Studying the Decalogue and following the Commandments allows for the furthering of one's spiritual walk and leads to greater understanding of God and our purpose on this Earth.

After Moses led the Israelites from Egypt, after they crossed the Red Sea and God destroyed hordes of riding Egyptians with the mighty crashing of waves, the Israelites made their way through the desert to Mount Sinai. Here atop Mount Sinai Moses would receive from God what is perhaps the most important piece of writing in the history of mankind: the Decalogue. According to narratives in the Bible the Decalogue was written in God's own hand, and was meant to be his most perfect law code handed down to man to follow and live by.

This giving of the Decalogue can even in a way be used to distinguish two different ages of man: before Decalogue and after Decalogue. Before Decalogue man followed God but there was no clear code of laws, no definitive testament between God and man that dictated moral behavior. After Decalogue we see man moving into a completely new and in some respects fuller relationship with the Lord.

While the Decalogue was being given, however, we see that man is already to stray from God's commandments. The Israelites, waiting for Moses to return created for themselves a golden idol in the shape of a calf. This would be their Lord, and not the true Lord who at that very moment was handing the Decalogue to Moses.

The Ten Commandments give us one of the earliest and purest communications between God and man. These rules have proven to be the groundwork of our entire morality, and are just as significant today as they were when they were first handed down to Moses some 3-4,000 years ago.

Jesus Christ, speaking long after Decalogue, still realized the significance of the Ten Commandments and spoke of them often, but he realized that there was more to our relationship with God than just the following of laws set down by him. When the man came to Jesus asking how he could be saved, Jesus asked him if he followed all the commandments. The man answered that yes, in fact he did. Jesus then informed him that he must give up all of his worldly possessions and follow Jesus. While the Decalogue remains important for Christians, this is the crux of the Christian faith: Christians do not follow law we follow Jesus.

Now Jesus did speak other times of the Decalogue as well, as well as the rest of the commandments. For Jesus, he saw the Decalogue as best being best summed up in just two commandments that can be found in other places in the Torah and given after Decalogue: Love the Lord your God, Love your neighbor as yourself. These two statements are the sum of the Decalogue and the entire Torah in the eyes of Jesus.

Throughout human history man has always turned to the Decalogue for guidance and assistance in the often murky waters of human interaction and morality. These laws, set in stone, provide the ultimate moral guidance given to us directly by God through the profit Moses. In these days and times they are as important as ever if not more so. Understanding the importance and significance of the Decalogue can aid us in our spiritual journey and our daily lives as well.