Daniel Dulcich's Rebuttal to "10 Commandments show How to Love".

[Pavel Mosko]

I got this off of a public Facebook group that I joined a few months back that deals with SDA and Ellen White. I think it is true based on what I've seen concerning what SDA claim about things like "The Great Controversy", and "the Investigative Judgement", where they believe the 10 Commandments existed before Moses in heaven and are eternal etc.

This is different compared to Christianity that sees the 10 Commandments as concrete standards and examples of Christian morals. The Law/Torah in general is a pedagogue / Kinder Garten instructor of the ways of God (literally at times but much more allegorically). The Commandments themselves are a handy summary of the things we should avoid. They are useful, specific examples to prevent "Sloppy Agapism" (aka Antinomianism), but the true life by the Spirit will cause people to exceed them based on going after what is in God's heart much like King David of old, rather than the letter of the Law.



It seems as if this needs to be aired again.
Many of you have heard the often shared message of the SDA about how the two stone tablets are the "How to" of Love. The SDA love to tell you about how Jesus just simplified the Ten into the Two greatest commandments.
But, what they completely missed, because of their man made ideas, is what Jesus was teaching to the Lawkeepers in Luke chapter 10.
First, let's post the Ten Commandments under the Two greatest according to the SDA version.

The Greatest commandment:
"Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind"
Ten Commandments under this one according to the SDA:
1. You shall have no other Gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself and idol....
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy....

The Second Greatest Commandment:
"Matthew 22:39 The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'"
Ten Commandments under this one according to the SDA:
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days.....
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, male servant, etc....


Is that what Jesus taught? Let's read and find out!
Luke 10:30-37 "Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him for dead. And by chance a Priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them: and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you." Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

So, let's compare the SDA version of "love your neighbor" to Jesus' version. The last 6 commandments...
1. Did either the Priest or the Levite dishonor their mother or Father? No.
2. Did either the Priest or the Levite murder the man? No.
3. Did either the Priest or the Levite commit adultery with the man's wife? No.
4. Did either the Priest or the Levite steal from the man? No.
5. Did either the Priest of the Levite bear false witness against the man? No.
6. Did either the Priest or the Levite covet the man's wife, or house, or servants? NO!

So the Priest and the Levite did not break any of the commandments that are supposed to be "how to" love your neighbor!
Which means that according to the SDA, both the Priest and the Levite were following God's given directions on "how to" love your neighbor. Yet Jesus clearly showed that neither the Priest or the Levite proved to be a neighbor to the man who had been robbed. Instead it was a Samaritan, a Gentile who had not the Law, who was not observing a seventh day sabbath; it was this man who Jesus said proved to be a neighbor. It was this man who Loved according to God.
Sounds like the SDA missed the meaning of what Jesus was really trying to teach!

 

[Pavel Mosko]

One could quibble on that last bit (That the Samaritans did not have the Law.) The Samaritans had a corrupted version of the Jewish Faith that they followed, and actually still follow. Even today there exists a Samaritan temple on mount Gerizim.

Samaritan | Definition, Religion, & Bible | Britannica

Samaritan, member of a community, now nearly extinct, that claims to be related by blood to those Israelites of ancient Samaria who were not deported by the Assyrian conquerors of the kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE. The community numbers about 800 individuals.

www.britannica.com

 

[BobRyan]

I got this off of a public Facebook group that I joined a few months back that deals with SDA and Ellen White.

From the title I assumed it would about the TEN commandments and why all the Ten Commandment affirming Christian groups including the Sunday keeping ones - were all wrong.

Because as you have already seen ---

Almost every Christian denomination on Earth affirms the continued *"unit of TEN"
[*]The Baptist Confession of Faith section 19
[*]The Westminster Confession of Faith section 19
[*]Voddie Baucham
[*]C.H. Spurgeon
[*]D.L. Moody
[*]Dies Domini by Pope John Paul II
[*]D. James Kennedy

But then a closer look at your title:

Rebuttal to "10 Commandments show How to Love"​

appears to direct the reader to a "rebuttal" of Christ's statement in Matt 22 --

​

Matt 22:​

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ (Deut 6:3) 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Lev 19:18) 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”​

​

Jesus said all of the Law and all of the prophets (i.,e. - all of scripture) are firmly established on these two commandments in the Law of Moses - commandments regarding love.

The exact same point that these two documents affirm

[*]The Baptist Confession of Faith section 19
[*]The Westminster Confession of Faith section 19

I was ready to see your rebuttal.

 

[BobRyan]

So, let's compare the SDA version of "love your neighbor" to Jesus' version. The last 6 commandments...
1. Did either the Priest or the Levite dishonor their mother or Father? No.
2. Did either the Priest or the Levite murder the man? No.
3. Did either the Priest or the Levite commit adultery with the man's wife? No.
4. Did either the Priest or the Levite steal from the man? No.
5. Did either the Priest of the Levite bear false witness against the man? No.
6. Did either the Priest or the Levite covet the man's wife, or house, or servants? NO!

So the Priest and the Levite did not break any of the commandments that are supposed to be "how to" love your neighbor!

Because so little attention is paid to the actual details of the discussion the above text makes the case for saintly "priests" in Christ's day when it comes to "honor your parents" and Love your neighbor even though directly refutes that wild assertion.

​

Mark 7:​

‘This people honors Me with their lips,​

But their heart is far away from Me.​

7 And in vain do they worship Me,​

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’​

8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”​

9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is certainly to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is, given to God),’ 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”​

Less speculation - more attention to Bible details please.

Which means that according to the SDA, both the Priest and the Levite were following God's given directions on "how to" love your neighbor

Totally false as just shown above.

Less random assertion and trying to put words in other people's mouth... more Bible fact please.

Instead it was a Samaritan, a Gentile who had not the Law, who was not observing a seventh day sabbath;

No text says "was not observing the Sabbath" in regard to the good Samaratin.

IN Acts 13 is it GENTILES asking for "more Gospel" preaching to be given to them on "the NEXT Sabbath".

Less random assertion .. more attention to Bible fact please.

Sounds like the SDA missed the meaning of what Jesus was really trying to teach!

Less accusation .. more attention to Bible fact please.

 

[GDL]

A couple quick thoughts:

The Priest and the Levite (P&L) did not love Neighbor, therefore:

1. Since the Mosaic Law was a unit, they broke all the commandments. At the most basic level they broke the commandment to Love God.
2. Since Paul uses Mosaic Law about oxen to instruct Christians to pay their teaching elders, we might see the P&L even in violation of OC laws about helping animals that have fallen into a ditch.
3. Since God desires mercy and not sacrifice, the P&L broke what Jesus called a "weighter matter of law" Matt23.
4. When Paul summarized God's commandments under Love Neighbor, he included a nice little catch-all phrase after citing some of the 10C - "and if there is any other commandment" (then it is included in the summary command to Love Neighbor which is inextricably tied to Love for God per 1 John).

Being in a bit of a hurry, this is just a start.

I personally find any positive and Scriptural view of God's Law very refreshing no matter what group of Christians it comes from and any hint of Scriptural antinomianism just the opposite and from whatever group of Christians it comes from.

NKJ Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

 

[Bob S]

There is absolutely not one word in any of the ten commandments that told the Israelite to love anyone or anything. Love cannot be dictated. Love comes from the heart. Punishment keeps some from committing a crime of any kind. Knowing that God punished the man for picking up sticks on the Sabbath was enough to keep others outwardly in line. I have read all the shallow arguments that role in when I suggest that the ten are not about love. None have a pebble of a foundation.

God did teach the Israelites to love their fellow man and to love God. That is found in Lev and Deut.

 

[SabbathBlessings]

There is absolutely not one word in any of the ten commandments that told the Israelite to love anyone or anything. Love cannot be dictated. Love comes from the heart. Punishment keeps some from committing a crime of any kind. Knowing that God punished the man for picking up sticks on the Sabbath was enough to keep others outwardly in line. I have read all the shallow arguments that role in when I suggest that the ten are not about love. None have a pebble of a foundation.

God did teach the Israelites to love their fellow man and to love God. That is found in Lev and Deut.

Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

God defines what love is and love to Him is keeping His commandments. 1 John 5:3 Perhaps that doesn’t make sense to some, but our ways are not God’s ways. It’s like a child obeying their parents rules, even if they don‘t understand them, they should do it out of love and respect and trust your parents and doing it for your own good. God’s law is perfect for converting the soul which is for our own good. Psalms 19:7

 

[Freth]

Luke 10

Let's take a deep dive into Luke 10. A lawyer tempts Jesus with a question:

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?​

Luke 10:26 Jesus asked the lawyer "What is written in the law? How readest thou?"​

The lawyer replied with direct quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, showing that he was well-versed in OT scripture.

Luke 10:27 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.​

• Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
• Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

We've established that the lawyer knew to love God and love his neighbor, but what do these OT verses actually point to?

Context—Deuteronomy 6:5​

​

Verses within Deuteronomy 6:5 give context.​

​

Deuteronomy 6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.​

​

Deuteronomy 6:17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.​

​

Just in case there is any doubt about which commandments, the same chapter asks that very question and answers it:​

​

Deuteronomy 6:20-21 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:​

​

Literally quoting the beginning of Exodus 20—the Ten Commandments.​

​

Exodus 20:1-2 And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.​

​

Further context is given, pointing to the Ten Commandments.​

​

Deuteronomy 6:22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers (Exodus 20:5-6).​

​

Deuteronomy 6:24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.​

​

Deuteronomy 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.​

​

Context—Leviticus 19:18​

Leviticus 19:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them...​

​

Love God:​

Holiness:​

Leviticus 19:2 Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.​

Defined in Leviticus 11:43-44 concerning unclean meat:​

Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.​

No graven images:​

Leviticus 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God.​

Do not take the Lord's name in vain: ​

Leviticus 19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.​

Remember the Sabbath:​

Leviticus 19:3 ...and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.​

Leviticus 19:30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.​

​

Love Your Neighbor:​

Honor your mother and father:​

Leviticus 19:3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.​

Do not steal, ​

Do not bear false witness:​

Leviticus 19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.​

Leviticus 19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.​

Love your neighbor:​

Leviticus 19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord.​

Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.​

Leviticus 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord.​

Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.​

Avenging and bearing a grudge can lead to lying, stealing, covetousness, false witness, adultery and even murder:​

Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.​

Do not commit adultery:​

Leviticus 19:20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.​

Leviticus 19:37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord.​

Luke 10 Continued

Jesus responded...

Luke 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.​

​

Jesus knew exactly what OT verses the lawyer was quoting and knew their context.

Conclusion—Even before Jesus relayed the parable it was established in both of their minds that they were indeed talking about the Ten Commandments which show how to love your neighbor, as the chapters of Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 support (et al). It's therefore impossible to read scripture and come to the conclusion that love your neighbor is not tied to the Ten Commandments. We don't need the above, we just need the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:40, which state, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." All the law and the prophets. There is no disconnect between love God, love your neighbor and the Ten Commandments if all the law and prophets hang on love God and love others.

 

[GDL]

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

This seems awful clear.

There is absolutely not one word in any of the ten commandments that told the Israelite to love anyone or anything. Love cannot be dictated. Love comes from the heart. Punishment keeps some from committing a crime of any kind. Knowing that God punished the man for picking up sticks on the Sabbath was enough to keep others outwardly in line. I have read all the shallow arguments that role in when I suggest that the ten are not about love. None have a pebble of a foundation.

Love is ultimately action and can be and is commanded, and Love is from more than the heart (Mark12:30)

Love Neighbor (and thus Love God per 1John4)) is a summary of 6 of the 10-C (Matt19:19 cf. Rom3:19) and "any other [applicable] commandment" (Rom13:9) like impartiality (James2:8-9) and bearing a grudge (Lev19:18). If no 10-C then no list then no summary command and actually no Torah or Tanakh (Matt22:40).

Jesus quite clearly ties love for Him to keeping His commandments - His Word (John14:21-24). No obedience in thought & action then no love.

Pebbles and shallow arguments, indeed...

Where does this lack of understanding of Biblical Love and this antinomianism come from? It's really a problem.

 

[GDL]

Conclusion—Even before Jesus relayed the parable it was established in both of their minds that they were indeed talking about the Ten Commandments which show how to love your neighbor, as the chapters of Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 support (et al). It's therefore impossible to read scripture and come to the conclusion that love your neighbor is not tied to the Ten Commandments. We don't need the above, we just need the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:40, which state, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." All the law and the prophets. There is no disconnect between love God, love your neighbor and the Ten Commandments if all the law and prophets hang on love God and love others.

Nicely done (the whole post). Thank you.

 

[SabbathBlessings]

This seems awful clear.

Truly!

Love is ultimately action and can be and is commanded, and Love is from more than the heart (Mark12:30)

Love Neighbor (and thus Love God per 1John4)) is a summary of 6 of the 10-C (Matt19:19 cf. Rom3:19) and "any other [applicable] commandment" (Rom13:9) like partiality (James2:8-9) and bearing a grudge (Lev19:18). If no 10-C then no list then no summary command and actually no Torah or Tanakh (Matt22:40).

Jesus quite clearly ties love for Him to keeping His commandments - His Word (John14:21-24). No obedience in thought & action then no love.

Pebbles and shallow arguments, indeed...

Where does this lack of understanding of Biblical Love and this antinomianism come from? It's really a problem.

Great points!

 

[HIM]

. I have read all the shallow arguments that role in when I suggest that the ten are not about love. None have a pebble of a foundation.

In your opinion.
Do you know the difference between subjective and objective comments? With that in mind please read your response here quoted.

 

[HIM]

This seems awful clear.

Love is ultimately action and can be and is commanded, and Love is from more than the heart (Mark12:30)

Love Neighbor (and thus Love God per 1John4)) is a summary of 6 of the 10-C (Matt19:19 cf. Rom3:19) and "any other [applicable] commandment" (Rom13:9) like partiality (James2:8-9) and bearing a grudge (Lev19:18). If no 10-C then no list then no summary command and actually no Torah or Tanakh (Matt22:40).

Jesus quite clearly ties love for Him to keeping His commandments - His Word (John14:21-24). No obedience in thought & action then no love.

Pebbles and shallow arguments, indeed...

Where does this lack of understanding of Biblical Love and this antinomianism come from? It's really a problem.

God is love and as He is, so are we in this world. It is a state of being which produces actions. It can't help itself because it is what it is and by it's fruit it is known.

 

[GDL]

God is love and as He is, so are we in this world. It is a state of being which produces actions. It can't help itself because it is what it is and by it's fruit it is known.

So, it is a Being who acts in accordance with His nature. And it is the action which that Being produces. And it is the commanded action (verb) and defined thing (noun) which that Being commands of His creation as it is conformed to His likeness, so we are like Him.....

I think we could play with your statements Scripturally for some time.

Nice.

 

[Bob S]

In your opinion.
Do you know the difference between subjective and objective comments? With that in mind please read your response here quoted.

No, please explain the difference.

“‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. Israelites could be made to not steal, outwardly observe the Sabbath, never openly covet. Put a big enough fine on people and we will heed the "thou shalt nots". Those sins can be dictated if the penalty is big enough. Love comes from the heart and cannot be dictated by penalty. There is no law with enough force to cause someone to love.

 

[Bob S]

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

GDL wrote:
This seems awful clear.

Clear as mud. There is no command to love in verse 4. Certainly, the Israelites should have loved God for releasing them from bondage, opening a way across the Red Sea and providing their food. They should have loved God because of His love to them. Even God cannot make us love. Love comes from our hearts. It is instilled in us at birth

 

[GDL]

Clear as mud. There is no command to love in verse 4. Certainly, the Israelites should have loved God for releasing them from bondage, opening a way across the Red Sea and providing their food. They should have loved God because of His love to them. Even God cannot make us love. Love comes from our hearts. It is instilled in us at birth

When the Lord opens your eyes, the mud will become clear.
Verse 2 establishes the authority for the commands.
The commands are in verses 3-5a.
Verse 5b-6 is an explanation of the commands and the Lord God's reasons for commanding them.
The verses are a unit.
Verse 6b is Hebrew parallelism: Those who love God are those who keep His commandments. 1John5:3 says the same thing. Jesus commanded the same thing be done in relationship with Him.
The unit is quite clear: The Lord God is the powerful one who delivered them from slavery. Keep His commandments meaning love Him and receive mercy or hate him meaning don't keep His commandments and be under His generational judgment.

This unit is also likely chiastic = parallelism to give us more detail:

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.​

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;​

5a you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.​

5b For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

The parallelism of verses 2 & 5b-6 = The [powerful] Lord your God who delivered you from Egypt and slavery is a jealous God who judges those who hate Him = those who don't keep His commandments - and shows mercy to thousands who love Him = keep His commandments.

The central point (verse 4) is to stop misunderstanding who He is and in context it's to understand who He is and do what He says - meaning Love Him. The specific commands to Love Him and Neighbor are in the Text as you've been clearly shown.

This is not difficult Bob S. Ask for the mud (misinformed bias) to be cleared. Maybe He'll honor the request and give you eyes to see and ears to hear. I might suggest you begin with telling Him you greatly desire to Love Him - which means you greatly desire to obey Him. - which means you greatly desire to keep all of His commandments that are applicable to this New Covenant era in Christ in Spirit.

I'm sure there are Christians here who will pray for your clarity.

 

[BobRyan]

Clear as mud. There is no command to love in verse 4.

The "Christ was wrong in Matt 22 when He said all the Law and the prophets are firmly established on the Two Commandments of Love in the LAW of Moses" form of speculation is sort of interesting, but does not go very far for Bible reading Christians these days.

 

[BobRyan]

There is absolutely not one word in any of the ten commandments that told the Israelite to love

Try reading them

And Christ's own affirmation that they are all based on Love - as He says in Matt 22.

Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
...6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

"This IS the LOVE of God that we KEEP His Commandments" 1 John 5:3 which includes the commandment "Love your neighbor as yourself" Lev 19:18 -- as Christ points out in Matt 22.

But all this is just "so much scripture to be ignored" if one is determined to reject the point Christ makes in Matt 22

 

[Soyeong]

It seems as if this needs to be aired again.
Many of you have heard the often shared message of the SDA about how the two stone tablets are the "How to" of Love. The SDA love to tell you about how Jesus just simplified the Ten into the Two greatest commandments.
But, what they completely missed, because of their man made ideas, is what Jesus was teaching to the Lawkeepers in Luke chapter 10.
First, let's post the Ten Commandments under the Two greatest according to the SDA version.

The Greatest commandment:
"Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind"
Ten Commandments under this one according to the SDA:
1. You shall have no other Gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself and idol....
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy....

The Second Greatest Commandment:
"Matthew 22:39 The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'"
Ten Commandments under this one according to the SDA:
5. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days.....
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, male servant, etc....


Is that what Jesus taught? Let's read and find out!
Luke 10:30-37 "Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him for dead. And by chance a Priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them: and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you." Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

So, let's compare the SDA version of "love your neighbor" to Jesus' version. The last 6 commandments...
1. Did either the Priest or the Levite dishonor their mother or Father? No.
2. Did either the Priest or the Levite murder the man? No.
3. Did either the Priest or the Levite commit adultery with the man's wife? No.
4. Did either the Priest or the Levite steal from the man? No.
5. Did either the Priest of the Levite bear false witness against the man? No.
6. Did either the Priest or the Levite covet the man's wife, or house, or servants? NO!

So the Priest and the Levite did not break any of the commandments that are supposed to be "how to" love your neighbor!
Which means that according to the SDA, both the Priest and the Levite were following God's given directions on "how to" love your neighbor. Yet Jesus clearly showed that neither the Priest or the Levite proved to be a neighbor to the man who had been robbed. Instead it was a Samaritan, a Gentile who had not the Law, who was not observing a seventh day sabbath; it was this man who Jesus said proved to be a neighbor. It was this man who Loved according to God.
Sounds like the SDA missed the meaning of what Jesus was really trying to teach!

I don't think that anyone has claimed that what is listed in the Ten Commandments exhaustively describes the way to obey the greatest two commandments, and if anyone did claim that, then it would be easy to disprove, such as by giving a list of 613 instructions for how to love God and our neighbor. For instance, someone can not love their neighbor as themselves by showing favoritism, even though they aren't violating anything that is specifically listed in the Ten Commandments, but that doesn't mean that what is specifically listed in the Ten Commandments are not examples of how to obey the greatest two commandments.

Furthermore, the point of all of God's commandments is not to give us a specific list, but in order to teach teaching us how to act in accordance with spiritual principles that the commandments are example of. For example, if you want to teach the principles of treating others has individuals who have innate value beyond what they can do for us, to value life, and so forth, then that can be done by commanding against committing murder, which is why I think that the priests were not keeping the 6th Commandment.

This is different compared to Christianity that sees the 10 Commandments as concrete standards and examples of Christian morals. The Law/Torah in general is a pedagogue / Kinder Garten instructor of the ways of God (literally at times but much more allegorically). The Commandments themselves are a handy summary of the things we should avoid. They are useful, specific examples to prevent "Sloppy Agapism" (aka Antinomianism), but the true life by the Spirit will cause people to exceed them based on going after what is in God's heart much like King David of old, rather than the letter of the Law.

So even if the priests had not broken any of the Ten Commandments, that would not mean that they are not examples of Christian morals. The Torah leads us to Jesus because it is God's instructions for how to know him (Matthew 7:23), which is eternal life (John 17:3). In Ezekiel 36:26-27, the Spirit has the role of leading us to by the Torah, so the Spirit does not cause people to exceed them.