It is hard to say whether all the commandments should be enforced in modern society at large, especially with America being admired for the fact that many people traveled over to have religious freedom and enjoy it. While I do enjoy such a privilege, I am also adamant against the idea of enforcing all of them upon anyone if I had political power. I recognize that Israel’s covenant with God is a very special, unique attribute to their relationship with him. It defines their morality as well as much of society, thanks to Christendom’s influence in the West and seeing its importance. However, the idea of putting this code of law into action makes me wonder how much of an impact would it have the nation, for better or for worse.

The Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. Though they were free from the hand of Pharaoh, they still needed to be guided by the word of the Lord. Ancient Israel was to be set aside as his special portion among the nations, to be holy people. The Ten Commandments have eight bans and two positive rules appearing in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 (Miller 517). Patrick Miller discusses Norbert Lohfink’s theory of how it may be arranged in a chiasm where the Sabbath is centered between the short commandments around it and longer commandments on the outside because the Sabbath observance is based on creation (519). The commandments’ prologue, stating who God is and what he has done for them in the face of Egypt and all the nations (Wright 789). The commandments reminded Israel of their vulnerability in Egypt, so that they will not act like their oppressors. Medieval Catholics agreed that the Ten Commandments, out of all the commandments in the Torah are the “natural law” because of how universal the laws are that come to us naturally, especially that of the latter half (Collins 387).

As for how the Israelites understood the commandments, there are some things that need to be considered before any laws would be enforced. The way one group of people may understand a law does not mean that it will be the same throughout time. The first is connected to a prologue that calls the people of Israel to worship only the Lord, the true God who delivered them from Egypt, and to worship no others. I think in American society, the definition of who truly worships God would collide with some degree of political correctness, not that such a thing is bad all the time. But in this case, it would be controversial. Some people do not see the Trinity as genuine monotheism. Islam has a claim on the God of Israel because of Moses’ prophethood, although their day of rest and worship is on Friday rather than Saturday as the Christian day of rest is usually Sunday. Judaism has its Sabbath on Saturday. What would be done if the Sabbath was enforced on Saturday as understood? Would Christians, Muslims, religious groups, or non-religious people break the command of the Sabbath rest? Would breaking the Sabbath mean buying a good or service from somewhere where someone is put to work because of one’s need?

When it comes to other rules the Ten Commandments attends to, it is understood killing, stealing, and lying is wrong in the eyes of the law. Defacing the image of God in a human being through slaying them cannot return their life, so humanity recognizes that there must be something done to recompense the killing if done by another person. Taking another’s goods puts others in a disadvantage of their livelihood. Kidnapping someone takes away a special part of the kidnapped person’s life as well as the life the share it with the people they love, which may have referenced Joseph’s brothers permitting the Ishmaelites to kidnap Joseph (Collins 386). Lying is more so condemned in formal settings than informal ones. Regardless if lies are in the news or passed around in whispers, bearing false witness attempts to alter unwitnessed, fictional events versus to how God weaves reality and time. I argue that these commandments are still important for society, regardless of one’s background.

For the commandments of adultery, honoring one’s parents, and coveting, they are harder to enact as laws. Sexual ethics among people who profess religion in America agree that marriage should be one man and one woman unrelated to each other to join as a family. The ancient Israelites did recognize that as a marriage, but they also saw that a married man and an unmarried slave woman was a marriage. Polygyny was accepted, especially in the case of a woman not being able to have a child on her own by using her slave woman as a kind of surrogate or the man himself taking another wife (Collins 386). If there was anything to worry about within the family of the ancient Near East, it was paternity. Mistaken paternity was devastating; it was as if one’s own existence was wiped away if another man usurped all that he owned (Goodfriend 82). Jesus of Nazareth specified the beginnings of adultery in one’s heart and eyes before the physical acts are ever done. If adultery were outlawed in any way, I would do so in professional and religious environments. That would not eliminate the issue entirely; it may do so for people to do so physically in those settings. But because of the availability of immense media, adultery isn’t merely done by multiple participants that aren’t married to each other. Anyone can look up videos or pictures and disregard the spouse they claim to love for their own selfish reasons. As for the unmarried, some may not take marriage seriously and do what they want, begetting and birthing children from broken or unstable relationships while others eventually marry. Honoring parents can be tough for children of any age if their parents were unjust with their upbringing. Coveting another’s goods or family is the main commandment that cannot be regulated but serves as a warning. The desire to be better than someone or to have the exact thing or person one’s neighbor must gratify themselves can be addicting and warp priorities. The most disturbing thing about coveting is that it is the gateway of sin, regardless of whether the sin is outlawed or not. Sins stemming from the heart may be more difficult to legislate versus sins that are easier to handle.

While the Ten Commandments are a meaningful set of laws engrained in society’s morality, to enforce them in our laws is much more loaded than I would like them to be. I would not be the best Attorney General or Home Secretary out there. There is more to a person’s heart being aware of sin in their lives than merely what the law tells them. Everyone knows that the opposite of sin is to love one’s neighbor, considering their feelings and benefits in every way. That’s why I think to myself in this prompt, “what would be done about people who don’t worship the God of Israel?” That’s where I am very hesitant to even say that I would implement all the commandments into action. As much as it would be nice to live in a world that adhered to the commandments, I must accept that we live in a fallen, broken world that needs saving. Such salvation need not to be done merely by following the law which cannot be done unless that someone is the Word Incarnate.

Works Cited

Collins, Raymond F. "The Ten Commandments." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 1st ed. Vol. 6. New York: Doubleday, 1992. 383-387. Print.

Miller, Patrick D. "The Ten Commandments." The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. 1st ed. Vol. 5. Nashville: Abingdon, 2009. 517-522. Print.

Wright, C.J.H. "The Ten Commandments." International Bible Encyclopedia. 1st ed. Vol. 4. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988. 786-90. Print.