“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
My Notes
What Does Exodus 20:2 Mean?
God introduces the Ten Commandments with a self-identification: I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Before any command is given, God establishes who he is and what he has done.
The identity precedes the instruction: I am. The LORD. Thy God. Three claims — divine existence, covenant name, personal relationship. You know who is speaking before you hear what is demanded.
The track record follows: which have brought thee out. The God giving commands is the God who already rescued. The authority to command is established by the history of deliverance. You obey not a stranger. You obey the one who freed you.
"Out of the house of bondage" — Egypt is named not as a country but as a condition: bondage. The rescue was from slavery. The commands that follow are the instructions for free people — not the chains of a new master but the guidelines of the liberator.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Why does God establish identity and deliverance before giving any commands?
- 2.How does the rescue from Egypt change the nature of the commandments that follow?
- 3.Are the commandments a new form of bondage or the guidelines for free living?
- 4.How do you hear God's commands — as the voice of a tyrant or a liberator?
Devotional
I am the LORD thy God. Before the first commandment. Before thou shalt or thou shalt not. Identity. I am. The LORD. Thy God. The one speaking has a name, a nature, and a personal relationship with you.
Which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. The commands come from someone who has already acted on your behalf. The God who demands obedience is the God who already delivered. The authority is established by the rescue.
Out of the house of bondage. You were slaves. I freed you. Now listen. The commands are not a new form of slavery. They are the instructions for living in freedom. The deliverer sets the terms — not to re-enslave but to protect what was purchased.
Every commandment that follows flows from this introduction. The authority is not arbitrary. It is earned — through deliverance. The obedience is not oppressive. It is the response of the rescued to the rescuer.
Do you hear the commands of God as the voice of a tyrant — demanding, controlling, restrictive? Or as the voice of a liberator — the one who freed you, now guiding you into the life that freedom makes possible?
I am the LORD thy God. I brought you out. Now live accordingly. The commands are the shape of the freedom. The obedience is the language of the grateful.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
I am the Lord thy God,.... This verse does not contain the first of these commands, but is a preface to them, showing…
The Hebrew name which is rendered in our King James Version as the ten commandments occurs in Exo 34:28; Deu 4:13; Deu…
I am the Lord thy God - יהוה אלהיך Yehovah eloheycha. On the word Jehovah, which we here translate Lord, see Clarke's…
Here is, I. The preface of the law-writer, Moses: God spoke all these words, Exo 20:1. The law of the ten commandments…
The Testimony(or attestation, averment, viz. of God's will; see on Exo 25:16): 36 times in P (cf. ibid.). Elsewhere in…
Cross References
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