Red Sea as a God of war, and at Sinai as a teacher." [216]

THE OTHER COMMANDMENTS REVEALED ON SINAI

After Israel had accepted the first commandment with a "Yea,"
God said: "As you have now acknowledged Me as you sovereign, I
can now give you commands: Thou shalt not acknowledge the
gods of other nations as such, for they bring no advantage to those
who adore them; this thou shalt not do while I exist. I have given
you my Torah in order to lend sovereignty to you, hence you must
not kindle My wrath by breaking My covenant through idolatry.
You shall not worship dead idols, but Him who kills and restores
to life, and in whose hand are all living things. Do not learn the
works of other nations, for their works are vanity. I, the Eternal,
you God, rule over zeal and am not ruled by it; I wait until the
fourth generation to visit punishment. But those who love Me, or
fear Me, will I reward even unto the thousandth generation."

When Moses heard these words, according to which God would
visit upon the descendants the sins of their fathers only if the
consecutive generations were one after another sinful, he cast
himself upon the ground and thanked God for it; for he knew it
never occurred among Israel that three consecutive generations
were sinful. [217]

The third commandment read: "O My people of Israel, none
among you shall call the name of the Lord in vain, for he who
swears falsely by the name of the Lord shall not go unpunished on
the great Judgement Day." [218] Swearing falsely has terrible
consequences not only for the one who does it, but it endangers all