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Exodus 20 |
(20:2) BOM: Mosiah 12:34
 (20:3) "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
How many gods are there?
BOM: Mosiah 12:35
 (20:3-5)
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them."
These verses are are the basis of the Jehovah's Witness ban on saluting the flag. The governing body says that saluting the flag is a form of idol worship.
(20:4) "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image."
Is it OK to make images?
BOM: Mosiah 12:36, 13:12
(20:5) "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation."
Are we punished for the sins of others?
(20:5-7) BOM: Mosiah 13:13-15
(20:8) "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."
Is it necessary to keep the Sabbath?
(20:8-10) BOM: Mosiah 13:16-18
 (20:11)
"In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them."
Believers often say that the "days" of creation should be taken allegorically, but this verse is quite clear. God created the
universe in six 24 hour days.
BOM: Mosiah 13:19
(20:12) "Honor thy father and thy mother."
How should parents be treated?
Is it OK to call your father (or anyone else) father?
Jehovah's Witnesses are disfellowshipped for celebrating Mother's Day or Father's Day. Why is that? Why aren't JWs encouraged to honor
their parents by celebrating these days? It would seem like a perfect opportunity to follow the fifth commandment, "Honor thy father and
thy mother."
BOM: 1 Nephi 17:55, Mosiah 13:20
(20:13) "Thou shalt not kill."
To kill or not to kill
BOM: Mosiah 13:21
(20:14)
"Thou shalt not commit adultery."
Is it wrong to commit adultery?
BOM: Mosiah 13:22
(20:15) "Thou shalt not steal."
Is it wrong to steal?
(20:16) "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
Is it wrong to lie?
BOM: Mosiah 13:23
(20:17)
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, ... nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's."
To the God of the Bible, women and slaves (servants in the KJV) are the property of men; they are his possessions -- like
an ox or an ass.
Is it OK to covet?
Does God approve of slavery?
BOM: Mosiah 13:24
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| 20:1
And God spake all these words, saying,
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| 20:2
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage.
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| 20:3
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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| 20:4
Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth.
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| 20:5
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
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| 20:6
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
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| 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD
will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
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| 20:8
Remember the sabbath
day, to keep it holy.
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| 20:9
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
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| 20:10
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt
not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor
thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
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| 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in
them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath
day, and hallowed it.
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| 20:12
Honour thy father and
thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy
God giveth thee.
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| 20:13
Thou shalt not kill.
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| 20:14
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
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| 20:15
Thou shalt not steal.
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| 20:16
Thou shalt not bear
false witness against thy neighbour.
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| 20:17
Thou shalt not covet
thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife,
nor his manservant,
nor his maidservant, nor his
ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
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| 20:18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise
of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they
removed, and stood afar off.
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| 20:19
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let
not God speak with us, lest we die.
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| 20:20
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you,
and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
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| 20:21
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness
where God was.
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| 20:22
And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of
Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.
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| 20:23
Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you
gods of gold.
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| 20:24
An altar of earth thou
shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy
peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my
name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. |
(20:24) "Thou shalt .. sacrifice ... burnt offerings."
God gives instructions for killing and
burning animals. He says that if we will make such "burnt offerings,"
he will bless us for it. What kind of mind would be pleased by the killing and
burning of innocent animals?
Does God desire animal sacrifices?
Did God command the Israelites to make burnt offerings?
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| 20:25
And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of
hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
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| 20:26
Neither shalt thou go
up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon. |
 (20:26) "Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be
not discovered thereon."
God tells the priests not to go up the steps
to the altar "that thy nakedness not be discovered thereon." (Skirts
on stairs are a problem.)
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