Why were the 10 commandments given to israelites?

Answer 1

Because Moses was God's chosen political and spiritual leader of the Jewish people and so God gave Moses the ten commandments, and the law and tasked him with the responsibility both of teaching these things to the Jewish people, and enforcing its requirements upon the Jewish people, so that the Jewish people might be blessed by God, and so also that the Jewish people might then be a spiritual light to the rest of the world, and by them might the rest of mankind turn from their pagan gods and to the One True God.

Answer 2

The Israelites wanted to receive and observe the entire Torah (Exodus ch.24). God, in order to demonstrate indelibly that the Torah is from Him, decided to give one portion directly, without any intermediary; and for this purpose He chose the Ten Commandments.

Answer 3

Contrary to popular belief, the Ten Commandments have always been, even before man was created. It's the transgression of the Commandments that defines "sin" (I John 3-4).

Sin entered the world through Adam... so, the Commandments had to be in force for him to have sinned.

"...for where no law is, there is no transgression." (Rom.4:15)

"...sin is not imputed when there is no law." (Rom.5:13)

Some men call the Ten Commandments "a burden"... but God gave them as a guideline on how to love! And how to live.

Jesus broke them down into two basic categories: Love God with all your heart and all your being; and Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. That's how the Commandments read. The first three reveal how our relationship to God should be... the last six reveal how we should treat one another... and the fourth Commandment between the two categories, the Sabbath, is the command to remember creation, that He is the Creator - and it is the test Commandment to see if we will obey Him.

The Ten Commandments are the laws of God that He will eventually "write in our hearts and in our minds" when Jesus returns and establishes His Kingdom on earth (Heb.8:10). They are the "terms" of His new covenant. They will be the law of the land and The Bible will be the Constitution by which His Kingdom will be run.

They were finally written down in Moses' day, and preserved for us to read and know today, here in the last days. The Ten Commandments were given for man to learn, and learn to obey - "...that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee..." (Deut.4:40).

Another answer

They act as a moral compass of sorts. Somewhat of a guide to leading a moral and ethical life. Basic principles of what is good and how to live a decent human beings. They are also a reminder from God of what he expects and that he is always watching us and helping us in our day to day decision making and when your decision matters the most.

Answer 4

1) Moses received the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18) as a permanent testimony to the fact that God had spoken these commands to the assembled Israelite nation (Exodus ch.19-20). The tablets were to be housed in the Holy Ark as testimony (Exodus 25:16 and 40:20).
2) Moses was chosen for this role because he was the greatest of the Israelites (Numbers ch.12, Deuteronomy ch.34).

See also:

More about Moses

More about the Ten Commandments

Answer 5

God told Moses to take the commandments to instruct the Israelites.

Answer 6

Jewish tradition holds that God chose them to receive it.

Answer 7

The Bible does not really give an answer. There is midrash (a story told by the Rabbis) that says that God tried to give the entire Torah (including the 10 commandments) to all of the other nations first, but each asked "what's in it for us." Israel, the least of the nations, was the last choice, and Israel only said "we will do and we will hear" (Exodus 24:7). Note "we will do" comes before "we will hear," that is, they agreed to do the commandmets before being told what they were. God's last choice, but the only nation willing to accept the burden without knowing the price first.