[Interview] Why the Ten Commandments now?

 

 

 ​The Ten Commandments are a summary and the essence (精髓) of the Old and New Testaments.

God gave the Ten Commandments on the third month of 1446 B.C. That was 3460 years ago. What kind of significance do these age-old commandments hold for Christians living in the 21st century?
Dr. Kang, Shin-Taek answers in the following manner.

“As I was reading The Eternal Covenant For All Generations(萬代): The Ten Commandments, I discovered that all of God’s plans to save mankind through Jesus Christ were revealed in the Ten Commandments. Similar to crossing a bridge to travel from the past to the future, the Ten Commandments act as the link that brings the Old and New Testaments together as one.

Let’s take a look at the author’s explanation.
“The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are compressed into the Ten Commandments. The entire contents of the bible move centered on the ten Words of the Ten Commandments. The closer we look at the Ten Commandments, we can come to a clear understanding of the true image of Jesus Christ and experience and know the width, length, height, and depth of God’s love (Ephesians 3:19).”

The Ten Commandments are my commandments today
The Ten Commandments are not moral laws that applied only to the ancient people of Israel. They are the truth that shows the way of redemption (救贖: redeemed by paying a price) to all Christians and even further, to all mankind. They serve as the golden rule for mankind.

Dr. Kang, Shin-Taek said the following.
“The author’s explanation of the Ten Commandments is entirely different from other scholars. He explains that the Ten Commandments are a living covenant that gives life to all generations of the chosen people, and proclaims over and over that the central figure of this covenant is Jesus Christ. As you read「The Eternal Covenant For All Generations: The Ten Commandments, you will be overjoyed to find the Ten Commandments filled with spiritual jewels more beautiful and shinier than pearls. 
The author explains the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Ten Commandments. 

“It is written (Deuteronomy 6:24) that God gave the Ten Commandments so that people would fear God for their good always. However, it was not possible for fallen man, not even a single person, to keep the law itself; hence, none could escape from the wrath of God. For that reason, God made Jesus Christ suffer the wrath and punishment on the cross in place of sinners to save those who believed. Indeed, the cross on Golgotha is the highest peak of God’s love and its fulfillment promised within the Ten Commandments.”

The 8 ascents to Mount Sinai and the Sinaitic covenant unfolding as though seeing a movie
After fathoming the importance of the Ten Commandments, you begin to understand the significance behind the superhuman strength of Moses during his 8 ascents to the top of Mount Sinai (which is 2,291 meters above sea level) to receive the Ten Commandments.

“As I was reading this book, I vividly saw Moses, an old man in his eighties, climbing up and down the high, rugged mountain like a youth. To learn the will of God, I saw the dedication of Moses as he twice prayed and fasted for 40 days, offered up intercessory prayers for 40 days, and climbed up Mount Sinai eight times. I saw that his hands and feet were bleeding, his entire body was drenched with sweat, and his face? although darkened by the sun? glowed and radiated. The book vividly describes the conversation between the Holy God and Moses and the acts of Moses in his absolute obedience to God. I’ve read books by many world-renowned scholars, but this is the first book that makes you feel as though you are there, experiencing these moments and seeing them with your own eyes.” (Dr. Kang, Tae-Jin)

The significance of the Sinaitic covenant that includes the Ten Commandments also became clear. The Sinaitic covenant was 1) the first covenant of the Redemptive History to expand from one individual to the level of “a nation,” 2) the first covenant that God proclaimed to all the people of Israel through an audible voice, 3) the first covenant to be written down and made concrete, and 4) a practical covenant to be observed in the promised land. The fourth point, in particular, tells us that this covenant applies to us also. Moreover, the Sinaitic covenant clearly shows its relationship with Jesus Christ from the viewpoints that it is 1) a covenant established with blood, 2) a covenant having a mediator, 3) a covenant to be observed by all generations, and 4) a covenant clear on the revelation of redemption.

All the interpretations of this book begin and end with the bible.
The author confirms through this book that the bible can be unraveled to any degree using only the bible itself. All the answers to the bible are found in the bible. Dr. Min, Yeong-Jin, the greatest bible translator in Korea, says the following:

“The author’s explanations are not biased speculations (思辨的: perceives and explains by one’s own rationality) but passages linked by quoting from the context of the Old and New Testaments. When explaining the Ten Commandments, all the explanatory materials were quoted from the Old and New testaments. The author’s ability to pick many related verses from the bible, then to link and weave them and build a fantastic, three-dimensional structure using bible passages is on a level of genius that is beyond comparison to the general suggestions of related verses by the reference bible.”

Just as there is a definite order in the intricately woven spider’s web or fishing net, and as an information or broadcasting system forms an elaborate network to transmit astounding messages, the author’s ability to pick out relevant notes and related verses from the 39 books, 929 chapters, and 23,213 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament and 27 books, 260 chapters, and 7,941 verses of the Greek New Testament and delicately embroider them to convey the bible’s original message is stunning.”
Although the topic of the book is on the Ten Commandments, an understanding of all of the Old and New Testaments will eventually be attained.
“Just by reading this book, readers will be able to closely experience all sixty-six books of the bible.”

Psalm 119 and the Ten Commandments ? their profound and mysterious relationship
Dr. Kang Shin-Taek explains that chapter three is the highlight of this book and must not be missed, as it explains the special and perfect Psalm 119 and its links to the Ten Commandments and the Old and New Testaments. 
“As a scholar who spent my entire life researching the Hebrew language and priding myself as an expert on the Hebrew language, I could not help but be amazed at the author’s deep insight and spiritual beauty at explaining the ten Hebrew words in Psalm 119 by linking them to the Ten Commandments. The author’s amazing ability to address all the verses related to the Ten Commandments without any omissions was as natural as flowing water and truly astonished me. 
Only a person who knows the ins and outs of the original scriptures is able to make such a redemptive historical interpretation that is thoroughly based on the original scriptures.

“A must-read book for Christians all over the world”
Every time a new book in the History of Redemption series has been published, it has received overwhelming rave reviews from influential scholars of theological societies from Korea as well as abroad. This has happened not just once or twice, or by one or two people, but the same phenomenon has repeated each time. 
Those who sent these praises are all upright figures recognized for their scholarly conscience, and it was a common occurrence that these figures are all influential scholars who pride themselves in matters of the bible. This was no exception for the seventh book in the History of Redemption series. 

“I thank and praise God for causing a book like this to be produced in Korea. I also thank the author for writing such a great, compelling book in the history of Christianity. Many scholars have researched and written many books on the Sinaitic covenant and the Ten Commandments, and these sorts of books will continue to be written and published. However, I daresay that this book will remain unrivaled in this field not only in the present time but in the future as well. All Christians in Korea should purchase this book, keep it by their bedside, and read it over and over again. When this book is read, those with little faith will gain great faith, and those with great faith will be more assured and resolute in their faith. (Dr. Kang, Shin-Taek)

The author’s interpretation of the Ten Commandments is superb, to the point that even those practicing Judaism will have difficulties raising any objections. The author deserves all due respect for his thorough research on the Ten Commandments that easily surpasses Judaism and opens new prospects on the Redemptive History. I pray with an earnest heart that God’s work of overflowing grace granted to the author may be expressed into precious books and be used as the bread of life that richly nourishes and gives life to the entire world and all the churches in Korea.” (Dr. Min, Yeong-Jin) 

“A book of international standards that is not short of being praised as a book that represents the churches of Korea” (Dr. Kang, Shin-Taek)
“Readers will feel a sense of overwhelming gratitude to the author for receiving, with no effort on their part, a lifetime of work spent reading the bible over 1,800 times and researching every nook and cranny of every specific detail in tears and sweat.” (Dr. Min, Yeong-Jin)

 

Written by reporter Ho, Joon-Suk