What are these 10 Commandments for? (Exodus 34:12-27)?

Question

Directly from the KJV:
I Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
II For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.
III Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
IV The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

5. All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. But the firstling of an *** thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
6 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
7 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.
8 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

9 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God.
10 Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

Answer 1

The traditional Ten Commandments mostly tell how man is to live with man. Don't steal from another man, honor your parents, and so on.

This list tells how man is to live in his relationship with God. It is a renewal of the Convenant between God and mankind (Israel anyway) which had been broken as they were wandering in the desert. (See Exodus 32 for that pesky Golden Calf incident...)

Answer 2

The ten commandments are the laws given from God to Moses for the Israelites. As to the question, what are they for, I believe the commandments are impossible to follow. They bring to light the sin in a person's life and illuminate the need for salvation.

No one can stand holy before God unless they are made to be holy because all men sin. However, God desires a relationship with man which means there is a need for a path to holiness for a sinful man.

That is where the New Testament takes over and God makes a new covenant with man. By sending his one, true son who is all God and all Man he creates a path of reconciliation apart from the law but not going against his own law. Jesus lived sinlessly on Earth and then volunteered to be the ultimate sacrifice for the redemption of sins for all men.

Now, to enter into fellowship with a holy God, man can accept the free gift of God which is salvation through Christ's death and resurrection. Man does not have to have lived sinlessly rather he can choose to accept forgiveness for sins.

At that point, once man has realized the gift granted him, sanctification towards holiness on earth begins. Man will still sin and fall short of God's law, but he does not have to worry about an eternity separated from God's love.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

The Bible is basically a set of writings telling God's people how to live and how to worship Him. God is very particular about how He is worshiped. Many of the forbidden practices were forms of pagan worship to idols. God wants no part of that. The requirements for specific feasts is also a statement of how God does want to be worshiped.

If you want a verse by verse analysis with citations, let me know and I will write it up for you.

Answer 4

These answers are crazy. 'Jesus came and that changed everything'. Whatever.
When you read the NT and the OT, it is clear the two are not the same. 'In the beginning' God creates this and that and says it's good but tries to destroy it a few times and then makes himself human, or sends his 'son' to earth to be tortured to death and the 'faithful' have to pretend to eat flesh and drink blood to show their holiness. Ugh!
Why is it so difficult for Christians to see ther insanity instead of trying to make excusies for out of date practices?