"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." ~ Matt. 22:37-40
While there are 613 separate commandments found within the Law of Moses, they can be summarized by these two mentioned by the Lord. From these two commandments the general principles of the ten commandments can be inserted as follows:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy hear, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
- Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...
- Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain...
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Honour thy father and thy mother...
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Thou shalt not murder.
- Thou shalt not commit adultery.
- Thou shalt not steal.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
- Thou shalt not covet...
The ten commandments are general principles from which the rest of the law is derived. Individual laws offer greater detail and illustration about the general principle. "The law, then, first asserts principles, second, it cites cases to develop the implications of those principles, and, third, the law has as its purpose and direction the restitution of God's order." [1]
[1] Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, p.12.
[1] Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, p.12.
