Exo 20:2-4 | TNotes | STEP | 20:2 This sentence corresponds to the preamble in the ancient covenant format. It gives the historical setting that makes such an agreement between two parties both possible and reasonable. We are told that the Lord your God was offering the covenant. It was not some unknown deity that offered this special relationship, but the God of Israel’s ancestors who had revealed his power and his care directly to them. Furthermore, that revelation was an act of gracious rescue on their behalf, demonstrating that he is the only God.

a20:2►

b20:3-17►

c20:2-11►

d20:12-17►

e20:3-11►

f20:3►

gDeut 4:35►

h6:4►

iIsa 43:10-11►

j45:21-22►

k20:4►

lRom 1:18-25►

‏ Exodus 20:2-4

20:2 ^a This sentence corresponds to the preamble in the ancient covenant format. It gives the historical setting that makes such an agreement between two parties both possible and reasonable. We are told that the Lord your God was offering the covenant. It was not some unknown deity that offered this special relationship, but the God of Israel’s ancestors who had revealed his power and his care directly to them. Furthermore, that revelation was an act of gracious rescue on their behalf, demonstrating that he is the only God.
Summary for Exod 20:3-17: 20:3-17 ^b The terms of the covenant specify the behavior the people were expected to manifest if they were to be in a covenant with God. Only the first four instructions (20:2-11 ^c) relate directly to God, while the remaining six (20:12-17 ^d) have to do with human-to-human relationships. A covenant with God stipulates how we are to treat each other because God is profoundly ethical, and he expects us to manifest his character in all our relationships. Other law codes in the ancient Near East did not incorporate such absolute prohibitions, probably because polytheism mitigated against absolute principles. In contrast, covenants with a king did include absolute prohibitions because a single king could demand whatever he wished of his subjects. Here the single king is the sole Creator of the universe, who truly has authority to state absolute principles, demands, and prohibitions.
Summary for Exod 20:3-11: 20:3-11 ^e The first four commandments relate to one’s relationship with God. Observing them would foster a correct understanding of God in contrast to the idolatrous notions of deity that the Israelites had encountered in Egypt and would yet encounter in Canaan. 20:3 ^f Not recognizing any other god is the first step toward learning the truth that there are no other gods besides the Lord (see Deut 4:35 ^g; 6:4 ^h; Isa 43:10-11 ⁱ; 45:21-22 ^j).
20:4 ^k Not making an image of God is the first step toward recognizing that he is transcendent—that he is the Creator of the universe and distinct from it. To represent God as something in creation was inevitably to end up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator, and this immorality had deadly consequences (Rom 1:18-25 ^l).