TEN COMMANDMENTS MADE EASY

God gave Moses rules for the Israelites to live happily after they left Egypt.

The Bible calls these rules the Ten Commandments and they are found in Exodus chapter 20

Below are the Ten Commandments from the Bible. On the right hand side below are the Ten Commandments as they are found in the King James Version of the Bible, and on the left hand side they are written more simply so you kids and little children can more easily understand them.

No.	Exodus 20:2-17	Ten Commandments For Kids
1	4 You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 You shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my Commandments.	Put God first and Worship God only.
2	7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.	Use God's name with respect.
3	8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shall you labour, and do all your work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day,and hallowed it.	Remember God's Sabbath.
4	12 Honour your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God giveth you.	Respect your parents.
5	13 You shall not kill.	Do not hurt other people.
6	14 You shall not commit adultery.	Be faithful in marriage.
7	15 You shall not steal.	Do not steal.
8	16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.	Do not lie.
9 & 10	17 You shall not covet your neighbour's house, you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbour's.	Do not be envious of others.

Sometimes God's Ten Commandments are divided into two BIG rules.

RULE ONE: Love God with all your heart, soul and might.

(Matthew 22:36-38 Deuteronomy 6:5)

RULE TWO: Love others as much as you love yourself.

(Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18; James 2:8)

Both these two BIG rules are commands to LOVE because God IS love.

(I John 4:8, 16; I John 5:3)

God wants us to keep the Ten Commandments because He loves us and wants us to live happy lives.

(Proverbs 29:18)

A study of the Ten Commandments will teach us HOW to love God and our neighbour (mankind).

(Romans 7:7)

You see, the Ten Commandments are like a mirror. They show us how bad we are and how we need to be clean before the Day of Judgment. That is the Day God will punish people who have broken the Ten Commandments. They will be sent to a place called “Hell” which is a place where God doesn't want people to go.

God doesn't want you to be punished. He so loves you that He made a way for you to be clean before Judgment Day.

To show you what a wonderful thing God did, listen to this short story.

A man had a son who was really bad. He did many bad things, including lying and stealing and found himself in trouble with the police. They said he had to pay a $10,000 fine or go to prison. The son didn't have any money and was about to go to prison.

We are like that son. But God came down to earth and paid our fine by dying on the Cross. Jesus took our punishment on Himself. Then He rose from the dead. That means that we don't have to be punished by God. We can live with Him forever! This also shows us how much God loves us.

So what should you do? Ask God to forgive you for any of the Ten Commandments you have broken (this is called “sin”) and then give your life to Jesus. Read Psalm 51 and make it your own prayer. When you do that, you will have God's promise that you are forgiven and will live forever. Then read your Bible every day (it's full of fantastic stories. Start with the Gospel of John) and obey what you read. God will never leave you!