出埃及記 20 神吩咐這一切的話說： 2 「我是耶和華你的神，曾將你從埃及地為奴之家領出來。3 「除了我以外，你不可有別的神。」
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 slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
當上帝向以色列人發出十誡時，祂不是在真空中而是在對祂的子民的愛的背景下給了他們。 上帝起初立約，並將愛擴展到祂的子民，然後賜給他們十誡。 十誡建立在這樣一個歷史之上，即上帝首先把以色列民從埃及的奴隸制體系中“如鷹將他們背在翅膀上”拯救出來，並希望它們成為上帝的“至寶”。 （出19：4-5）喬希·麥克道威爾說得好：“沒有關係的規則會導致叛逆。” 對於父母來說，讓我們不要單專注於孩子的行為和成績，而要關注孩子與上帝以及與我們的關係。 對於孩子們，讓我們知道上帝（或我們父母）的誡命是為了我們的利益，是出於對我們的愛而賜給我們的。 因此，讓我們出於對上帝的愛而遵守十誡，因為上帝首先愛我們！ （約翰一書4:19）
When God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelities, He gave them not in a vacuum but within the context of His love for His people. God initiated His covenant and extended His love towards His people first, and then gave them the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are built upon the fact that God had first “[borne] them on eagle’ wings” out of slavery in Egypt and had desired that they be God’s “treasured possession.” (Ex. 19:4-5) Evangelist Josh McDowell says it well: “Rules without relationships lead to rebellion.” For parents, let us not focus on our child’s behavior and grades but on our child’s relationship with God and with us. For children, let us know that commandments of God (or of our parents) are for our good and are given to us out of love for us. Therefore, we obey the Ten Commandments out of love for God, and this is because God first loved us! (1 John 4:19)
