Why the 10 Commandments?

Exodus 20 records the giving of the 10 Commandments. A question one might ask is why did God give the 10 Commandments?

In Exodus 19:5-8, “… if you will obey My voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples… and all the people answered and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do…”

God offered the people a contract that if they would obey his Laws then he would richly bless them. By agreeing to this they not only obligated themselves but they also obligated successive generations… their children and their children’s children.

God’s law existed before the giving of the 10 Commandments. In fact, Moses was dispensing God’s Law as a judge before the people. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro observed Moses settling the people’s problems and warned him that he would exhaust himself. He advised Moses to “teach the people the statutes and the laws” to reduce the burden on Moses (Ex. 18:14-22).

So, in order for the people to keep their end of the contract and to be able to teach it to successive generations, the Law had to be recorded in written form. Hence, the giving of the 10 Commandments and other laws in written form so that the people and successive generations could understand what God required of them.