to what this commandment entails spiritually. All must be given unto Him, in order that no other person or thing is before Him (Matthew 10:37; Luke 14:26). This is only accomplished by the Holy Spirit leading us to this place. Jesus was led by the Father to fulfill the Law, as we are to be led by His Spirit to fulfill the Law & abide in the Father too (Romans 13:10; John 14:15; 1John 5:3). If we try to do this obedience without the Holy Spirit, on our own accord, than it’s not with pure or unblemished love but in the flesh. It’s done out of a wrong heart motive. Our goal in the faith is to have a pure heart in the love of God (Psalm 51:6‐17; Psalm 24:4‐6; Matthew 5:8; 1Timothy 1:5). The Spirit knows & is one with pure love. God the Father is love (1John 4:8) & They are not separate. We are called to become a spiritual nation created by & through Him. God the Father is said to be the Husband to His nation Israel (the new spiritual nation is Jacob) & Jesus is said to be the Bridegroom to the Church, His Bride. There is only one God & only one Husband. They are One & there are no others before Him (Jeremiah 3:14; Isaiah 54:5; John 3:29; Ephesians 5:22‐32).

2) You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

• This also relates to spiritual harlotry (Hosea 1:2). We are to be one with Him alone. He is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). As a bride (relating to the Church as His Bride), we are to be the wife to the Son of God (the wedding of the Lamb, Revelation 19:7, Revelation 19:9). As His wife, we are to be under submission to Him, His voice (the Holy Spirit); as listening to all He commands of us. This will bring forth the humility necessary in reverence to Christ (Ephesians 5:22). By this reverence, Jesus Christ is able to maintain the holiness God requires through the love He imparts to us (Ephesians 5:23‐30; 1Peter 1:15‐16; Leviticus 11:44‐45). Reverence to the Lord is key & foremost to knowing Him & truly walking with & in Him & among Him, as he does with us (Leviticus 26:12). When you worship any image that God has created you worship the creation before the Creator (Romans 1:17‐32).

3) You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

• In a marriage you take the name of your husband, as a commitment to one husband. If we are truly abiding in Christ, than we will not use His name for our own carnal agendas (in vain), otherwise we become harlots to our spiritual Husband. We have to be submitted under Christ’s authority to be a true spiritual wife. This is only done when we allow the Holy Spirit to help us submit to His authority. (James 4:6‐7; Philippians 3:21; 1Corinthians 15:27‐31; Hebrews 12:9‐10; 1Peter 5:6)

4) Earnestly remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment & dedicated to God).

• In John 5:17, Jesus answered the Pharisees about the Sabbath by saying, “My Father has worked [even] until now, [He has never ceased working; He is still working] & I, too, must be at [divine] work.”  The divine work of God never ceases. God is Spirit therefore Jesus was demonstrating His life on earth, in the Spirit—through complete obedience to His Father. This is Life, He was saying & revealing (but the Pharisees weren’t seeing & hearing—“they have eyes but they do not see & ears but they do not hear”). The only “rest” Jesus has or had is in His Father, but this was a spiritual rest—speaking of rest from the toils of the world & its carnal nature. Rest in God is actually life in the Spirit (Matthew 11:28‐30; Hebrews 4:11‐16).
There is a place of rest & sleep which is good—that is, the place of rest & sleep from one’s own selfishness; death, or sleep to self. And instead, a rest or sleep in the hands of God’s work in you, working through you, for His purposes. This is where the blessings come (Psalm 127:2).
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil—for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.”

• There is also a ‘deathly sleep’ which is not in Him & that’s one in which we don’t stay alert & consistent in our walk & strive in ourselves. This striving, without God guiding us, leads to: weariness, harlotry with other gods, disobedience, & death ultimately (Genesis 6:3; Proverbs 6:4; Proverbs 19:15; Romans 13:11; 1Corinthians 11:30; 1Thessalonians 5:6; God‐led contending, Romans 15:30; Acts 24:16).

• In the new way, or New Testament through Jesus, we are to rest in the Holy Spirit’s leading into God’s hands. If we’re obeying the Spirit all the time, we will be led into holiness & God will be able to work in & through us as a vessel pleasing unto the Lord. By obeying His voice, we keep His commands through love—which conquers sin, death, & fulfills the Law in its entirety daily. The Spirit never sleeps, meaning it never falls into sin & death. Therefore, daily our lives can be holy & dedicated to God—everyday being a Sabbath in Jesus & by the Holy Spirit. Our rest & our place in Him, in our commitment (marriage) to Him, gives us the Life of love & blessings.

5) Regard (treat with honor, due obedience, & courtesy) your father & mother; that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you.

• If you cannot treat those you can see in regard, how are you to be able to treat God which you cannot see, with regard (1John 4:20)? This is a process in maturing in Him, “Wisdom & humility comes before honor” (Proverbs 15:33). This also teaches us about submitting to authority & blessing our enemies (even if our parents aren’t walking rightly in the Lord). The key thing is to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things pertaining to treating our parents in regard. If we are to be submissive or subject to God the Father, we must learn to be subjected to His Son by the Holy Spirit. This is most pleasing to the Father—obeying Him in all things—even if it means those that are placed over you in authority (for whatever reason & season He’s placed them over you). It is not for us to decide how well they fulfilled their parental duties in raising a child up in the Lord. In due time, the Father will judge them in that process & if necessary (if they’re not doing their Godly duties in raising their children), the Father will take the children unto Himself & raise them up (Psalm 68:5‐6). And, from that point the Lord will use whatever measures He chooses, to regard the parents through the child in His way—appropriately & justly.

• This commandment spiritually is symbolic of our relationship to the Father. If we regard Him in every way, by the leading of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 15:28; Proverbs 3:5‐6), our days will be long. We will have life eternally in the land He gave us (the land of milk & honey). This ‘land’ is a place where God Himself dwells—His nourishment of His blessings to His children or sons (those led by the Spirit)—by the milk (Isaiah 66:11‐12; Isaiah 60:13‐22; Joel 3:17‐18) & those that understand & rejoice in His righteousness & just judgments (honey or sweetness, “bittersweet”). (Revelation 10:9; Ezekiel 2:8‐10; Ezekial 3:1‐27). Those that stand for true righteousness’ sake –those that love their God for His goodness & right execution of His just words which are Truth & Life.

6) You shall not commit murder.

• In John 8:44, Jesus stated who is a murderer, “You are of your father, the devil, & it is your will to practice the lusts & gratify the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning & does not stand in the Truth, because there is no Truth in him.”  Those that walk in sin, walk in spiritual death (Deuteronomy 29:15‐20; Romans 5:12; Romans 8:2; 1Corinthians 15:56). Those that walk in the Spirit continually are living their lives in Christ [Life] (Romans 8:1).

• Hate leads to murder (1John 3:12‐15), not just the obvious of taking one’s life into your own hands but also hating those that are one in Christ, leads to murdering of the saints. If one walks in sin, which leads to death, they will hate Christ & those that serve Him. So, they are actually not one with Him (or abide in Him), but instead are courting (or befriending, or becoming one) with death—which is harlotry. They have served another god. They worship another god. They take the Lord’s name in vain. They strive against God (no rest in Him). And, they don’t love & obey the Father (because if they hate the Son they hate the Father also). They break the first five commandments already, through this type of disobedience (Proverbs 8:36; Isaiah 28:11‐15; John 15:18, John 15:24; 1John 2:9; 1 John 3:15; 1 John 4:20).

7) You shall not commit adultery.

• Marriage is sacred to God, in the natural & in the spiritual. The Church is to be the Bride of Christ. If we have other gods before Him, we’re committing adultery (Hebrews 13:4; Malachi 2:12‐17). The Lord also told His people that men are to have one wife (as He assigned two to become one flesh). This also signified the Church (or Bride) being in unity (as one) becoming one with Him as they abide in Him (Genesis 2:24).

• This also pertains to the Martha & Mary story. Martha, in her busyness of carnal things led her to become a harlot to what was most important, serving & spending time with the Lord Jesus. Mary’s commitment was more important. Serving & having a relationship with our spiritual Husband is more important than the worldly things. Mary knew her love for Jesus & that’s all she wanted & needed, she realized (Luke 10:38‐42).

8) You shall not steal.

• This commandment goes even deeper than just the literal context of it. It pertains to all of the prior commandments spiritually. When an individual boasts in themselves & believes that they are gods themselves by their own doing; exalting themselves above others or living selfishly without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they’ve put themselves before God & others, taking His place (breaking the first commandment). In selfishness, we take God’s opportunity to help another by putting ourselves first, therefore not allowing the love of God to manifest. This will always result in breaking all the other commandments at some point because they love themselves more than they love God & if that’s the case, they will not be able to love others properly (Ezekiel 21:26; 1Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:21; Psalm 10:3; Proverbs 27:1; Romans 1:28‐30; Romans 11:18‐20; Ephesians 2:8‐9; Matthew 10:27). Jesus put others first before Himself, as we should. In doing this, we glorify God (1John 4:19).
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If we are not being consistently led by the Holy Spirit, we take the glory away from God & His Son. We do not honor the Father when we disobey the Spirit’s leading (not reverencing Him, or regarding Him—going against the fifth commandment). And we also commit adultery in our relationship to our spiritual Husband, Jesus. We worship & adore another in His place & disrespect His authority over us as a Head of household (ourselves) & as King over His servants in His kingdom. The enemy always wanted us to not worship our spiritual Husband because he knew the final result of it—it would mean a broken commitment, a separation from God, & a bondage to him in hell forever, death eternally. We are to exalt the Lord above all things, that way we will never depart from Him, nor His nature (which is pure & undefiled love for Him & others). (Psalm 19; Psalm 29:8‐10; Psalm 66:1‐3; Psalm 89:17; Psalm 104:31; Psalm 145:11; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 48:11; Isaiah 5:16; Matthew 6:13; Matthew 7:29; Matthew 25:31; Romans 3:23; 1Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 15:28; 2Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 6:14; Philip. 3:3, Philip 3:21; James 1:9; 1Peter 4:14; Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 5:24; Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 1:18; John 5:26‐27; James1:9; James 4:7).

9) You shall not witness falsely against your neighbor.

• This commandment goes hand in hand with the commandment of ‘do not murder.’ The Lord says, “Life & death are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21; James 3:5‐9). When we falsely accuse or judge another (without the leading of the Holy Spirit), we’re taking on the role of being God, Who is the ultimate Judge (Psalm 7:11; Psalm 75:7; Psalm 135:4; Isaiah 33:22; Romans 2:16; 1Corinthians 4:4; 2Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 12:23; James 4:12; James 5:9). When one falsely accuses another, they are speaking (or wishing in their heart) death, or curses upon the individual. God judges rightly & only He is the One that can call forth & allow death to come upon one’s life. He decides the outcome for all, based on His own weighing of judgments—executed by His just Word (Jesus).

• Jesus warned not to judge others, otherwise you’d be judged in accordance with the measure you deal out to others (Matthew 7:1‐2). This is speaking of judging in the flesh. Only the Lord knows men’s hearts & where they stand with Him. If one’s heart is right with God & you judge them by your own understanding, without the Wisdom & discernment of the Holy Spirit—you will put yourself in judgment before God. The one that is righteous in God’s eyes is doing God’s will, so therefore, if you judge them, you are judging God’s work (or God Himself). And, the one leading by his fleshly nature will always be deceived & judge wrongly. (James 5:9; Psalm 139:23; Jeremiah 10:23; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 3:35; Mark 7:21‐23; Numbers 12:6‐8; 1Peter 4:1‐2).

10) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

• When we covet others’ things & lot in life, we covet what the Lord authorized to occur. This puts us in a position of believing that God doesn’t know what’s best (that we could do a better job); that God isn’t just (sometimes the tougher lot is given to us as a result of our sins or He may be teaching us something for the days ahead—we don’t know the future). When we covet, it also reveals our ungratefulness of just having life—living (He doesn’t have to give us anything other than our lives—by His grace we have what He’s given us, Jeremiah 39:18; Jeremiah 45:5).
We are not honoring Him & His ways of righteousness when we covet. It’s rebelliousness against His will for our lives & instead a desire for our own carnal natures—being subject to them (Job 8:9; Job 9; Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 10:23‐24; Matthew 6:8; Revelation 3:19; Proverbs 3:11, Proverbs 3:16; Ecclesiastes 9:1; Hebrews 10:30‐31; Ezekiel 14:14‐21; Ezekial 33:9).