At the foot of Mt. Sinai, as the nation of Israel trembled before the evident presence of the Almighty, God audibly spoke, saying, “I am Yahweh/Yehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” That was the first of the ten commands and first on purpose. It’s the most important and foundational of them all. The basic issue in your life and mine, is very simple. It is, who is your god? That ultimately will determine the course of our whole lives and all we will experience here and for eternity.
When you get to the end of the Bible, in the last couple chapters of the book of Revelation, you read about where it’s all headed; a new heavens and a new earth. Revelation 21:3-4, in the vision John received he says, “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” So in the new creation, those who are saved from all the evil and suffering and death of this world, they’re going to have this relationship with God where they are His people and He is their God. And that’s a relationship we choose now in this life. The first commandment is commanding us to make the right choice; have no other gods before Him.
Now, let’s…
Clarify something about the meaning of that commandment.
Other translations translated have no other gods “besides him” because the Hebrew can mean just as much “besides him” as it can mean “before him.” It’s not suggesting that as long as Yehovah the Creator is your main god that it’s okay to have other gods on the side that you occasionally worship and serve. It is rather commanding total and exclusive loyalty to Yahweh; the Creator who had delivered them from Egypt. They are to have no other gods besides Him.
If you put the commandment in the positive form, it is as Jesus quoted to satan, when satan offered Him all the kingdoms on earth if He would just fall down and worship him. Jesus responded, “Be gone, satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.'” (Matthew 4:10).
It’s similar to the commitment made when two people get married. Traditional wedding vows go something like, “I take thee so and so to be my lawfully wedded wife or husband, and I promise before God and these witnesses to love and honor you in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in prosperity and in adversity, and I promise to FORSAKE ALL OTHERS and keep myself to you and to you only, so long as we both shall live.” Marital vows are a pledge to a lifetime exclusive relationship. That’s what God requires of us. We must forsake all others and keep ourselves to Him and to Him only as our God so long as we live.
The Lord had proven very clearly to Israel and would continue to prove…
His worthiness of their exclusive loyalty.
In Egypt they worshiped the god Khnum, whom they believed was the guardian of the Nile River. They worshipped Hapi, believed to be the spirit of the Nile, and Osiris, whose life blood was believed to be the waters of the Nile. But you remember what the Lord did to the Nile? He turned the Nile into blood. They worshipped Heqet, who was pictured as a froglike god, and in mockery of him the Lord brought a judgment of frogs galore over all Egypt. They worshiped Geb, the god of earth, the dust of which the Lord turned into gnats. There was Seth, the protector of the crops, which the Lord destroyed with locust and hail. And there was Ra, the god of the sun, the sun which the Lord veiled for three days in Egypt, and so forth. Every one of those plagues was a mockery of one or more of Egypt’s gods. And it made it crystal clear that Yahweh, the Creator, who had come to save Israel, was far more than all the gods of Egypt combined. Anything those gods could do for you, Yahweh could do more.
God’s worthiness of their exclusive loyalty was demonstrated also in what He had done for them. In Egypt the Israelites were just nameless faceless drones. Their lives were endless work, endless misery. It was an existence like being oxen used for plowing. They were making bricks endlessly, they were dragging stones endlessly, they were building buildings endlessly under the harsh task masters of Egypt. Every night they went to bed exhausted. Every day they got up exhausted, and looked forward only to more slavery. There was no prospect of life getting any better for them or for their children or their children’s children. But God heard their cries and looked on them with compassion and set them free.
God had been providing for them with food and water and protection as He led them through the wilderness to the blessed land He promised. They would have a bright exciting future if they would just stay with this God. For freedom and rest and a future and all they will have and enjoy, the Lord deserved all their allegiance.
We all have our own story of who we’d be apart from the lovingkindness of God. Besides just the fact that we wouldn’t exist, but what a mess we would be. I know who I’d be; how hopeless we’d be, how lost, how scared and afraid of death, how enslaved to destructive habits and shameful behaviors. We know who we could be and I thought a little bit more about who I’d be without Him the other day. I was working underneath my house the other day, in a tight miserable place, between the floor joists and the dirt, just enough room to crawl through on my belly. It was dark, the air was kind of stale and musty. And you kind of have to fight back the feelings of flipping out. It made me all the more appreciate simple blessings of God, like light, fresh air, the ability to stand up and walk freely. And while I was down there, I remember thinking that that sort of place was going to be my home forever and ever. In my foolish and evil rejection of God in favor of sin, I was walking away from the fountain of every blessing to a dark hole where I would be trapped and ever separated from the God I’d rejected and His blessings. But God couldn’t bear to just let me go. Though I didn’t love Him, He looked on me with compassion. At the expense of His Son, He purchased My redemption. And He worked on my life to convict me, and taught me. He introduced me to His goodness and changed me, brought me to Himself, and said, “Have no other gods but Me. Just follow Me through this life, and you will forever have My love and blessings and things beyond what you can imagine forever.”
He has more than earned the love and loyalty of my heart, and of your heart.
This first commandment would have been rightly seen not just as a command, but as good news, as…
A very liberating and relieving command, because it simplifies life.
It gives just one to worship and serve and seek to please, instead of many. Can you imagine having one god that looks after your garden and the plants in it, and another god that looks after your business, and another who looks after your health, and another god who looks after your children and what happens with them, and another that looks after your travel, and maybe a god that looks after Sunday and another that looks after Monday and another for Tuesday, and when you go to war, another god who oversees that? What a complicated stressful life, worrying about appeasing and feeding all of these gods.
I think of what freedom, some in the city of Athens, must have felt after believing the good news apostle Paul brought them of the one true and living God. Acts 17 tells us of Paul going into the city of Athens and everywhere he looked he saw idols and temples and altars to various gods. It’s said that the city of Athens was a place so full of gods that the Athenians must have needed something equivalent to the Yellow Pages just to keep tabs on the many deities represented in their city. You remember Paul even saw an altar with this inscription on it, “To an unknown god.” There’s a story told in a third century A.D. writing by a man named Diogenes Laertius that may give us the origin of the altar to an unknown god. He tells of a time in mid-6th century B.C. when Athens was suffering some plague, some epidemic, and they assumed they had offended a god who was punishing them. So they made sacrifices to all these various gods who they thought they may have offended, but it wasn’t working. They couldn’t figure out which god was mad at them. So they invited the famous prophet Epimenides from Crete to come help them. Epimenides decided to take a bunch of sheep up Mars Hill in Athens and let them loose and told the people to follow the sheep and watch where they lie down and then sacrifice them to the god associated with the piece of ground on which they laid. (Many of the gardens and areas around buildings and altars in Athens were associated with a specific god.) So basically, follow the sheep and sacrifice them to the god of the place where they lie down. Well, some of those sheep went and found a piece of ground not associated with any known god and laid down. So Epimenides told them that there’s probably another god we don’t know about that’s been offended. He told them to build an altar where those sheep laid down and sacrifice them to the unknown god. And the story goes that then the plague immediately began to subside and was over within a week.
Well, Paul in Athens got into a conversation with some philosophers in the market place and they brought him to the forum on Mars Hill so he could tell a large group of them about his theological ideas. There Paul said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.” And Paul proceeded to tell them about the one God they didn’t know, how He is the One who made the world and all things in it. He’s Lord of heaven and earth. And since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He does not dwell in temples made by hands, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything from us. He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things. He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the whole earth. He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation. He rules over all the kingdoms of men. He has so worked that men might seek Him, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He’s not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, and so on. What a liberating message for those Athenians who saw the truthfulness of what Paul was saying and that they no longer need to worry about having the favor of all those gods. There’s just one you need to deal with. He has all the power. He is more than all the gods combined. And He’s very near and available to us, He wants a relationship with us.
Now, in OT times…
The primary application of the first commandment was to seeking favor or blessings from beings in the spirit realm.
And it applied not just to worshipping other named deities like Baal and Chemosh or whoever. But it also applied to seeking any kind of supernatural help from sources other than Yahweh the creator.
Like witchcraft and fortune telling and trying to communicate with the dead, the black arts, all that sort of stuff. And I bring it up because that stuff is the fastest growing religion in North America right now. It’s called occult spirituality. It is esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices that generally fall outside the scope of the main religions. That stuff was also forbidden in the first commandment, because in it you’re seeking power and help from spiritual sources that are not God.
And I’ve noticed that many Christians today do not realize how terrible it is to dabble in that stuff, and what disastrous demonic things you are opening a door to and inviting into your life by participating in those things. I’ve met Christians who didn’t think it was a big deal to play with a ouija board or go to a psychic or palm reader or fortune teller or a medium. Or even to participate in some of the spiritual yoga stuff. Stretching and exercise is fine and good, but when you’re posing like the Hindu deities, chanting the mantra “Om,” which is a sacred sound in Hinduism, and you’re trying to open yourself to spiritual energies… You should want nothing to do with that. The only spiritual energies you want to be letting in is the Holy Spirit of God.
I want to read to you something God told Israel about that stuff. Deuteronomy 18:9-14, “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering [of course we would all see that as abominable to sacrifice your child to appease some deity. But notice the next things listed as abominable], anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.”
This is part of having no other gods. You do not seek supernatural help or experiences from anyone, but God.
But the first commandment is even broader, more relevant, in application.
Let’s turn to…
Colossians 3:5-6
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness [or greed], which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”
So idolatry is not limited to following after other beings in the spirit realm. It applies to any claims on your “following.” All claims on your loyalty. Greed, to be in love with money, to prioritize making money, is just as much idolatry. Or to elevate anything else to God’s place in your focus and affections. It could be a girlfriend or a boyfriend. It could be the approval or praise of other people. It could be good grades or success in business. It could be a hobby. It could be sexual pleasure or alcohol. It could be your spouse. It could be fitness and beauty. It could be having an immaculate yard. I’ve met some folks who are devoted to having the most pristine yard in the neighborhood. But they don’t have much time to spend with God. If something rivals God in your focus, in your loyalty, in the delight of your heart, you’ve made it your god.
It was a problem in the early church. James 4:4 speaks to some Christians with this problem, “You adulterous people! [Not because we’re cheating on our spouses, but because we’re engaged to the Lord as His bride and it grieves Him like a husband whose bride cheats on him, when we let ourselves fall in love with worldly things so much that it rivals our love for Him.] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says? The Spirit which dwells in us yearns to the point of jealousy.’”
So it was a problem in the church then, and the New Testament predicted that it would be more of a problem in the future. II Timothy 3:1-5 talks about this, “But understand this, in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” So having the appearance of godliness means it’s not that they won’t claim to be Christians, they will appear godly, they will attend church. They’ll have an outward appearance of being a follower and lover of God, but really they love self, money and pleasure. And it says this is what it’s going to be in the last days. I think he’s talking about the days we’re living in; idolatry is prevalent among Christianity today.
So let’s examine our hearts and lives and ask ourselves some questions.
Can God make a demand for anything in your life and you will freely release it without reservation? Is there something you’d be unwilling to give up? Remember how Jesus tested the rich young ruler? He asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. He said, “I keep this commandment and this commandment, and I do this and this.” And Jesus said, “Well, there is one thing you lack right now. Go sell everything you have, give it away and come follow me.” He wouldn’t do it, and it showed him that money was really what had a hold of his heart. So is there something you wouldn’t be willing to give up?
Is there something you will sin for? Would you lie or steal or disobey God in some way to get it? A certain relationship or preference or position? Or a dollar amount? Is there something you will compromise for?
What do you think about in free-thought time? When you’re taking a shower, mowing the yard, riding your bike, out for a walk, commuting to work? We all have time here and there to just think on whatever we want to think on. What do you think about? Whatever that is that you think about the most, isn’t that going to indicate really what’s first in your heart?
I think the history on our phones can be a mirror of our souls. I mean that is if you watch or listen to things, like I do sometimes when I’m doing chores, or when you’re driving or you just have some free time. Doesn’t the history on your phone suggest what you’re passionate about? What do you delight in?
Who will you go serve and worship when you leave here this morning? I know we’ve gathered here this morning to worship and serve the Lord, but who are we going to serve when we walk out those doors? What’s his name? Who’s the god of your Sunday afternoons? Who or what is in charge?
What do you do when you have more than you need and you come upon someone in legitimate need? Not someone unwilling to work, taking advantage of others. But someone actually in legitimate need? I John 3:17, “ If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” So if God has the love of your heart, you cannot close your heart against people who are legitimate need. If He really has the love of our hearts, we don’t just love in word and talk, but we love in deed and truth.
How’s your heart toward other Christians? I John 4:20, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he’s a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” And look at I John 5:1, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him.” So if God has the love of your heart and He’s been first in your life and you have a growing relationship with Him, He’s priority, you’re learning His ways, you’re being filled up with Him… then you’re going to love all of His children. But if our hearts are not right towards God’s children, that’s a concerning thing. Maybe we’ve got some other things that are having a hold of our heart.
How do you use your time? I agree with this saying I heard, “We all make time for the things we really want to do and complain that we don’t have time for the things we pretend we want to do.” What we schedule in and what we schedule out says something about where our heart is, who or what are our gods.
How foolish and how ugly idolatry is, to take the honor that is due the Creator and give it to created things, to trade the fountain that will never run dry for just a cup of water. God designed us for Himself and He made this void in us that He is the only one big enough to fill. We try to fill it with all these other things that people are chasing, the money, the status, the pleasure, all this stuff and nothing does it for us. Remember Solomon in his book of Ecclesiastes, over the mountain of wealth and pleasure and success and power and knowledge, over all that one could gain from the world, he wrote “Vanity. It’s all vanity. It’s all a striving after the wind. None of it satisfies. None of it fills the void in our souls.” Only God is big enough to fill the void He created in us.
If you have God, it not only fills you up in this life, but eventually you have everything, things you haven’t even seen yet, you have. But if you don’t have Him, then you have nothing that lasts more than just a little while. So… we shall have no other gods besides Him.
-James Williams