The Ten Commandments, perhaps the most widely known part of the Mosaic Law, were given to Israel shortly after their escape from Egypt. The other two parts of the Mosaic law detail ordinances to live by and plans for the tabernacle that Israel used to make offerings and host festivals. These laws reveal the character of a holy God, as well as set his followers apart from other nations.

The first four commandments center around how we behave toward God himself. We should have no other Gods, we will not make or worship an idol, we will not take the LORD’s name in vain, and we will keep the Sabbath holy. Israel’s obedience in these things was appropriate after God brought them out of Egypt and their slavery—as God himself points out in Exodus 20:2.

The remaining commandments relate to how we interact with one another. We must honor our father and mother. We will not murder. We will not commit adultery. We will not steal. We will not bear false witness. And we will not covet. These commandments keep the community of believers healthy—physically and spiritually— and they too point back to a holy God.

As Christians we are no longer under this Mosaic law. We don’t have to go to a temple to make a sacrifice because God sent his only Son, the Lamb of God, as a perfect sacrifice for us all! That doesn’t mean that we should disregard these rules, however. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…”

And remember the words of Jesus when a Pharisee questioned him as to which of these laws was the greatest: “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’”