Importance of the Ten Commandments

After God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, he took them on a journey through the wilderness to Canaan, Promised Land. However, before they entered Canaan, God established a Covenant with them, and the Ten Commandments are the terms of this Covenant.

These Commandments were written on two tablets of stone and are considered to be a transcript of God’s character. These laws were so important that they were carefully kept in the Ark of the Covenant, in the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) of the tabernacle or temple.

In the introduction in the book of Exodus, God established that He was the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. He then went on to outline in the first four commandments how they should relate to him as their God while the last six commandments are more interpersonal in nature; they are how people should relate to and treat their fellow men.

The Ten Commandments were integral in the lives of the Israelites and basically governed their actions with sometimes dire consequences for those who broke one of these commands.

Without a doubt, the importance of relevance of the Ten Commandments stands true today and forms the foundation of the governing laws of almost every country in the world.