10 Old Testament commandments. Orthodox Parish of the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Kamyshin, Volgograd Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church - Ten Commandments

Moses receives the Law from God, written in a divine way on stone tablets - we began to call it the ten commandments of the Old Testament.

The commandments were given to people through Moses at the dawn of the formation of religion in order to protect them from sin, to warn of danger, while the Christian Beatitudes (there are one less of them), described in Sermon on the Mount Christ, a slightly different plan, they relate to a more spiritual life and development. Today we will tell you exactly about their biblical meaning.

How and when did God give the 10 commandments to Moses?

This significant event took place on Mount Sinai, when the Israelites approached it on the 50th day from the beginning of the exodus from the Egyptian captivity. The moment of God's coming was recorded in the Bible:

Jean-Leon Gerome. Moses on Mount Sinai

On the third day, at the coming of the morning, there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud over the mountain [Sinai], and the sound of the trumpet is very strong ... But Mount Sinai was all smoking because the Lord descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently; and the sound of the trumpet became stronger and stronger .... ( Book of Exodus Chapter 19 )

Moses ascends the mountain to meet God, who speaks to him directly and gives Ten Commandments containing orders to worship only the only God, to observe the Sabbath day, to honor parents, not to make idols for ourselves, not to blaspheme, not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to bear false witness, not to desire a neighbor's house and property.

Subsequently, these commandments, written on stone tablets (tables) by the "finger of God" (Exodus 24.12, 31.18), formed the basis of the Jewish Law.

Further, God sets out additional rules to Moses, including those concerning the construction of the tabernacle - portable seat The “presence” of God - and the ark, that is, the chest in which stone tablets and other sacred relics should be kept.

After Moses, seeing that his people worship the golden statue of the calf, breaks the tablets of the Covenant in anger, God will grant him another one. For the Jews, the giving of the Law is the main event Jewish religion, and traditionally the Ten Commandments were read daily as a reminder of the obligations of the righteous.

God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets not once, but twice, because Moses broke the first tablets in anger when he saw his people worshiping an idol.

Interpretation of the commandments

In Christianity, the attitude towards the Ten Commandments is ambiguous. Some believe that the teaching of Jesus Christ replaces the Law of Moses and that the most important commandments expressed by Jesus are “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22.37; 22.39 ).

The first four commandments regulate the relationship between man and God, the remaining six - the relationship between people. The Bible describes the ten commandments twice: in the twentieth chapter of the book Exodus, and in the fifth chapter Deuteronomy.

1. I am the Lord thy God, and there are no other gods besides Me

The first commandment says that everything that exists was created by God, lives in God and will return to God. God has no beginning and no end. It is impossible to comprehend it. All the power of man and nature is from God, and there is no power outside the Lord, just as there is no wisdom outside the Lord, and there is no knowledge outside the Lord.

In God - the beginning and the end, in Him all love and kindness.

2. Do not make yourself an idol and no image; do not worship or serve them.

All power is concentrated in God. Only He can help a person if necessary. A person often turns to intermediaries for help. But if God cannot help a person, can intermediaries have the power to do so? According to the second commandment, you cannot deify people and things - this can lead to sin or illness.

In other words, you cannot worship the creation of the Lord instead of the Lord Himself.

3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

According to the third commandment, it is forbidden to mention the name of the Lord unnecessarily. The name of the Lord can be mentioned in prayer and spiritual conversations, in requests for help, but it cannot be mentioned in idle or blasphemous conversations.

We all know that the Word has tremendous power in the Bible. With the Word, God created the world.

4. Work six days and do all your own deeds, and the seventh is a day of rest, which you should dedicate to the Lord your God.

God created the world in six days, so a person must work for six days, and the seventh day is set for rest and rest. This is the day that every believer should devote to contemplation and prayer.

V Old Testament rest day was Saturday, in Orthodoxy this day is Sunday. Christians don't work on Sunday, they go to church to pray. It is also good to dedicate Sunday to helping those in need.

5. Honor your father and mother, that you be blessed on earth and long.

The fifth commandment says that every child should honor parents at any age. It was they, together with God, who gave you life and took care of you. Honoring parents means showing patience and obedience, helping and caring for them in return.

If a person does not honor his parents, he eventually stops honoring God. Honoring elders makes families stronger and people happier.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

God gives a person life and only He has the right to take it away. Anyone who encroaches on the life of another encroaches on both the will of God and His plan. The same commandment says that you cannot take your own life. By killing the life in ourselves, we also transgress this commandment, for our life does not belong to us, but only to God.

7. Don't commit adultery.

Adultery is considered a sin and destroys a person physically and spiritually. The most terrible diseases are spread by human adultery. First of all, for the sin of adultery, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

8. Don't steal.

Disrespectful attitude towards another person can be expressed in theft of property. Any benefit is illegal if it is associated with any damage, including material damage, to another person.

9. Do not testify perjury.

The ninth commandment tells us not to lie to ourselves or to others. This commandment prohibits any lie, gossip and gossip.

10. Do not covet anything else.

The tenth commandment tells us that envy and jealousy are sinful. Desire in itself is just a seed of sin that will not germinate in a bright soul. The tenth commandment is aimed at preventing the violation of the eighth commandment. Having suppressed the desire to possess someone else's, a person will never go to steal.

It also differs from the previous nine, since the commandment is not aimed at prohibiting sin, but at preventing the thought of sins. The first nine commandments talk about the problem as such, while the tenth about the root (cause) of the problem.

Based on materials from the site bibliya-online.ru

The commandments of God were given to man not only for the purpose of protecting him from less decent fellow tribesmen, but above all, in order to protect man from himself. In this material, we will provide an overview of the 10 main God's commandments in Orthodoxy with their detailed interpretation.

It may seem that Christian teaching is rife with sheer prohibitions and limiting factors. But in reality this is not at all the case.

In Orthodoxy, everything is harmonious and logical. Here, similar to physics, there is a list of its own laws, which cannot be violated under any circumstances - otherwise it will be fraught with a real catastrophe. Both types of laws (physical and spiritual) were given to people by God himself.

Every day we are forced to comply with various warnings, subject to restrictions and prohibitions. For example, in the laws of physics we find frightening warnings, there are still enough chemical laws. Absolutely every area of ​​life has its own rules and prohibitions, which are sometimes vital to adhere to.

And this is not about pleasing someone, but first of all - about your own safety. After all, freedom is not permissiveness, but the right to choose: you can make the wrong decision that will make you suffer.

If you ignore spiritual laws, not wanting to comply with moral norms, a person's personal freedom is lost, and his soul is also damaged. As a result, both he and those around him suffer. Sin is a violation of the subtle and serious laws of the spiritual world and most of all hurts the one who has sinned himself.

The main spiritual law is that you need to love God and humanity.

It is on this law that the ten commandments of God in Orthodoxy are based. Moses received them, these were two slabs of stone - tablets, on the first were inscribed the first 4 commandments concerning love for the Most High, and on the second - the remaining 6.

In fact, when a person reaches a state of true love for God and others, he is unable to neglect any of the 10 commandments, because absolutely each of them tells about love for God. And each of us should strive to achieve this perfect love.

10 commandments of God in Orthodoxy

1. I am the Lord your God, I do not want you to have other deities in front of my face.
2. You cannot create an idol for yourself and no images of what is above in heaven or below on earth, or under water, or underground and serve him.
3. You cannot pronounce the name of the Almighty in vain.
4. You must always honor the Sabbath day, work for 6 days and do your own business, and on Saturday turn to the Almighty.
5. You need to honor your parents to prolong your earthly days.
6. It is not permissible to kill.
7. It is not permissible to commit adultery.
8. It is not permissible to steal.
9. It is not permissible to lie.
10. It is not permissible to desire someone else's: be it your neighbor's spouse, his house, cattle and everything else that he possesses.

How Orthodox commandments are deciphered

Deciphering the first commandment

"I am the Lord your God, I do not want you to have other deities in front of my face"

God created our entire Universe and the entire spiritual world, it is he who acts as the primary cause of everything that is on our planet. It is simply unrealistic for our entire beautiful universe to appear on its own. And the belief that this process was done without divine help is nothing more than madness.

The Almighty is the source of all blessings and each of us should strive for him, because only in God can you get life. It is important that we always compare our deeds with God's will: whether he will like them.

There are several transgressions against the 1st commandment

• atheism;
• insufficiently strong faith, doubts, superstitions;
• pagan faith, belief in false idols, worship of Satan, occultism and esoteric practices, mysticism, divination, healing, extrasensory perception, astrology, predictions of the future, and so on;
• expression of false opinions that do not belong to Orthodoxy and run counter to the Church, various false teachings, sectarianism;
• when a person renounces faith, he trusts more in himself and in other people than in the Almighty.

Deciphering the 2nd Commandment

"You cannot create an idol for yourself and no images of what is above in heaven or below on earth, or under water, or underground and worship him."

According to this commandment, it is forbidden to create any other idol for oneself, except for the Creator. This also includes paganism and the worship of various idols (idols).

In some cases Orthodox people they themselves are accused of worshiping icons - allegedly this also applies to idolatry. In fact, this opinion is fundamentally wrong.

When Christians pray in front of an icon, they offer prayers not to the icon itself, but to that Saint or Saint who is depicted on it.

The making of sacred images began since the time of the Old Testament and God himself commanded to do this. Also, in the first centuries of the Christian faith, in the underground caves of Rome (it was in them that the first Christians gathered), variants of wall drawings appear, which depict the good Shepherd, the Mother of God standing, raising her hands to him, and so on. Such frescoes have been repeatedly discovered by archaeologists during excavations.

Fortunately, there are few direct idolaters today, but most people create other idols for themselves who are regularly worshiped and sacrificed. In particular, for the bulk of people, their passions with vices act as such idols.

Many people completely disregard the 10 commandments of God and have become so captivated by their 7 deadly sins that they are no longer able to refuse them, forced to serve them as their masters.

I would like to remind you that now we are talking about such idols-passions: gluttony, debauchery, craving for money, aggression, sadness, despondency, vanity, pride.

In the Apostle Paul, the susceptibility to vices is analogous to idolatry, that is, idolatry. When passion takes possession of a person, he stops thinking about the Almighty and no longer serves him. This means that he forgets about love for other people.

It is noteworthy that sins against the 2nd commandment also include a strong obsession with any deed (or deeds), when this hobby turns into a real passion. In addition, idolatry is worship of other people. For example, today it is very high percent people creates idols (idols) from popular artists, singers, athletes.

Decoding the third commandment

"You cannot pronounce the name of the Most High in vain"

To pronounce the name of the Lord in vain means any mention of it not during prayers, spiritual conversations, but during idle conversations. An even greater sin will be to pronounce the divine name in jest.

And the most serious crime is to pronounce the name of the Lord, wishing to blaspheme him. Another sins against this commandment can be attributed to the blasphemous attitude (desecration) over the shrines. When a person does not fulfill the vows given to the Almighty, with frivolity he scatters oaths in which he calls on the name of God - he also breaks the third commandment.

The name of God is sacred and should be treated with reverence.

Decoding of the fourth commandment

"You must always honor the Sabbath day, work for six days and go about your own business, and on Saturday turn to the Almighty."

God was engaged in the creation of our world for six days, and when he completed its creation, he blessed the seventh day as a day of rest.

According to the Old Testament, the day of rest falls on Saturday. And in the days of the New Testament, the sacred day of rest began to fall on Sunday, because it was then that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For modern Christians, Sunday is the most important day of the week, it is also known as Little Easter.

The church advises prayer, spiritual reading, and other godly activities on Sundays. Also, it will not be superfluous to show your help in relation to other people, to pay a visit to those who are sick, to help those who are weak, old people.

Traditionally, Christians thank the Almighty for the past week and in prayers ask him to bless the beginning of the new seven days.

It is also noteworthy that those who honor Sunday attend church on this day, are engaged in regular reading of the morning and evening prayers- in most cases, they do much more than those who spend the weekend in idleness. The Almighty will certainly bless their efforts, multiply their strength and help them in what they ask for.

Decoding the fifth commandment

"You need to honor your parents to prolong your earthly days"

Those who love and honor their parents will receive a reward not only in the Kingdom of God, but will also be blessed and live a long and prosperous life on Earth. Respect for parents is a manifestation of respect for them, obedience to them, helping them and caring for them in old age, as well as reading prayers for their health and salvation, and after death - for the repose of their souls.

Perhaps someone does not understand how you can show love and respect for parents who did not take care of their children themselves, neglected their obligations and committed various grave sins. To this, it must be said that none of us chose our parents, and the fact that we got just such people is also God's will. Why did the Lord send us just such parents? So that we learn to manifest the best Christian qualities: patience, love, humility and forgiveness.

It was our parents who helped us come into this world. Therefore, no kind of care for them is comparable to the precious gift (life) that we received from them.

At the same time, when a person honors his father and mother, he honors the Most High himself, who is also our Heavenly Father. Parents are fellow workers with the Lord. They give us a body, and the Almighty bestows an immortal spirit.

Therefore, when a person does not show reverence to his parents, it is also easy for him to stop honoring and begin to deny the Almighty. At first, disrespect only affects the parents, then it switches to the Motherland, then to the Mother Church and gradually begins to reach the Almighty. There is a very close connection between all these components.

Decoding the sixth commandment

"You can't kill"

Murder, which is the taking of another person's life, together with suicide, are the most serious of all sins.

In particular, suicide is the most terrible spiritual crime. It is an expression of rebellion against the Almighty, who gave a person a precious life. When a person kills himself, he leaves this life, having a terrible darkening of the soul, mind, being in complete despair. She is no longer even able to repent of her sin.

If someone unintentionally takes his life, he is also guilty of murder, but the burden of his guilt is not so high than that of those who deliberately commit such a terrible crime.

In addition, the blame for the murder lies with those who assist him: for example, a man who does not dissuade his woman from having an abortion, or even independently pushes her to do so.

Sin against the 6th commandment and those who cut their lives at the expense of addictions, vices and sins, or cause severe harm to their own health.

Any harm of any kind that is caused to others is a violation of this commandment. Now we are talking about aggression, physical violence, bullying, humiliation, gloating, rancor, the desire to wish evil to others and not forgiveness of offenses - these are all sins against the commandment "do not kill".

However, there is not just physical murder, but also spiritual murder - this is when one person seeks to seduce, seduce his neighbor to unbelief, or push him to sin, thereby worsening the state of his soul.

Decoding of the 7th commandment

"You can't commit adultery"

This commandment prohibits any kind of sins committed against the institution of the family, adultery, various variations carnal interaction between representatives of opposite sexes, if a man and a woman are not bound by the bonds of an official marriage. It also includes bad thoughts with desires on the indicated topic.

The Almighty told people to adhere to the marriage union, blessing the carnal ties in it, which lead to the birth of children. Marriage is one of the differences between humans and the animal kingdom. Animals do not live in marriage. And people, on the other hand, have a marriage union, bearing mutual responsibility and fulfilling obligations to each other and to the offspring.

And the fact that in a marriage union receives a blessing, outside is a sin, violates the 7th commandment. A man with a woman is associated with one another through a conjugal union with the aim of giving birth and raising offspring. And any desire to imitate the delights of marriage, if there is no mutual trust and responsibility between partners, is a grave sin that will prevent the sinner from entering the Kingdom of God.

An even more serious sin is not maintaining fidelity between spouses or trying to destroy someone else's marriage. When a person cheats, it is not just the marriage union that is destroyed, but the soul of the one who decided to commit adultery is defiled. You cannot create happiness by making another person unhappy.

And according to the law of spiritual balance: if you sow evil, sin - then your sin will surely come back to you.

Decoding of the 8th commandment

"You can't steal"

The violation of this commandment includes an attempt to appropriate something foreign - public or private. Theft can manifest itself in the most different forms: robbery, lies in trade affairs, bribery, bribery, tax avoidance, dependents, sacrilege (taking possession of church property), various scams, fraud and fraud.

And also sins against this commandment include any manifestations of dishonesty, manifested in the form of lies, deceit, hypocrisy, flattery, sycophancy, man-pleasing, because through these actions people strive to achieve something (for example, to win over others), and completely dishonestly.

Violation of the eighth commandment, as a rule, is provoked by the passion of avarice.

Deciphering the Ninth Commandment

"You can't lie"

With the help of this commandment, the Almighty imposes a ban on direct perjury against his neighbors (for example, in court), as well as on any types of lies told in relation to other people (slander, false types of denunciations). The list can also be supplemented with the help of the sin of idle talk, which directly relates to sins against the 9th commandment.

This can be explained very simply - during idle conversations, you can easily express something superfluous to another person, blurt out other people's innermost secrets, thereby putting other people in an awkward position.

That is why it is said that our language is our main enemy, it is capable of both being beneficial and of great harm.

The Almighty also says that one should not condemn anyone. Condemnation is a daring admiration for the right, which in reality is possessed exclusively by the Lord himself, who knows the past, present and future of man and only he is able to draw correct conclusions.

Decoding the tenth commandment

"You cannot desire someone else's: be it your neighbor's wife, his house, cattle and everything else that he possesses."

Feelings of envy and murmur are prohibited by this commandment. At the same time, it is unacceptable not only to inflict harm on other people, but even the presence of sinful, envious thoughts in their direction. After all, the beginning of any sin is precisely a thought.

Initially, a feeling of envy arises in a person's head in relation to the property and finances of other people, and then a desire to take this good from his neighbor comes to his heart and he begins to realize bad thoughts in action.

When we begin to envy money, abilities, the state of health of our loved ones, love for them is gradually killed, and envy, like sulfuric acid, begins to eat away at the spirit. Jealous people find it difficult to keep in touch with others. They feel a sense of joy if something bad happens to the people they envy.

It is for this reason that jealousy is so dangerous — it is the seed of all other sins.

And yet envious people, first of all, sin against the Almighty, because they are not content with what they already have and are inclined to blame not themselves for their misfortunes, but other people and the Lord. Such individuals can never be satisfied with their lives, because the state of happiness is not influenced by earthly goods, but only by the soul of a person.

At the end of the topic, watch an interesting video:

"The people of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than us." Much water has flowed under the bridge since Israel moved to Egypt. Both Joseph and all his brothers died long ago, and their descendants, who were called Jews or Israel, continued to live in Egypt.

Over time, there were so many Jews that it began to instill fear in the pharaoh. He told his people: “Behold, the people of the Sons of Israel are more numerous and stronger than us. Let us outwit him so that he does not multiply and does not exist, that when a war happens, he will join our enemies and fight with us, and will rise from the country. " In order for the Jews to die more, the pharaoh ordered to send them to the most difficult jobs. When that did not help, he ordered the killing of all newborn Jewish boys.

Moses - "saved from the water". Once in the family of the descendants of Levi (one of Joseph's brothers) a boy was born. The mother hid him for three months, and when he grew up and it became impossible to hide the baby, she put the child in a tarred basket and put it in the reeds on the river bank. And the baby's sister stood at a distance, as if hoping for some miracle.

Soon the daughter of Pharaoh came to the river to bathe. She noticed the basket and sent a slave to take it. Seeing little boy, the princess immediately guessed where he was from, and said: "This is from the Jewish children." She felt sorry for the baby, and she decided to take him for herself. The girl, the baby's sister, approached the Pharaoh's daughter and asked if she should call a wet nurse for the baby. The princess agreed, and the girl brought the baby's own mother, whom the Pharaoh's daughter entrusted to feed him.

It so happened that the boy doomed to death was saved, and nursed him real mother so that he never forgot which nation he belonged to. When he grew up a little, his mother took him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she raised him as her adopted son. He was named Moses [“Rescued from the water”. In fact, this name is most likely of Egyptian origin and means simply “son”, “child”], was brought up in royal luxury, learned all Egyptian wisdom and showed himself to be a brave warrior.

Moses flees into the desert. But one day, Moses decided to see how his own people lived, and saw that an Egyptian overseer was brutally beating a Jew. Moses could not resist and killed the Egyptian. Pharaoh found out about this very soon, ordered to execute the murderer, but he managed to escape from Egypt.

On the caravan path, Moses crossed the desert and ended up on the lands of the Midianite tribe. There he was liked by a local priest, and he gave his daughter to him. So Moses remained to live in the wilderness.

After a long time, the old Pharaoh, who ordered the execution of Moses, died. The new one began to oppress the Jews even more. They moaned loudly and complained about overwork. Finally, God heard them and decided to save them from Egyptian slavery.

God said he chose Moses to save the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Moses had to go to Pharaoh and demand that he release the Jews. Hearing this, Moses asked: "Behold, I will come to the children of Israel and say to them:" The God of your fathers sent me to you. " And they will say to me: “What is His name? What can I tell them? " And then God revealed his name for the first time, saying that his name was Yahweh ["I am", "He who is"]... God also said that He gives Moses the ability to work miracles to convince unbelievers. Immediately, by His order, Moses threw his rod (shepherd's stick) to the ground - and suddenly this rod turned into a snake. Moses caught the snake by the tail - and again there was a stick in his hand.

Moses felt terrified - the task entrusted to him was very difficult - and he tried to refuse, saying that he could not speak well and therefore would not be able to convince either the Jews or the Pharaoh. God replied that he himself would teach him what to say. But Moses continued to deny: “Lord! Send someone else you can send. " God was angry, but restrained himself and said that Moses in Egypt has a brother Aaron, who, if necessary, will speak in his place, and God himself will teach both of them what to do.

Moses returned home, told his relatives that he had decided to visit the brothers in Egypt, and set off on the road.

"The God of your fathers sent me to you." On the way, he met his brother Aaron, whom God ordered to go out into the wilderness to meet Moses, and together they came to Egypt. Moses was already 80 years old, no one remembered him. The daughter of the former Pharaoh, the adoptive mother of Moses, also died long ago.

Moses and Aaron first came to the people of Israel. Aaron told his fellow tribesmen that God would lead the Jews out of slavery and give them a country flowing with milk and honey. Moses performed several miracles, and the people of Israel believed in him and that the hour of liberation from slavery had come.

After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and turned to him with the following words: "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Send My people away so that they may celebrate Me a feast in the wilderness." Pharaoh was surprised, but at first he was rather complacent and answered with restraint: “Who is the Lord, so that I would obey His voice and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord and I won’t let Israel go. ” Then Moses and Aaron began to threaten him, Pharaoh became angry and stopped the conversation: “Why are you, Moses and Aaron, distracting the people from his affairs? Go to your job. "

Then Pharaoh ordered his servants to give the Jews as much work as possible (they made bricks to build new cities in Egypt), "so that they would work and not engage in empty speeches." So after turning to the Pharaoh, the Jews began to live much worse than before, they were exhausted at hard work, they were beaten by Egyptian overseers.

"Ten Egyptian Plagues". Then God decided to show his power to the Egyptians. Moses warned that the God of the Jews could send the most terrible calamities to Egypt if the Pharaoh did not let the Jews go to pray to God in the wilderness. Pharaoh refused. The Egyptian ruler was not frightened by the miracles that Moses performed before him, because the Egyptian wise men [wizards] knew how to do about the same.

The passage of the Jews across the sea. Moses dissects
the sea with a staff. Medieval book miniature

Moses had to fulfill his threats, and ten plagues, “ten executions of the Egyptians” fell on Egypt one after another: an invasion of toads, the appearance of a huge number of midges and poisonous flies, the death of livestock, diseases of people and animals, hail that destroyed crops, locusts. Pharaoh began to hesitate and even promised several times to let the Jews go on their holiday, but each time he refused his word, although the Egyptians themselves prayed: “Let these people go, let them serve the Lord, their God: can't you still see that Is Egypt dying? "

When the locusts destroyed all the greenery in Egypt, and Moses brought thick darkness over the whole country for three days, Pharaoh suggested that the Jews go out to a short time into the wilderness, but they left all their cattle at home. Moses did not agree, and the vexed Pharaoh threatened him with death if he dared to appear in the palace again.

At midnight, the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. But Moses did not flinch, came to Pharaoh for the last time and warned: “Thus says the Lord: at midnight I will pass through the middle of Egypt. And every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is with the millstones. [grinds grain], and all the firstborn of cattle. For all the children of Israel, the dog will not move his tongue against man or cattle, so that you may know what a difference the Lord makes between the Egyptians and between the Israelites. ” Having said this, the angry Moses went out from Pharaoh, and he did not dare to touch him.

Then Moses warned the Jews to slaughter a one-year-old lamb in every family and anoint the doorposts and the crossbar of the door with its blood: by this blood God will distinguish the dwellings of the Jews and will not touch them. The lamb was to be baked over a fire and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Jews, on the other hand, must be ready to set off immediately. [in memory of this event, God established an annual Easter holiday].

At night Egypt was struck by a terrible calamity: “At midnight the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in prison, and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh got up by night, he and all his servants, and all Egypt; and there was a great cry in the land of Egypt; for there was no home where there was no dead man. "

The shocked Pharaoh immediately summoned Moses and Aaron to him and ordered them, together with all their people, to go into the wilderness and perform a service so that God would take pity on the Egyptians.

Flight and rescue from the pharaoh. That same night, the entire nation of Israel left Egypt for good. The Jews did not leave with empty handed: Before fleeing, Moses told them to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver things, as well as rich clothes. They also took with them the mummy of Joseph, which Moses was looking for for three days, while his fellow tribesmen collected property from the Egyptians. God himself led them, being in a pillar of cloud during the day, and in a pillar of fire at night, so that the fugitives walked day and night until they came to the seashore.

The persecutors of the Jews - the Egyptians - drown in
waves of the sea. Medieval engraving

Meanwhile, Pharaoh realized that the Jews had deceived him, and rushed after them in pursuit. Six hundred war chariots and select Egyptian cavalry quickly overtook the fugitives. There seemed to be no escape. Jews - men, women, children, old people - crowded on the seashore, preparing for their inevitable death. Only Moses was calm. At the command of Yahweh, he stretched out his hand to the sea, struck the water with his rod, and the sea parted, freeing the way. The Israelites walked along the seabed, and the waters of the sea stood like a wall to their right and left.

Seeing this, the Egyptians chased the Jews along the bottom of the sea. Pharaoh's chariots were already in the middle of the sea, when the bottom suddenly became so viscous that they could hardly move. Meanwhile, the Israelis made their way to the opposite bank. The Egyptian soldiers realized that things were bad, and decided to turn back, but it was too late: Moses again stretched out his hand to the sea, and it closed over the army of Pharaoh ...

The riddle of Moses.

The bottom of the Red Sea.

Pharaoh Exodus.

"I heard the murmur of the children of Israel." The Jews celebrated their miraculous salvation and moved into the depths of the desert. They walked for a long time, the food they had taken from Egypt ran out, and the people began to murmur, saying to Moses and Aaron: “Oh, if only we died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the cauldrons of meat, when we ate our bread! For you brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death ”.

God heard the complaints of the Israelites, it hurt him that meat and bread were more precious to them than freedom, but he still took pity on them and said to Moses: “I heard the murmur of the children of Israel; tell them: in the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be satisfied with bread and you will know that I am the Lord your God ”.

In the evening, a huge flock of quail birds sat on the field near the tents of the village, which were exhausted on the way. Having caught them, the Jews ate their fill of meat and prepared it for future use. And in the morning, when they woke up, they saw that the whole desert was covered with something white, like frost. They began to examine: white bloom turned out to be small grains, like hail or grass seeds. In response to the surprised exclamations, Moses said: "This is the bread that the Lord gave you for food." The cereal, which was called semolina, tasted like a cake with honey. Adults and children rushed to rake the manna and bake the bread. Since then, every morning they found manna from heaven and fed on it.

Having received meat and bread from God, the Jews set out on their way again. When they stopped again, it turned out that there was no water in that place. The people again became angry with Moses: "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our flocks with thirst?" Seeing that the crowd was ready to stone the perpetrator of their misfortunes, Moses, on the advice of God, struck the rock with a rod, and a powerful stream of water escaped from the stone and gushed out ...

Miracles of Moses.

The Israelite people meet with God. Finally, the Israelites came to Mount Sinai, where God himself was to appear to them. First, Moses ascended the mountain, and God warned him that he would appear before the people on the third day.

And then the day came. In the morning the mountain was covered with a thick cloud, lightning flashed above it and thunder rumbled. Moses led the people to the foot of the mountain and stepped beyond the line, which, on pain of death, could not be crossed, except for him. Meanwhile, “Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. And the sound of the trumpet became stronger and stronger. Moses spoke and God answered him. "

"Mountain of God".

Ten Commandments. At the top of the mountain, God gave Moses ten commandments that the Jews had to keep. These are the commandments:

1. I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out of the land of Mizraim [as the Jews called Egypt], from the House of Slavery. You must not have other gods before Me.
2. You must not make yourself any image of the deity.
3. You must not use the name of Yahweh your God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. You must honor your father and your mother.
6. You don't have to kill.
7. You mustn't be lascivious.
8. You mustn't steal.
9. You must not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. Do not covet your neighbor's house, nor his wife, nor anything that is with your neighbor.

Gustave Dore. Prophet Moses
descends from Mount Sinai.
1864-1866

The meaning of God's commandments.

In addition to the ten commandments, God dictated laws to Moses, which spoke about how the people of Israel should live.

Moses wrote down all the words of Yahweh and told them to the people. Then a sacrifice was offered to God. Moses sprinkled the sacrificial blood on the altar and all the people, saying at the same time: “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord made with you ...” And the people swore to sacredly observe the union with God.

"Here is your God, Israel." Moses ascended the mountain again and stayed there forty days and nights, talking with God. Meanwhile, people got tired of the long wait, they came to Aaron and demanded: “Get up and make us a god who would walk in front of us; for with this man, with Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what happened. "

Aaron told everyone to bring him their gold earrings, and cast from them the image of a golden calf [those. bull. Many peoples of antiquity imagined a deity in the form of a mighty bull]... The people, seeing the well-known figure of the Egyptian deity, joyfully exclaimed: "Behold your God, Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!"

And Moses received the tablets from God [stone slabs] on which Yahweh own hand wrote down my words. God told Moses to quickly go to the camp, where something was wrong.

The wrath of Moses. Descending from the mountain, Moses, accompanied by his assistant, young Joshua, went to the camp and soon heard a loud noise coming from there. Jesus, a born fighter, said: "The war cry in the camp." But Moses objected: “This is not the cry of those who overcome, or the cry of those who are defeated; I hear the voice of the singers. "

Entering the camp and seeing the crowd that danced and sang around the golden calf, Moses (even though he was “the meekest of all” by nature) became very angry. He threw the tablets to the ground, which shattered into pieces, threw the golden calf into the fire, ground its charred remains into powder, poured them into water and demanded that all the Israelites drink it. Not content with this, Moses ordered the Levites, who one of all the Israelites refused to worship the golden calf: “Place each of your sword on your thigh, walk through the camp from gate to gate and back, and kill each one his brother, each one his friend, each one his neighbor ”. The Levites carried out a terrible order and killed about three thousand people.

God was angry at the betrayal of his chosen people even more than Moses, and decided to destroy all the Israelites and produce new people from one Moses. Moses with difficulty dissuaded him from this intention and begged him this time to forgive the Jews.

Israel receives its shrine. God ordered Moses to make two stone tablets instead of the broken ones and dictated the words that Moses had to write on them. In addition, Yahweh wished to have his own tent among the Israelites, but warned that he would not lead them to the promised land. [oath promised], because in anger he can, without wanting to, destroy the people who have already betrayed God once, despite the just made covenant.

According to the instructions of Moses, received from God himself, the Israelites made the tabernacle - a large, ornate tent. Inside the tabernacle stood the Ark of the Covenant - a wooden chest covered with gold with images of cherubim on top. In the ark lay the tablets brought by Moses with the words of God. Other objects necessary for the service were also made of gold, from which a seven-branched candlestick stood out - a lamp in the form of a plant with a stem and six branches, on which seven lamps were supposed to burn.

The priests, dressed in rich clothes, embroidered with gold and precious stones... The first priests of Yahweh were Aaron and his sons.

At first, God often appeared at the tabernacle and Moses went there to talk with him. If a cloud enveloped the tabernacle during the day, and the tent shone from within at night, this was a sign of the presence of Yahweh.

The tabernacle was made collapsible, and the ark was portable. If the cloud around the tabernacle disappeared, then it was time to move on. The people disassembled and laid the panels of the tabernacle, inserted long poles into the golden rings attached to the corners of the ark of the covenant, and carried it on their shoulders.

On the threshold of the promised land. From sacred mountain Sinai the Jewish people moved to Canaan - the Promised Land, which God promised to give to the Jews, expelling other nations from there.

This country has changed a lot since the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Instead of the former pastures with grasses scorched by the sun, fields, orchards and vineyards were green everywhere. There lived an agricultural population in Canaan, akin to the Jews in their language, but it was richer and more cultured than the fugitives from Egypt who wandered in the desert. The Canaanites worshiped numerous gods and goddesses, whom they called the Baals.

Yahweh was a jealous deity and demanded that the Jews worship only Him as the creator. God feared that the Israelites, once in Canaan, would forget him and start praying to the local Baals. Therefore, he demanded that in the future holy war for the "promised land" the Israelites should kill all local residents, not sparing even small children. Only on this condition did he promise his people success and victory.

The fears of the Israelites and the wrath of God. When the column stretched across the desert approached Canaan, Moses took twelve people, one from each tribe of Israel, that is, from each of the Israelite tribes. He sent them to inspect the land, to find out if it is good, whether the people are strong on it and what cities are there, whether the people live in tents or in fortifications.

After forty days, the messengers of Moses returned and reported that the land was rich and fertile. To prove their words, they brought unusually large figs. [figs], the fruit of a pomegranate and a cluster of grapes so large that two people could hardly hold it on a pole. They also reported that the people there are very strong and the cities are large and fortified. They were afraid to fight with the people of Canaan and spread a rumor that on the approaches to this land mighty fortresses rise, in which giants live. Ordinary people can't handle them.

Only two of the twelve ambassadors, Joshua and Caleb, argued that with the help of Yahweh it was still possible to conquer the country.

The doubting people believed neither them nor Moses, and decided to go back to Egypt. Moses barely managed to calm the people, but God decided to severely punish the Israelites for fear and disbelief in His promise. Moses conveyed his words to the people: not one of the Jews over twenty years old, except for Joshua and Caleb, will go to Canaan. The Jews were doomed to wander in the wilderness for another forty years before their children would see the promised land again.

New wanderings. Some of the Jews, despite God's prohibition, nevertheless tried to break into Canaan, but were defeated by local tribes and fled into the desert. Finding themselves in a dry area, the people again rebelled against Moses and Aaron. Then they led the people to the rock, Moses struck it twice with his rod, and water flowed from the stone. The Israelites drank themselves and watered their livestock.

But God was angry with Moses for his weak faith - after all, he hit the stone twice with the rod, and once was enough - and announced that neither he nor his brother Aaron would enter the promised land.

Some time later, Aaron died. His son Eleazar became the new high priest. The Israelites mourned Aaron for thirty days, and then set off again. Bypassing large cities, fighting small tribes, the Jews came to the plains of Moab, south of Canaan. The Moabites were descendants of Lot, Abraham's nephew, and therefore a kindred nation to the Israelites. But they were frightened when they saw the many and warlike newcomers, and Balak, king of the Moabites, decided to destroy the Jews.

Balaam and his donkey. In those days, in one city on the Euphrates lived famous prophet named Balaam. Balak sent his people to him with a request to come and curse the Israelites. At first Balaam refused, but the king of the Moabites sent rich gifts and eventually persuaded him. Balaam got on the donkey and set off on the road.

But God was angry with him and sent an angel with a drawn sword. The angel stood on the road, Balaam did not notice him, but the donkey turned off the road into the field. Balaam began to beat her to make her return. Three times the angel stood before the donkey, and three times Balaam beat her. And suddenly the animal spoke in a human voice: "What have I done to you that you are beating me for the third time?" Balaam was so angry that he was not even surprised. He answered the donkey: “Because you are making fun of me; if I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you now. ” The conversation continued in the same spirit, when suddenly Balaam noticed an angel. The angel condemned him for torturing an innocent animal and allowed him to continue on the path only on condition that Balaam would speak to the Moabites only what God would tell him.

Balak met the prophet with honor, but how disappointed he was when, after the sacrifice to Balaam, instead of cursing the Israelites, he suddenly blessed them! Twice more Balak tried to force Balaam to utter a curse, and again instead of this Balaam uttered the words of blessing. Then the king realized that he was trying to argue with God himself, and let Balaam go.

"I let you see her." The fortieth year of the Jews' wanderings in the desert was coming to an end. Everyone who remembered Egyptian slavery died, a new generation of proud, freedom-loving, warlike people, hardened by the harsh climate and constant wars, grew up. With such a people it was possible to go to the conquest of Canaan.

But Moses was not destined to set foot on the promised land. The hour has come and God said it was time for him to die. Moses blessed his people, bequeathed to him to keep an alliance with Yahweh, put Joshua in his place over the Israelites and ascended Mount Nebo in the land of the Moabites. From the top of the mountain he saw fast waters Jordan, dull surface Dead sea, the green valleys of Canaan, and far, far away, on the very horizon, a narrow azure strip of the Mediterranean Sea. God told him: "This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ... I gave you to see it with your eyes, but you will not enter it."

So Moses died at the age of one hundred and twenty years and was buried in the land of the Moabites. His grave was soon lost, but from generation to generation the Israelites passed on legends about their great leader.

The mysterious death of Moses.

Before we start discussing the topic of Christ's commandments, let us first determine that the law of God is like that guiding star that shows a person traveling his way, and for a person of God - the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. The law of God has always meant light that warms the heart, comforts the soul, and consecrates the mind. What are they - 10 commandments of Christ - and what they teach, let's try to briefly understand.

The commandments of Jesus Christ

The commandments provide the main moral foundation for the human soul. What do the commandments of Jesus Christ say? It is noteworthy that a person always has freedom to obey them or not - the great mercy of God. It gives a person the opportunity to grow spiritually and improve, but also imposes on him responsibility for the actions he does. Violation of even one commandment of Christ leads to suffering, slavery and degeneration, in general, to disaster.

Let us recall that when God created our earthly world, a tragedy occurred in the angelic world. The proud angel Dennitsa rebelled against God and wanted to create his own kingdom, which is now called Hell.

The next tragedy occurred when Adam and Eve did not listen to God, and their life experienced death, suffering and poverty.

Another tragedy happened during the Flood, when God punished people - contemporaries of Noah - for unbelief and violation of God's laws. This event is followed by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, also for the sins of the inhabitants of these cities. Then comes the destruction of Israel, and after it the Kingdom of Judah. Later Byzantium will fall and the Russian Empire, and behind them there will be other misfortunes and calamities that will fall down with God's wrath for sins. Moral laws are eternal and unchanging, and whoever does not keep the commandments of Christ will be destroyed.

History

The most important event in the Old Testament is the receipt of ten commandments by people from God. Moses brought them from Mount Sinai, where God taught him, and they were carved on two stone tablets, and not on decaying paper or other substance.

Up to this point, the Jewish people were disenfranchised slaves working for the Egyptian kingdom. After the emergence of the Sinai legislation, a people is created who are called to serve God. Great holy people later emerged from this people, and from them the Savior Jesus Christ himself was born.

Ten commandments of Christ

After familiarizing yourself with the commandments, you can see a certain sequence in them. So, the commandments of Christ (the first four) speak of human responsibilities towards God. The next five define human relationships. And the latter calls people to purity of thoughts and desires.

The Ten Commandments of Christ are expressed very briefly and with minimal requirements. They define the boundaries that a person should not cross in public and private life.

The first commandment

The first one sounds: "I am your Lord, let there be no other Gods for you besides me." This means that God is the source of all goods and the guide of all human actions. And therefore, a person should direct his whole life to the knowledge of God and glorify his name with his pious deeds. This commandment indicates that God is one in the whole wide world and it is unacceptable to have other gods.

Second commandment

The second commandment says: "Do not create an idol for yourself ..." God forbids a person to create imaginary or material idols for himself and worship them. Earthly happiness, wealth, became idols for modern man, physical pleasure and fanatical admiration for their leaders and leaders.

The third commandment

The third says: "Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." It is forbidden for a person to use the name of the Lord dishonestly in everyday life, in jokes or empty conversations. Sins are blasphemy, blasphemy, perjury, breaking the vows given to the Lord, etc.

Fourth commandment

The fourth says that one must remember the Sabbath day and hold it holy. You need to work six days, and devote the seventh to your God. This means that a person works six days a week, and on the seventh day (Saturday), he must study the word of God, pray in the temple, and therefore devote the day to the Lord. On these days, you need to take care of the salvation of your soul, conduct pious conversations, enlighten your mind with religious knowledge, visit the sick and prisoners, help the poor, etc.

Fifth commandment

The fifth says: "Honor your father and your mother ..." God commands you to always care, respect and love your parents, not offend them in word or deed. The great sin is disrespect for father and mother. In the Old Testament, this sin was punished with death.

Sixth commandment

The sixth reads: "Do not kill." This commandment forbids taking life from others and from oneself. Life is a great gift from God, and only he sets the limits of earthly life to man. Therefore, suicide is the most serious sin. In addition to the murder itself, suicide also includes the sins of lack of faith, despair, murmuring against the Lord and rebellion against his providence. Anyone who harbors a feeling of hatred for others, wishes death to others, starts quarrels and fights, he sins against this commandment.

Seventh Commandment

In the seventh it is written: "You shall not commit adultery." It indicates that a person needs to be, if he is not married, chaste, and if he is married, to be faithful to his husband or wife. In order not to sin, you do not need to arrange shameless songs and dances, watch seductive photographs and films, listen to piquant anecdotes, etc.

Eighth commandment

The eighth says: "Do not steal." God forbids the appropriation of another's property. You can not engage in theft, robbery, parasitism, bribery, covetousness, as well as evade debts, weigh the buyer, conceal what was found, cheat, withhold the salary of an employee, etc.

Ninth commandment

The ninth indicates: "Do not bear false testimony against your neighbor." The Lord forbids a person to give false testimony against another in court, to make denunciations, slander, gossip and gossip. This is a devilish affair, because the word "devil" means "slanderer."

Tenth commandment

In the tenth commandment, the Lord teaches: "Do not covet your neighbor's wife and do not covet your neighbor's house, neither his field, nor his servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox ..." have bad desires.

All the preceding commandments of Christ taught predominantly correct behavior, but the latter refers to what can happen inside a person, to his feelings, thoughts and desires. A person always needs to take care of the purity of mental thoughts, because any sin begins with an unkind thought, on which he can stop, and then a sinful desire will arise, which will push him to unfavorable actions. Therefore, you need to learn how to suppress your bad thoughts so as not to sin.

New Testament. Christ's commandments

Briefly the essence of one of the commandments, Jesus Christ put it this way: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." The second, similar to her: "Love your neighbor as yourself." This is the most important commandment of Christ. It gives that deep awareness of all those ten, which clearly and clearly help to understand in what human love for the Lord is expressed and what is contrary to this love.

In order for the new commandments of Jesus Christ to be beneficial to man, it is necessary to make sure that they guide our thoughts and actions. They should penetrate into our worldview and subconsciousness and always be on the tablets of our soul and heart.

The 10 Commandments of Christ are the basic moral guidance needed to build up in life. Otherwise, everything will be doomed to destruction.

Righteous King David wrote that blessed is the man who obeys the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night. He will be like that tree planted in streams of water, which will bear its fruit in its hour and will not fade.

Modern life is full of temptations, everywhere a person is told that his desires are the law, and he himself is the highest value. Everything is not so in the worldview of Orthodox believers. According to him, man is only a creature, called to serve Him and not indulge the bad sides of character. The basis, the guide in their life is the 10 commandments of God, which are given in order to avoid the 7th.

10 commandments of God

The purpose of the Christian life is not pleasure, wealth or glory, every believer dreams of finding after death eternal life in paradise with. According to the Bible story, in Old Testament times, God personally talked with some righteous people, through them transferring His will to others. One of these people was the prophet Moses. It was he who brought the Jewish people the Law according to which they must live.

There are various commands mentioned in Scripture:

• 10 commandments of God listed in the Old Testament (Law of Moses);
• The Beatitudes (given during the Sermon on the Mount);
• The two main commandments indicated by the Son of God (Luke 10:27).

There are other indications on how to walk the path of spiritual development. But today we will talk about the Decalogue - those commandments that were given to Moses on Mount Sinai. This happened after the Jewish people left Egypt. The Lord descended on a mountain in a cloud and inscribed the Law on stone slabs.

The 10 Commandments of God are not just a list of prohibitions, but a kind of instruction on spiritual safety. The Lord warns people that if they violate the laws of the universe, they themselves will suffer from this. There is a list of the decalogue in the Old Testament twice - in the books of Exodus (chapter 20) and Deuteronomy (chapter 5). Here is the law of Moses in Russian:

1. "I am the Lord your God ... May you have no other gods before Me."

2. "Do not make yourself an idol and no image of what is in the sky above, and what is on the earth below, and what is in the water below the earth."

3. "Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who utters His name in vain."

4. “Work six days, and do all your works; and the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord thy God. "

5. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days on earth may be long."

6. "Don't kill."

7. "Do not commit adultery."

8. "Don't steal."

9. "Do not bear false testimony against your neighbor."

10. “Do not covet your neighbor's house; do not covet your neighbor's wife; neither his servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nothing that is with your neighbor ".

In Orthodoxy and Protestantism, the order of the commandments is somewhat different, but the essence of this does not change. So, in order to get into the Kingdom of Heaven, one does not need to read a lot of spiritual literature, perform an endless number of bows and rituals. It is only necessary in Everyday life shy away from sins. In fact, of course, it is not so easy for modern pampered people.

• The first four commandments (according to the Orthodox Church) of the law regulate the relationship between man and the Lord.
• The other six (5 through 10) show how to relate to others.

The arrival of the Savior on earth in no way cancels the decalogue; on the contrary, it introduced a new understanding in its observance.

Interpretation of the commandments

May you have no other gods

Christianity is a monotheistic religion in which there is room for only one God. He is the Creator, the giver of life. The entire visible world exists thanks to Him - from the ant to the stars in the sky. All that is good in the human soul has its roots in God.

Many people pay attention to how beautifully and wisely nature is arranged. All of this is the result of God's purpose. Birds know where to fly, the grass grows, the tree blooms and bears fruit in due time. The source of everything is the Lord of hosts. Man needs only one Creator, kind, generous, patient. Many things are sins against the first commandment:

• denial of God;
• superstition;
• passion for the occult, magic, magic;
• joining sectarian organizations.

Worshiping any other being will be a substitute for the true God. This is discussed in more detail in the next commandment.

Do not make yourself an idol.

Logically continues the first commandment. You should not confuse creation - even if it is beautiful and worthy - with the Creator, worship celebrities, put someone or something that is not God in the center of your life. For many today their smartphones have become idols, expensive cars... An idol can be not only a person or a physical object, but also an idea. For example, the desire for material prosperity, the desire to please your lusts.

Don't use God's name in vain.

The gift of speech distinguishes man from animals. It was not given in vain; in a word, a person can, with the help of words, ascend to heaven or sin, encourage others or slander them. Therefore, you should be very careful about what you say. More often you should read the Word of God aloud, pray, gossip and gossip less.

About Saturday rest.

Following the example set by God Himself, a person should devote one day to rest. His goal is not only to recuperate, but also to do justice to his Lord. This day should be spent in prayer, Bible study, works of mercy. V old testament times the Jews rested on Saturday. But Christ came, he rose from the grave on Sunday, so this is the day the Orthodox now devote to going to church, taking their children to Sunday schools.

On reverence for parents.

Each of us has a father and mother, grandparents. Relationships do not always develop smoothly; the views of young people often differ from those of the older generation. But still, according to the Lord's direction, we must always respect our elders, show them respect and care. Without learning this commandment, a person will not be able to adequately honor God.

Dont kill.

Life is a great gift that the Creator gives to man. For everyone in the world there is a task, a purpose, it is unique. Nobody dares to take away life, not even the one to whom it is given. Therefore, suicide in Christianity is one of the most grave sins... Voluntarily leaving life, a person neglects the greatest gift from God. Many holy fathers say that repentance is impossible behind the grave; the Bible also testifies to this.

In Christianity, abortion (no matter how long) is also equated with murder. The soul is considered alive from the very moment of conception. By rudely interrupting the existence of the baby, the mother interferes with the global plans of the Creator. There will be no soul on this earth, which, probably, was called to do many good deeds. Addiction to tobacco, alcohol and others chemicals is a slow suicide. Therefore addictions are also sins against the 6th commandment.

About adultery.

Marriage in Christianity should be unique and indestructible, regardless of any circumstances. Cheating on a husband or wife may not only be literal, when one of the spouses enters into a relationship with another person. Even the thought of such a thing leaves an imprint of sin on the soul.

It is also illegal to associate with a person of the same gender. No matter how much many people today try to impose the idea that homosexuality is normal, the Bible clearly says that the Lord is against. It is enough to read the history of the punishment of Sodom. The inhabitants of this city wanted to abuse the angels who appeared with Lot disguised as men. The next morning Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, because the Lord did not find in him even the five righteous.

Against theft.

God cares not only about the spiritual, but also the material well-being of man. Therefore, He prohibits the appropriation of someone else's property. You cannot cheat money, rob, steal, give and take bribes, cheat.

Prohibition of lying.

We have already said that language can be a means of death or salvation. The Lord shows us that speaking a lie is bad not only for the liar himself, but can cause great trouble for his neighbors. Not only can you not tell a lie, you should also not gossip, slander, swear.

Ban on envy.

The 10th commandment also protects the rights of the neighbor. The Lord measures earthly blessings to everyone in different ways. From the outside it may seem that your neighbor does not know grief, because he has better apartment, a beautiful wife, etc. In fact, it is not given to anyone to fully understand the other. Therefore, one should not wish for what a friend, colleague, or friend has.

The final prohibition of the decalogue is, rather, of a New Testament character, since it refers not to action, but to wrong thoughts. They are the source of any sin. Let's move on from God's commandments to transgressions.

7 deadly sins

The doctrine of the 7 deadly sins has ancient origins... Why are they called that? Since they excommunicate a person from God, and only He is the source of all goods, including life. Man living in Garden of Eden, could eat the fruits of the Tree of Life. This is now impossible for the descendants of Adam. Christians live with the hope that after physical death they can finally unite with the Creator.

After a person departs from the Law written in his heart, he feels his remoteness from the Lord, loses grace, no longer strives to see the face of God, but naively hides from him, like Adam. It is important in this state to remember the all-forgiving love of Christ and to repent from the heart.

Already in the 2-3 centuries. the monks formulated the basic human sins. It is no coincidence that there are seven circles in the hell that Dante described. The famous theologian Thomas Aquinas calls the same number. It is the named mortal sins that are the source of all the others. Many theologians regard them not as isolated offenses, but as a group of sins.