It is easy to read The Ten Commandments and conclude that God was giving Israel a list of rules to govern themselves by - that's precisely what happened. However, if we can be a little more thoughtful about the context of the 10 Commandments we can see that God is not simply establishing a set of laws, but He is also making statements about the cultural values that He sought to establish among the Israelites.

The Ten Commandments were the seminal word from God about a new culture that He was establishing among a people that were newly freed from 400 years of slavery. Instead of looking at the Ten Commandments simply as a list of rules to keep, it might be helpful to look at them as a list of cultural values. For instance, instead of seeing the command not to lie as simply a rule to keep, maybe we should also view it as God saying "I value truth, therefore in our culture we do not lie." Likewise the command not to murder could be understood as God valuing life therefore in His community we do not murder.

You could read the remaining Commandments as making the following cultural value statements:

1) You shall have no other gods before me. (Ex. 20.3)
- God, His will and His nature are prioritized in this new culture.
- The worldview of this culture is founded on who God is and what He is like.
- This culture values a monotheistic view of God.

2) "You shall not make for yourself an idol...you shall not bow down to them or worship them." (Ex. 20.4)
- This culture values the proper relationship of creation to Creator.
- This culture does not value idols and idolatry.

3) You shall not take the Lord's Name in vain. (Ex. 20.7)
- This culture values reverence and views some things, such as God's Name, as sacred.
- This culture values God's Name so highly that those who speak on His behalf are held to higher standard.
- This culture protects the sanctity of God's Name.

4) Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (Ex. 20.8)
- In this culture we are not workaholics and other people are not machines. We provide rest from work and prioritize a day to re-connect with God.
- This culture trusts in God for provision, not the work of our hands.

5) Honor your father and mother. (Ex. 20.12)
- This culture values family, specifically those previous generations that have paved the way and cared for us.
- This culture is a culture that honors it's elders.

6) You shall not murder. (Ex. 20.13)
- This culture values life and believes that everyone is created in God's image.
- This culture believes that it is God's to avenge and we do not have that right.

7) You shall not commit adultery (Ex. 20.14)
- This culture values faithfulness to vows and relationships.
- This culture values monogamy.
- This culture values marriage, both our own marriage and other marriages.
- This culture views sexual intimacy as something that should only take place within the context of a marriage.

8) You shall not steal. (Ex. 20.15)
- This culture has property rights and protections.
- In this culture we honor other people's rights to own objects and do not honor the type of greed that leads to entitlement and theft.

9) You shall not lie. (Ex. 20.16)
- This culture values facts and objective truth.
- In this culture your word and your integrity are necessary for society to function.

10) You shall not covet. (Ex. 20.17)
- This culture values contentment and gratitude.

This sounds like the kind of culture that most people would enjoy and that many people are asking for.