10 - Law & Responsibility

The number ten in Scripture embodies divine order and the solemn responsibility entrusted to humanity under God's law. It appears prominently in the giving of the Ten Commandments, establishing the moral foundation for Israel's covenant relationship, and in the ten plagues that secured their deliverance from bondage, revealing both judgment and redemption. This motif extends to the ten virgins awaiting the bridegroom and the tithe as an acknowledgment of God's ownership, collectively pointing to the law's role in guiding believers toward faithful obedience in the redemptive plan.

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Meaning: Divine order, law, responsibility

Key Occurrences

Ten Commandments (Ex 20)
Ten plagues (Ex 7-12)
Ten virgins (Matt 25:1)
Tithe - a tenth (Mal 3:10)
Ten days of testing (Rev 2:10)

Key Passages

Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-17

A¹nd God spake all these words, saying,

² I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³ Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵ Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶ And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷ Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸ Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁰ But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ¹² Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ¹³ Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴ Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵ Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶ Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. ¹⁷ Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Did You Know?

Ten is the number of law and responsibility. The Ten Commandments, the ten plagues, the ten horns of the beast. Ten often marks the full measure of something.

The tithe was one tenth. Ten percent was set apart as holy to the Lord. The number ten reminds us that everything we have belongs to God and a portion is returned in acknowledgment.

The ten virgins in the parable represent the full company of those who profess to belong to the Bridegroom. Ten is the complete number awaiting His return.