12 Days of Christmas: Day 10


On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments are the Christians guide in life. They tell the Christian where he falls short. They also guide the Christian in works of service as the Christian seeks to express love to love in words and actions. If one can keep the first commandment perfectly ("Have no other gods"), then the other commandments are kept as well. If one believes one is keeping the commandments, the ninth and tenth commandments (as I learned them) display to the sinner that the thoughts must be in line with actions.

There are two ways of numbering the commandments. They are:

FirstYou shall have no other gods before me.I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery
SecondYou shall not misuse the name of the You're your God. You shall have no other gods before me.
ThirdRemember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You shall not misuse the name of the You're your God.
FourthHonor your father and mother. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
FifthYou shall not murder. Honor your father and mother.
SixthYou shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder.
SeventhYou shall not steal. You shall not commit adultery.
EighthYou shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not steal.
NinthYou shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
TenthYou shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

As a lord lords it over his people and rules over them, so the Ten Commandments can only lord over us and accuse us of our shortcomings. Yet it is the Ten Commandments that point out our sin and our need of a Savior.

That Savior is Christ the Lord, found in the manger at Bethlehem and on the cross of Calvary.

The copyright of the article 12 Days of Christmas: Day 10 in Lutheranism is owned by John L. Hoh, Jr.. Permission to republish 12 Days of Christmas: Day 10 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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