Here in Texas, we just passed a law that mandated the Ten Commandments be displayed in every single classroom. It’s not necessarily a done deal yet, but already, many teachers chosen to proactively place them in the classroom regardless.
Honestly, it hasn’t met with much resistance—at least in Greenville. I don’t know if it will; this is a pretty blue part of the state, so I imagine most won’t mind.
Regardless of your specific stance on that law—and I’m sure there are many—this practice is actually nothing new. I remember a time not too long ago when a court house decided to display the Ten Commandments inside their chambers. People sued, and the display was removed.
But it dates back to Deuteronomy 6:9, where Moses instructed the people to write the words of the law “on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
We understand the doorposts. That’s the passage one travels in and out of their house, so a family would see it multiple times every single day, with the idea that its message would resonate inside their hearts.
The gates most likely refers to the gates of the city, and serves a similar purpose. Not only does it remind passersby that the town reveres God’s law, but it also serves as the foundation for any legal practices, economic deals, and military endeavors undertaken.
The gates of the city served as a gathering place for the men of the city—important or not—to discuss current events. That’s one reason Lot was found there when the angels came by before the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:1). In the depiction of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31, her husband is “known in the gates” (Proverbs 31:23, 31).
That’s why God wanted the words of the law written in this specific location. If this will be where the movers and shakers of the town do business, they need to do that business in full view of God’s commands. It’s as if God Himself is watching over them. His Words will judge their actions.
I’m not really either for or against the Ten Commandments in courtrooms and classrooms. I think it’s one of those take it or leave it things.
But I am one hundred percent for living our lives in view of God’s teachings. Whether we write them on the gates of our city or not, let’s conduct our business with His Word guiding us along.