Most people have some awareness of the Ten Commandments as a set of rules or laws but are less familiar with the significance of their relational context. Interpreters have also frequently examined the commands (law) in isolation from the narrative of Exodus 1–19. In the biblical context the commands are not abstractions of ethical principles. They are woven into a specific account in which the Lord had delivered, forgiven, redeemed, and formed the people. In the preceding chapter, the Lord had invited them into a special relationship as a “kingdom of priests” in relation to the world (19:5–6), and the people had accepted this invitation.

The formation of Israel as the people of God began with their dramatic deliverance from bondage and continues in Exodus 20–23 with the giving of the fir…