1God spoke all these words, saying, 2“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3“You shall have no other gods before me.
4“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7“You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9You shall labor six days, and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; 11for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
13“You shall not murder.
14“You shall not commit adultery.
15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance. 19They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
20Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.” 21The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.
22Yahweh said to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me. 24You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you. 25If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it. 26You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’
The holiness of Yahweh is evident in the unique practices within Israel and in the role of the Levitical System. "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When a man consecrates a person to Yahweh in a vow."
The Levitical laws demonstrate the holiness of God. The Lord is perfect and pure and so requires the perfection of sacrifice before we can enjoy His presence forever (Genesis 3:21; Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Psalms 16:10-11; 40:6-8; 49:7-9; Hebrews 10:1-18). Because sinners are alienated from God’s holiness, the offering of the blood of the sacrifice satisfies the wrath of God against sinners (Romans 3:9-31; 5:6-11). The ritual laws required the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins, that is, to make atonement for souls (Leviticus 17:10-11, 14). The blood of animals was used as a type or symbol of the blood of Christ until Christ actually came to shed His own blood for our sins (Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:30; 27:8; Numbers 8:4; 1 Chronicles 28:9-19; Romans 3:25; Acts 14:16; 17:30-31; Hebrews 8:5; 9:6-10, 23-25; 10:1-18). The dietary laws made a distinction between clean and unclean animals, also to remind the people of the holiness of God (Leviticus 11:1-47; Deuteronomy 14:1-21). God is unique and distinct, and so the people who belong to Him were to be the same among all the peoples of the earth (Leviticus 11:44-45; Deuteronomy 4:1-8; 7:6-11). God is holy; therefore, His people were to be holy (Leviticus 11:44). Now that Jesus Christ has come, the following passages have a bearing on this issue: Mark 7:19; Acts 10:1-11:14; 15:1-29; Colossians 2:16-23; and 1 Timothy 4:1-5. The moral laws of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21) or the detailed moral statutes found elsewhere (Exodus 21-23; Leviticus 18 and 20) also demonstrated the holiness of God as opposed to the sinfulness of man. For example, the one who practices sexual immorality defiles himself and violates God’s holiness. The Lord said, “Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled (Leviticus 18:24),” and, “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine (Leviticus 20:26).” The apostle made the same connection by saying, “Flee immorality…glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20),” “if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master (2 Timothy 2:19-22).” Submission to God’s moral law is so vital that when disobedience is the practice, the Scripture says, “I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21).” See also Romans 7:1-6; 13:14; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:9-11; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 5:1-13; Colossians 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 4:3; 2 Peter 2; and Jude 4.