[Pastor Rune Enoe]

Brethren and Sistren

It has come to my attention that not only are many of our members unable to correctly recite all of The Ten Commandments, but those who can remember even a few, invariably get the sequence wrong.

Let me set the record straight: The commandments do not come in a random sequence. With the exception of the 7th Commandment -- an obvious anomaly -- the Commandments appear in order of severity. The harsher the punishment, the closer to the top.

I hope this handy color chart will make the intrinsic beauty of God's word more comprehensible to all:

Commandment	Alert Level	Punishment
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.	Severe	Genocide. Entire cities with men, women, children and animals must be killed. (Deuteronomy 2:33-34, Numbers 21:34-35, 1 Samuel 15:2-3, Joshua 6:21. Joshua 10:40) In some cases you can keep the girls alive for raping. (Numbers 31:15-18)
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image	Severe	Genocide. Entire cities with men, women, children and animals must be killed. (See above.)
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;	High	Capital punishment (Leviticus 24:16, Deuteronomy 18:20, Mark 3:28-29)
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.	High	Capital punishment (Exodus 31:14, Exodus 31:15, Exodus 35:2 Numbers 15:32)
5. Honour thy father and thy mother:	High	Capital punishment (Exodus 21:15, Exodus 21:17, Leviticus 20:9)
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.	High	Capital punishment (Leviticus 20:10)
6. Thou shalt not kill.	Elevated	Capital punishment in some cases (For killing Cain, yes, for killing Abel, no: Genesis 4:15).
8. Thou shalt not steal.	Guarded	Excessive fines or slavery: (Exodus 22:1-3). Only in rare cases such as stealing slaves, capital punishment (Exodus 21:16). Thieves caught in the night are to be executed (Exodus 22:1-3)
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.	Low	Despisement and scorn (Proverbs 12:8)
10. Thou shalt not covet . . .	Low	Despisement and scorn (Romans 7:7-8)

[Pastor Billy-Reuben]

Originally Posted by Prune Danish

Let me set the record straight: The commandments do not come in a random sequence. With the exception of the 7th Commandment -- an obvious anomaly -- the Commandments appear in order of severity. The harsher the punishment, the closer to the top.

Thanks for that, Brother. I knew that God listed the commandments in that order for a reason, but I never put the two and two together to figure out what that reason was.

Pastor Billy-Reuben

[Talitha]

I've just printed that off as a handy reference to keep in my Purse.

Who needs Secular Laws when it's all so simple?

[Nobar King]

Thank you for posting that comprehensive chart, Pastor. One needs all the reminders one can get of God's holy law.

[Ezekiel Bathfire]

Why thank you Pastor Prune, you have satisfied a long felt want. Now, seeing the Commandment and their punishments, do you notice what is missing? Imprisonment!

The only mention of imprisonment in the Old Testament is when Ataxerxes issues a Godly decree that all shall obey Ezra.

Ezr:7:21: And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,
Ezr:7:26: And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

But this is a one-off job, suited to the circumstances.

In the New Testament, we see that Saul speaks of imprisonment, but clearly this is Ungodly:

Ac:22:19: And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
Ac:22:20: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

And

Heb:11:36: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

Note - all imprisonment was done by heathens. It is therefore clear that prisons are not a Godly thing.

You can see that the cost of imprisonment in the USA in 2001 was $46Billion, by 2006, it was $60Billion. There are tax-dollars to be saved here, and these savings mean less tax for us all, at least $200 for every man woman and child! Thus a family of 8 would get $1,600 each and every year!

I hear lieberals saying prison doesn’t work – prison is inhuman – prisons are universities of crime! Well, I suggest we take them at their word. The Godly punishments are the just ones.

So we are looking at the death penalty for adultery upwards (plus abominations, wayward sons, and witches, etc.) fines or death for thieves and despising and scorn for the rest.

Now despising and scorn doesn’t seem too bad, but I would say that this means not being able to take part in business of any sort, having no access to public services, welfare or health treatment, and no home; quite effective and entirely cost-free.

[PrayerIsFun]

Originally Posted by Prune Danish

Let me set the record straight: The commandments do not come in a random sequence. With the exception of the 7th Commandment -- an obvious anomaly -- the Commandments appear in order of severity. The harsher the punishment, the closer to the top.

No disrespect of your position but you are not God. Where in the Bible does it say that the order of the commandments designates their severity of punishment and where in the bible does it say that God mistakenly ordered the commandments? Calling the order an anomaly is a bold statement, even by you. Too much pride?

[Brother MoJo]

Friend, Brother Prune hardly means that as an insult to God. He is simply pointing it out so that we may contemplate why it is so. Clearly, God has some reason he wants us to see in the 7th Commandment being out of place.

As to the severity, all of the punishments are from scripture so they are completely Biblically founded and thus what God says on the issue.

[Pastor Rune Enoe]

Originally Posted by PrayerIsFun

No disrespect of your position but you are not God. Where in the Bible does it say that the order of the commandments designates their severity of punishment and where in the bible does it say that God mistakenly ordered the commandments? Calling the order an anomaly is a bold statement, even by you. Too much pride?

Question: "Where in the Bible does it say that the order of the commandments designates their severity of punishment"

Nowhere does it say so in so many words. If there was such a verse in the King James Holy Bible (1611) I would of course have posted my little sermon in the "Favorite Bible Verses"-forum instead. Am I right?

However, God's plan should be clear to see for all. Consider the draconian punishment for breaking the First Commandment:

Deuteronomy 13:12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,
Deuteronomy 13:13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
Deuteronomy 13:14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;
Deuteronomy 13:15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

. . . men, women, children and even the animals are to be killed for following other gods. Praise the Lord. Compare this with the Tenth Commandment: Thou shalt not covet - for which the Bible does not specify any particular punishment.

Of course this is not completely true, since Our Lord Jesus has added that coveting the wife of a fellow True Christian™ falls under the 7th Commandment, all of which goes to reiterate what I said, i.e. that the 7th Commandment is an obvious anomaly:

[Old Iron Crotch]

Originally Posted by Prune Danish

. . . men, women, children and even the animals are to be killed for following other gods.

Animals don't follow any gods, at least not that we can observe. Unless, of course, you're including the rabbits in "Watership Down," but they were acually metaphors for different aspects of human societies.

[Pastor Isaac Peters]

Originally Posted by Old Iron Crotch

Animals don't follow any gods, at least not that we can observe. Unless, of course, you're including the rabbits in "Watership Down," but they were acually metaphors for different aspects of human societies.

What you can observe and what the Almighty can observe are just a little different, no? Besides, even if the animals themselves don't follow any gods, it's well known that animals can be vectors for demons.

[yak]

I have been a christian all of my life and i disagreed with most of this "handy color chart."
And i dont mean ANY disrespect, but who is going to inforce GENOCIDE as a punishment?!?!? if that were a reality whole civilizations would be destroyed, is that the perfect will of God?.....No, my understanding is that God wants us to have free will, and choose for ourselves what we believe.
As for changing the order of the 10 commandments to what suits you, and then preaching that it should be so, unless I've missunderstood your point. sounds twisted.

Note:
This site was brought to my attention by comedy genius Ricky Gervais who openly ridiculed it in his latest audiobook discussing Law and Order. Ricky Gervais has always been open about his "faith" and makes it clear that he is an athiest, but this was easy pickings for him as he read aloud to thousands of people the content of this post and listed the 10 commandments, their alert level and punishments.

[Wide-Open]

Friend, we don't know who Ricky Gervais is, but we have passed your information to our Joo lawyers.

He can expect a knock on his door soon!

[eliot mayfield]

I believe theft is punishable by secular law as well as Biblical law.

[Jeb Stuart Thurmond]

I'm updating the table with scripture. So far I've got the capital punishment ones covered:

Commandment	Alert Level	Punishment
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.	Severe	Genocide. Entire cities with men, women, children and animals must be killed. (Deuteronomy 2:33-34, Numbers 21:34-35, 1 Samuel 15:2-3Joshua 6:21. Joshua 10:40) In some cases you can keep the girls alive for raping. (Numbers 31:15-18)
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image	Severe	Genocide. Entire cities with men, women, children and animals must be killed. (See above.)
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;	High	Capital punishment
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.	High	Capital punishment (Exodus 31:14, Exodus 31:15 , Exodus 35:2)
5. Honour thy father and thy mother:	High	Capital punishment (Exodus 21:15, Exodus 21:17 , Leviticus 20:9)
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.	High	Capital punishment (Leviticus 20:10)
6. Thou shalt not kill.	Elevated	Capital punishment in some cases (For killing Cain, Yes, for killing Abel, no: Genesis 4:15.)
8. Thou shalt not steal.	Guarded	Excessive fines or slavery: (Exodus 22:1-3). Only in rare cases such as stealing slaves, capital punishment: (Exodus 21:16)
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.	Low	Despisement and scorn
10. Thou shalt not covet . . .	Low	Despisement and scorn

[Wide-Open]

Excellent idea Brother, before anyone thinks we are making this up.

[yak]

i apologise that this is a subject i have never really looked into. the examples you have given are helpful, but surely the same punishments cannot still apply to todays society?
it is only my intention to understand the reason behind the changing the order of the 10 commandments and i dont mean any offence.

[Jeb Stuart Thurmond]

Another of God's punishments for not obeying His commandments is forcing people to eat their children:

And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. -- Leviticus 26:29

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters. -- Deuteronomy 28:53

I'm not sure where to put it, since no particular commandment is mentioned. It just seems to be "any of the above".

[eliot mayfield]

Originally Posted by yak

i apologise that this is a subject i have never really looked into. the examples you have given are helpful, but surely the same punishments cannot still apply to todays society?
it is only my intention to understand the reason behind the changing the order of the 10 commandments and i dont mean any offence.

Well, of course since Jesus told us to obey secular law, we can't yet follow this to the letter. But as soon as we get biblical law in the USA, of course we will apply these to the letter.

[eliot mayfield]

Originally Posted by Jeb Thurmond

Another of God's punishments for not obeying His commandments is forcing people to eat their children:

And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. -- Leviticus 26:29

And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters. -- Deuteronomy 28:53

I'm not sure where to put it, since no particular commandment is mentioned. It just seems to be "any of the above".

Maybe whoredoms, God hates whoredoms and it's not in the top ten.

[yak]

what about forgiveness?
surely if you were to get biblical law in the USA you would choose to forgive rather than kill?