Exodus 20:16 Komentář

All things being prepared for the solemn promulgation of the divine law, we have, in this chapter, I. The ten commandments, as God himself spoke them upon mount Sinai (v. 1-17), as remarkable a portion of scripture as any in the Old Testament. II. The impressions made upon the people thereby (Exo 20:18-21). III. Some particular instructions which God gave privately to Moses, to be by him communicated to the people, relating to his worship (Exo 20:22, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 20 In this chapter we have an account of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; the preface to it, Exo 20:1, the ten commandments it consists of, Exo 20:8, the circumstances attending it, which caused the people to remove at some distance, Exo 20:18, when they desired of Moses, that he would speak to them and not God, who bid them not fear, since this was for the trial of them; but still they kept at a distance, while Moses drew nigh to God, Exo 20:19 who ordered him to caution the children of Israel against idolatry, and directed what sort of an altar he would have made whereon to offer their sacrifices, promising that where his name was recorded he would grant his presence and blessing, Exo 20:22.

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings,.... That is, they heard the one, and saw the other; they heard the dreadful volleys of thunder, and saw the amazing flashes of lightning, which were like lamps and torches, as the word used signifies; by a communication of senses, one sense is put for another, and the sense of sight being the principal, as Ben Melech observes, it is put for the rest, and so in the following. It is an observation of Austin's (o) that to "see" is used of all of the five senses, seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling: and the noise the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: they the sound of the trumpet, which made them tremble and saw the mountain all in a smoke, which made it look very terrible. Though the words may be rendered, as they are by some, "they perceived the thunders", &c. (p); had a sensible perception of them with their eyes ears, which greatly affected them, and made strong impressions upon their minds, and filled them with fear and dread: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off; their minds were not only terrified and distressed, and their bodies shook with fear; but they could not stand their ground, but were obliged to retreat, who but just before were curious to draw near, and gaze and see what they could, to prevent which bounds were set; but now these were needless, what they saw and heard were sufficient to keep them at a distance, nay, obliged them to quit their places; they were at the lower part of the mount before, and now they removed a good way from it, even to their camp, and to their tents in it, see Deu 5:30. The Targum of Jonathan says, they removed twelve miles; and so Jarchi, who observes, that this was according to the length of their camp. (o) Confess. l. 10. c. 35. (p) "percipiebant", Junius & Tremellius, "intelligebant"; so some in Drusius.

In the Decalogue itself it is written, “You shall not bear false witness,” in which classification every lie is embraced, for whoever pronounces any statement gives testimony to his own mind. If anyone should argue that not every lie should be called false witness, what will he answer to this statement which is also in the sacred Scriptures: “The mouth that belies, kills the soul”? If anyone should think that this passage can be interpreted to except certain lies, he may read in another passage: “You will destroy all that speak a lie.” In this connection, our divine Lord said with his own lips, “Let your speech be ‘yes, yes’; ‘no, no’; and whatever is more comes from the evil one.” Hence the apostle too, when he directs that the old man should be put off, under which term all sins are understood, goes on to explain his remark and specifically says, “Therefore put away lying and speak the truth.”

The law says to you, for example, “You shall not bear false witness.” If you know what the truth of the evidence is, you have light in your mind. But if you are overcome by greed for sordid gain and decide in your heart of hearts to bear false witness for the sake of it, then you are already beginning to be tossed about by the storm in the absence of Christ. You are being heaved up and down by the waves of your avarice, you are being endangered by the tempest of your desires, and with Christ apparently absent, you are on the verge of sinking.

The Lord has forbidden anyone to injure his neighbor by deed; now he forbids us to injure him by word. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." This may occur in two ways, either in a court of justice or in ordinary conversation. In the court of justice it may happen in three ways, according to the three persons who may violate this Commandment in court. The first person is the plaintiff who makes a false accusation: "You shall not be a detractor nor a whisperer among the people" [Lev 19:16]. And note well that it is not only wrong to speak falsely, but also to conceal the truth: "If your brother offends you, go and rebuke him" [Mt 18:15]. The second person is the witness who testifies by lying: "A false witness shall not be unpunished" [Prov 19:5]. For this Commandment includes all the preceding ones, inasmuch as the false witness may himself be the murderer or the thief, etc. And such should be punished according to the law. "When after most diligent inquisition, they shall find that the false witness hath told a lie against his brother, they shall render to him as he meant to do to his brother.... You shall not pity him, but shall require life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot" [Deut 19:18-21]. And again: "A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a dart and a sword and a sharp arrow" [Prov 25:18]. The third person is the judge who sins by giving an unjust sentence: "You shall not... judge unjustly. Respect not the person of the poor, nor honor the countenance of the mighty. But judge your neighbor according to justice" [Lev 19:15]. In ordinary conversation one may violate this Commandment in five ways. The first is by detraction: "Detractors, hateful to God" [Rm 1:30]. "Hateful to God" here indicates that nothing is so dear to a man as his good name: "A good name is better than great riches" [Prov 22:1]. But detractors take away this good name: "If a serpent bite in silence, he is no better that backbites secretly" [Eccles 10:11]. Therefore, if detractors do not restore this reputation, they cannot be saved. Secondly, one may break this precept by listening to detractors willingly: "Hedge in your ears with thorns, do not listen to a wicked tongue, and make doors and bars for your mouth" [Sir 28:28]. One should not listen deliberately to such things, but ought to turn away, showing a sad and stern countenance: "The north wind drives away rain as does a sad countenance a backbiting tongue" [Prov 25:23]. Thirdly, gossipers break this precept when they repeat whatever they hear: "Six things there are which the Lord hates, and the seventh His soul detests... one who sows discord among brethren" [Prov 6:16,19]. Fourthly, those who speak honied words, the flatterers: "The sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and the unjust man is blessed" [Ps 9:24]. And again: "O My people, they who call you blessed deceive you" [Is 3:12]. The prohibition of this Commandment includes every form of falsehood: "Refuse to utter any lie; for the habit of lying serves no good" [Sir 7:14]. There are four reasons for this. The first is that lying likens one to the devil, because a liar is as the son of the devil. Now, we know that a man's speech betrays from what region and country he comes from, thus: "Even your accent betrays you" [Mt 26:73]. Even so, some men are of the devil's kind, and are called sons of the devil because they are liars, since the devil is "a liar and the father of lies" [Jn 8:44]. Thus, when the devil said, "No, certainly you shall not die" [Gen 3:4], he lied. But, on the contrary, others are the children of God, who is Truth, and they are those who speak the truth. The second reason is that lying induces the ruin of society. Men live together in society, and this is soon rendered impossible if they do not speak the truth to one another. "Therefore put away lying, speak the truth, every man with his neighbor; for we are members one of another" [Eph 4:25]. The third reason is that the liar loses his reputation for the truth. He who is accustomed to telling lies is not believed even when he speaks the truth: "What can be made clean by the unclean? And what truth can come from what is false?" [Sir 34:4]. The fourth reason is because a liar kills his soul, for "the mouth that lies kills the soul" [Wis 1:11]. And again: "You will destroy all who speak lies" [Ps 5:7]. Accordingly, it is clear that lying is a mortal sin; although it must be known that some lies may be venial. It is a mortal sin, for instance, to lie in matters of faith. This concerns professors, prelates and preachers, and is the gravest of all other kinds of lies: "There shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition" [2 Pet 2:1]. Then there are those who lie to wrong their neighbor: "Do not lie to one another" [Col 3:9]. These two kinds of lies, therefore, are mortal sins. There are some who lie for their own advantage, and this in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is out of humility. This may be the case in confession, about which St. Augustine says: "Just as one must avoid concealing what he has committed, so also he must not mention what he has not committed." "Does God have any need of your lie?" [Job 13:7]. And again: "There is one who humbles himself wickedly, and his interior is full of deceit; and there is one who humbles himself exceedingly with a great lowness" [Sir 19:25 Vulgate]. There are others who tell lies out of shame, namely, when one tells a falsehood believing that he is telling the truth, and on becoming aware of it he is ashamed to retract: "In no wise speak against the truth, but be ashamed of the lie of your ignorance" [Sir 4:30]. Others lie for desired results as when they wish to gain or avoid something: "We have placed our hope in lies, and by falsehood we are protected" [Is 28:15]. And again: "He who trusts in lies feeds the winds" [Prov 10:4]. Finally, there are some who lie to benefit another, that is, when they wish to free someone from death, or danger, or some other loss. This must be avoided, as St. Augustine tells us. "Accept no person against your own person, nor against your soul a lie" [Sir 4:26]. But others lie only out of vanity, and this, too, must never be done, lest the habit of such lead us to mortal sin: "For the bewitching of vanity obscures good things" [Wis 4:12].

The preface to the ten commandments, Exo 20:1, Exo 20:2. The First commandment, against mental or theoretic idolatry, Exo 20:3. The Second, against making and worshipping images, or practical idolatry, Exo 20:4-6. The Third, against false swearing, blasphemy, and irreverent use of the name of God, Exo 20:7. The Fourth, against profanation of the Sabbath, and idleness on the other days of the week, Exo 20:8-11. The Fifth, against disrespect and disobedience to parents, Exo 20:12. The Sixth, against murder and cruelty, Exo 20:13. The Seventh, against adultery and uncleanness, Exo 20:14. The Eighth, against stealing and dishonesty, Exo 20:15. The Ninth, against false testimony, perjury, etc., Exo 20:16. The Tenth, against covetousness, Exo 20:17. The people are alarmed at the awful appearance of God on the mount, and stand afar off, Exo 20:18. They pray that Moses may be mediator between God and them, Exo 20:19. Moses encourages them, Exo 20:20. He draws near to the thick darkness, and God communes with him, Exo 20:21, Exo 20:22. Farther directions against idolatry, Exo 20:23. Directions concerning making an altar of earth, Exo 20:24; and an altar of hewn stone, Exo 20:25. None of these to be ascended by steps, and the reason given, Exo 20:26.

Thou shalt not bear false witness, etc. - Not only false oaths, to deprive a man of his life or of his right, are here prohibited, but all whispering, tale-bearing, slander, and calumny; in a word, whatever is deposed as a truth, which is false in fact, and tends to injure another in his goods, person, or character, is against the spirit and letter of this law. Suppressing the truth when known, by which a person may be defrauded of his property or his good name, or lie under injuries or disabilities which a discovery of the truth would have prevented, is also a crime against this law. He who bears a false testimony against or belies even the devil himself, comes under the curse of this law, because his testimony is false. By the term neighbor any human being is intended, whether he rank among our enemies or friends.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. (Exo. 20:1-26) And God spake all these words--The Divine Being Himself was the speaker (Deu 5:12, Deu 5:32-33), in tones so loud as to be heard--so distinct as to be intelligible by the whole multitude standing in the valleys below, amid the most appalling phenomena of agitated nature. Had He been simply addressing rational and intelligent creatures, He would have spoken with the still small voice of persuasion and love. But He was speaking to those who were at the same time fallen and sinful creatures, and a corresponding change was required in the manner of God's procedure, in order to give a suitable impression of the character and sanctions of the law revealed from heaven (Rom 11:5-9).