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Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be
free" (Mark 7: 11).
This the Lord condemned as transgressing the commandment of God. It is not
possible to honour God by the dishonour of parents. Let us now notice the relation of the
commandments the one to the other:--
A | 1: No other gods before Me. "The land of Egypt."
B | 2: No image or likeness. "Heaven", "earth", "water".
C | 3: The Name.
B | 4: The Sabbath. "Heaven", "earth", "sea".
A | 5: Father and mother. "The land the Lord giveth."
This arrangement not only shows the relation of the first and the fifth, but also shows
how an intelligent observance of the sabbath was a preservative from idolatry. It would
not be possible to bow down to images of things in heaven or earth if one remembered
that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is.
The Second Table.
6: Thou shalt not kill.--Although the name of God is not mentioned in the second
table, it becomes abundantly clear upon examination that a right conduct towards our
neighbour is governed by, and is a reflection of, our conduct toward the Lord. "Thou
shalt not kill" takes our mind back to Gen. 9: 6, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man
shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man". Murder aims at the heart
of the purpose of creation, the destruction of the image of God on earth. Murder links
man with Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning (John 8: 44), and with Cain,
who was of that wicked one (I John 3: 12).
7: Thou shalt not commit adultery.--If murder aims at destroying the image of
God, adultery is calculated to corrupt the seed:--
"Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which He loved, and hath married the
daughter of a strange god. The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this . . . . . the Lord
hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt
treacherously, yet she is thy consort, and the wife of thy covenant. Truly did He not
make (the twain) one (flesh)? Yet had He the residue of the Spirit (and so could have
made more than one wife for Adam). And wherefore one (emphatic)? Because He
desired a SEED OF GOD" (Mal. 2: 11-15).
The discerning reader will perceive Gen. 3: and 4: in a clearer light by remembering
the comment of Malachi. The universal association between immorality and idolatry
throughout the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, the story of Gen. 6:, the two
attacks upon Sarah before Isaac's birth, the downfall of Solomon, the vehement protest of
Nehemiah, these and similar examples reveal the place that adultery takes in the attack
upon the purpose of the ages.