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The Ten Commandments for Children is a children’s book by pastor and author Ronald L. Cammenga. This book is unique in that it functions like a devotional but is packaged as a picture book. The content goes through each command listed in the Ten Commandments but also elaborates on them in a way that is easy for children to understand. Each reading within the book contains a passage of Scripture for parents to read with their children. I like this component of The Ten Commandments for Children because it’s a simple way for children to see that while supplemental books can encourage and inform us, only the Bible is authoritative.
Each section of Ten Commandments for Children also includes a verse for parents to memorize with their children and discussion questions to reinforce what each reading is about. The illustrations are well done and are sure to engage both children and their parents. I appreciate that the first few devotionals help children understand that the law shows us our need for Jesus and that our righteousness is found in Him alone. While it may be easy for children to think that they can be made right with God by obeying the Ten Commandments, The Ten Commandments for Children helps them learn that they don’t obey to be saved. Obedience is produced by a heart that has turned to Jesus in repentance and faith.
I believe The Ten Commandments for Children can be a helpful tool for breaking down important biblical concepts, but I don’t necessarily agree with everything in it. On page 29, considering Titus 1:3, it says, “When we are in church and listening to the minister preach, we are listening to the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ.” While Scripture is how God speaks and pastors certainly communicate Scripture, pastors are also sinners and as such may say wrong things from the pulpit even unintentionally.
I fear that teaching my kids that what a pastor says is the equivalent of Jesus speaking is dangerous, especially with the prevalence of spiritual and other types of abuse in the church. Personally, I don’t feel comfortable teaching my children that they are hearing from Jesus as they hear our pastor preach because the Bible doesn’t teach that. While I understand where the author was going, the way this was written lends itself to confusion more than clarification.
While addressing the third commandment on page 31, the author wrote, “When someone abuses God’s name, and we say nothing, we break the third commandment. For this reason, we must choose our friends carefully. We must not be friends with those who take God’s holy name in vain.” Once again, I understand where the author is going.
God is holy and we always want to regard His name and character as such. However, I don’t believe that we are guilty of breaking the third commandment by saying nothing when it is violated because the Bible doesn’t teach this. I wonder how this would play out for children who attend public school and don’t have the option of isolating from kids who may take the Lord’s name in vain.
My children have many friends who aren’t Christians but my husband and I welcome those friends to play with our kids under our supervision because we see it as an opportunity to be the light. We have actually been able to share the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection with these children because we welcomed them to play with ours.
The author wrote on page 17, “Sometimes God uses our good works to turn ungodly people away from their sins and toward him.” Having this written earlier in the book and then later adding the instruction for children to not be friends with those who take God’s name in vain was confusing.
My concern with limiting friendships to those who don’t take God’s name in vain is that it has the potential to communicate that Christianity is about keeping rules to earn God’s favor. This is also concerning to me because it has the potential to mislead children to think that they are right with God because they abstain from taking His name in vain.
I was also confused by some of the words on page 33. This page also addresses taking God’s name in vain and the author states that one way we do that is by neglecting to listen as a pastor prays during a church service. He wrote, “During the congregational prayer, we do not pay attention to the words of the minister as he leads us in prayer.” Earlier on the same page he wrote that using God’s name thoughtlessly in church on Sunday is, “. . . the most serious sin against the third commandment.” I find this troubling because the Bible doesn’t say this.
The sentence refers to sin against a commandment when sin is against God. The author did acknowledge on page 8 that, “Sin is always sin against God.” So it was a bit confusing. The first discussion question on this page asks, “What is the very worst sin against the third commandment? Are you guilty of this sin?” This emphasized the idea of sin against a commandment so it was a bit confusing trying to reconcile sin against God vs sin against a commandment.
This idea that one sin is the worst considering others is something I also found troubling. While sin is serious and the ground is level at the cross, different sins have different consequences. Deeming certain sins as worse than others is dangerous because it can make some sins seem more acceptable when the Bible says that stumbling in one point is enough to separate us from God (James 2:10).
The way The Ten Commandments for Children addresses the Sabbath on page 35 is a bit legalistic as it states, “We can also desecrate the Sabbath by playing basketball or golf, going hunting or fishing.” This made me wonder if other recreational activities would then be acceptable to engage in on the Sabbath since they aren’t the ones listed. I was also curious about the acceptability of the activities mentioned if they occurred at a picnic after a church service.
It gets confusing when stipulations are added to the commandments but are unfounded in Scripture. However, I really appreciated how pages 36-37 addressed the fact that we need rest and that rest is good. That is a timely, biblical encouragement and a good reminder to prioritize rest because God does.
In addressing children honoring their parents, The Ten Commandments for Children states, “Obedience to the fifth commandment continues even when you no longer live in your parents’ house.” While some Christian families choose to live out this commandment this way, it is important to note that the Bible does not teach this. This teaching is potentially dangerous for children whose parents are not Christians or who have parents that are Christians yet seek to conform their children to the image of Christ by controlling them. This may produce children who look moral on the outside but fail to realize they are in desperate need of a righteousness that is not their own.
Since this commandment is for children, it’s a bit confusing to consider why there would be a need to obey one’s parents as an adult who no longer lives with their parents. How would a parent instruct an adult child if they aren’t in the same place? What does this obedience entail? And since this obedience supposedly continues even when children don’t live with their parents, does it ever stop?
If so, when? I believe it is important for children to submit to their parents because even Jesus did (Luke 2:51). But I am troubled by the idea that children obey their parents into adulthood when the command is for children. Adults will always be the son or daughter of their parents but they will not remain children.
A final point of disagreement I have with The Ten Commandments for Children comes from the teaching on adultery on page 46. The author wrote, “Only when someone’s spouse dies may they marry again. It is wrong to divorce your wife or husband and marry someone else while your spouse is alive.” The Bible actually makes provisions for divorce and to neglect mentioning this is to the detriment of our brothers and sisters. I’ve seen more cases than I’d care to admit of men who have claimed to be Christians but have abandoned the faith and thus their wives and children.
Their wives remained faithful in the marriage and God is honored by that. He sees the pain of these women and the weight they carry from their broken marriages and He is easily pleased with them because of Jesus. In Matthew 19:19 Jesus actually made a provision for those whose spouses have engaged in adultery when He said, “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
The idea that marriage may end only when a spouse dies is also deeply troubling because it fails to address marriages where spousal abuse occurs. Although God made marriage to be a picture of His love for His bride, the church (Ephesians 5:25-31), our marriages will fall short because we are sinners. It is unhealthy and inadvisable for two spouses who love Jesus to use the idea of divorce as a weapon against each other. It is a painful reality, however, that even for Christians, sometimes marriages do end in divorce.
Having witnessed many Christian friends walk this incredibly painful path, divorce was not something they ever hoped for or something they ever wished to endure. Divorce is a tough topic that requires much grace, compassion, and tenderness. It is important to fully address what God teaches about adultery and it is equally important to teach that even when Christian marriages don’t end the way we hope, God is still pleased with us because of Jesus.
I appreciate the heart of The Ten Commands for Children which is to make important biblical concepts understandable for children but due to the reasons mentioned above, it isn’t a book I feel comfortable recommending. I don’t find it helpful to “throw out the baby with the bathwater” so if you do purchase The Ten Commands for Children, I encourage you to use your discernment as you read it with your children.
I received The Ten Commands for Children compliments of Reformed Free Publishing Association in exchange for my honest review.
