Exodus 20:13-17 ESV [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 is your neighbor’s.”
Matthew 5:21-22 ESV [21] “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ [22] But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. [27] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ [28] But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [33] “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ [34] But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, [35] or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. [38] “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ [43] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ [44] But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Some truth is like apple pie. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. Now that’s apple pie! But some truth is like boiled okra. It doesn’t go down easy! These passages are like boiled okra. Hard to swallow, but it’s good for us. The 2nd table of the commandments teach us our duty to our neighbor. The simple fact that how we treat our fellow man is a pure reflection of how we love and honor God. If we love him we keep his commandments. The 6th through 10th commandments tell us how to treat others. It is interesting how he began by stating the most heinous crime of murder and worked him way inward to a heart sin of covetousness. Murder is born from hate. Hate is born from unforgiveness. All lawlessness is born from the heart. Jesus taught on these matters. He took it to a whole new level. Instead of murder we are life givers. We bring the good news of God’s love and grace to our neighbor. We don’t hate them and assassinate their character or bring death. We bring life. We don’t lust after their mate and take their marriage. We bring restoration and healing. We bring Christ to them. We bring the true bridegroom of the church to them. We don’t steal from them. We give to them. Even when they steal from us. We don’t seek to know the motive of a sinners heart. We seek to bring them a heart transplant. We don’t envy and covet our neighbors possessions. We rejoice in his blessings knowing every good gift comes down from the Father above. We bring apple pie, not okra!