The Ten Commandments - 2
The First Commandment
Let's look at the first of the Ten Commandments which are found in the book of Exodus and chapter 20 verses 1 to 17. In verse 3 we read: "You shall have no other gods before me." What God is saying here is this: "I alone am God and you shall have no-one else." The Living God is to be worshipped and obeyed exclusively.
When the Children of Israel came eventually to the Promised Land, after their liberation from Egypt, they were surrounded by people who worshipped and served idols and practised all kinds of immorality. False gods, false religion and false worship abounded. Because of this Israel was always in danger of being lured away and forsaking the Lord their God. This commandment was addressed not just to their priests or to those who were a religious elite, but it was for all of the people. It was a law for ordinary people both then and now.
It is a direct and clear command: "You shall have no other gods before me." This phrase "before me" means literally, "to my face." It is a very unusual phrase which was also used in connection with taking a second wife while the first was still alive. It means to break an exclusive relationship. Verse 5 of Exodus 20 tells us that, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." He will not share His worship with any other. He has already explained this in the opening verse by describing Himself as, "The Lord your God" - Jehovah God, the eternal Creator.
This, then, is the first commandment and it is the foundation stone of true faith. There is only one true religion and it is based on the one Living and True God. We discover this in the letter to the Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 6:
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
The first step in becoming a true believer is to give the Living God His rightful place as the one and only Lord. This first commandment, then, is the most important of all and it was highlighted by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as, "The first and great commandment of the law." It is a commandment that is addressed personally to each one of us - "YOU shall have no other gods." The God of heaven, He alone is God, therefore He must be OUR God.
Now, in one sense we all have the Living God as our God by the natural life that we have and through creation, but not all have Him as their God by their own choice. This first commandment is about making that choice for ourselves. God is revealed to us in the world of nature. The whole of creation declares to an open mind that their is a creator. But even this is a limited revelation, declaring only God's handiwork and his awesome power. There is a special revelation of God in His written Word, the Bible. The Bible is a unique book because its writing was guided by God Himself so that we might see Him at work in our world and know the truth concerning Himself. Peter tells us in his first letter, chapter 1 and verses 20 and 21:
"And above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
Paul also, in writing to Timothy says: "All Scripture is God-breathed....."
The Lord Jesus said of the Scriptures: "Your word is true" and He said that the Scriptures cannot be broken, for God cannot lie. In the Bible, then, we have a true and accurate and infallible revelation of the mind of God. In its pages we see revealed the God of creation who loves those whom He created in His own image and who throughout the ages has spoken in various ways through His servants and prophets, but who in these last days has spoken to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are to know this Living God for yourself there are four things that you need to do:
First: you must CHOOSE Him. The challenge of Joshua to the Children of Israel, when they had fallen away to serve false gods, was this: "Choose you this day whom you will serve". Don't put off choosing God for tomorrow is not promised. The way to God is only through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who said: "I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except through Me". If you are drawn to trust in Christ, it is God's Holy Spirit at work in you. Do not resist Him. To choose God in Christ is to choose life, but to reject Him is to choose death and eternal judgement.
The second thing we must do is to REVERENCE the Living God. The inspired writers of the Bible all had a deep reverence for God. One said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". God is Holy and is to be held in awe. We must come before Him trembling and with a sense of our own unworthiness. His Name is not to be used carelessly as we shall see in another of these commandments. But we remember also that this God is a loving God who shows love to those who love him and keep His commandments.
The third thing we need to do, if we are to really know the Living God, is to TRUST Him. King David of Israel once said: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength in Him will I trust". And in Psalm 91 he declares: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust".
So we must choose God, we must reverence God and we must trust Him, and fourthly we must YIELD to Him. We are like the clay and He is the potter to mould and change us. David also said in Psalm 40: "I desire to do your will, O my God, your law is within my heart". We are to be pliable in the hands of God, not resistant to His will and purpose for us.
So why should we choose and reverence and trust and yield to God? Because it is necessary and because if the Living and True God is not your God, you are his enemy and you are not living in obedience to His law. We should do so because it is right to do so. We read in Psalm 100 verse 3:
"Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture".
It is necessary, it is right and lastly it is to our advantage to acknowledge that there is only one God who is to be chosen, reverenced, trusted and yielded to. We see this in verse 6 of our passage in Exodus 20 where we read that "God shows mercy to thousands who love Him and keep His commandments". When we love God and obey Him then we are living in harmony with our Creator, but this is only possible through His saving grace. Then we can say with the Psalmist, "Happy is that people whose God is the Lord".
In the famous English Universities of Oxford and Cambridge it is the chapel that occupies the central place. All the faculties and departments are built around these centres. This should be a picture of our lives for God should be the very centre of our living. Why should we have no other gods? Because there is no other God apart from the Living God, the eternal creator of all. There are many false gods but the Bible teaches us in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 39:
"Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord (Jehovah) is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and His commands... "
What or who is that absorbs most of your thoughts, your time and your affections? Is it the eternal, living God as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ or is it other things or other people? Is the Living God your God and truly Lord of your life today or have you replaced Him with something else? Jesus called this first commandment, "The great commandment of the law". It is a command to love the Lord your God with every part of your being.
So, we have discovered from the Scriptures that there is only one God whom we should worship and He alone is worthy of that worship because He is our maker and in the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour from sin and its eternal consequence. May you choose Him today, reverence Him, trust Him and yield your life to Him and know His blessing and His salvation.