The people of Israel had lived as slaves under Egyptian rule for four centuries. Someone told them what to do every moment of every day. And very suddenly, they were freed. They had no idea how to live on their own in complete freedom. So God gave them a framework to do just that. The Ten Commandments told them how to live in a proper relationship with God. The Commandments also told them how to live in harmony as a people. While we do not live under the old law, if people today followed the principles of life laid out in the Ten Commandments, the world would be a vastly different (and much better) place.
