Revealed in the Law - Commandment 1

Commandment 1 - Divine Authority

"You must not have any other god but me."

Deuteronomy 6-11

In these chapters, Moses gives examples of how to obey this first commandment.

It is not surprising that Moses gives the most words to this first commandment.  It is the single most important aspect about our Lord He wants us to know - that He is absolutely sovereign and requires an exclusive divine-human relationship (4.1) - and we are to respond in faith.  Jacqueline E. Lapsley helps us better understand the importance of this first commandment when she observes:

"The prologue [Genesis 1:1-Exodus 19:2] is, then, intimately connected to the first commandment ("You shall have no other gods before me").  Based on the truth of the prologue, of who this God is, the people are not to have any other gods.  And the first commandment, together with the prologue, serves as the foundation upon which all the others stand.  They affirm unequivocally that the vertical, divine-human relationship is prior to, and sustaining of, all horizontal relationships among human beings." (4.2)

Added context to this in ANE culture is that there were a multitude of gods that needed to be appeased when a person experienced suffering or trouble.  ANE worshippers found themselves frustrated by the lack of certainty of who to ask forgiveness from when they sinned and a common ANE response was to not even try to make sense of life, as we see in the responses of Job's friends. (4.3)  In God's great mercy and love, He gives us absolute certainty by asserting His sovereignty and establishing the exclusive divine-human relationship.  

In today's context, while we still have world religions that worship multiple gods, many cultures also ascribe our circumstances to human behavior alone and approach everything through a scientific lens, therefore eliminating God out of the equation.  As our knowledge of science and the human body increases, our ability to approach life with faithful reasoning needs to increase just as much if not more.  Faithful reasoning never takes God out of the equation as we explore, discover, learn, create, and flourish in this amazing habitat He has given us.

I could fill this whole page with Scripture references to every time the Lord or a prophet spoke about only worshipping Yahweh, our Creator.  Instead, here is a sampling of notable biblical events that pivoted on this commandment:

- The failure of the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai to ascend to the top to become the Lord's nation of priests (Exodus 19), after which led to the giving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).

- All of the worsening failures of the Israelites during the times of the Judges as they did not keep the commandments and kept worshipping other gods.

- David was the only king of Israel who worshipped only Yahweh and no other gods.  He wasn't perfect, but in this key commandment, he got it right and was said to be "a man after [God's] heart, who will do all [His] will." (Acts 13:22)  His son Solomon couldn't get this one right, as well as all the subsequent kings of Israel and Judah, which ultimately brought about their expulsion from the land.  The last thing the Lord says to anyone directly, not through a prophet, is in 1 Kings 11 when He warns Solomon twice "that he should not go after other gods" in 1 Kings 11:10, but doesn't obey and the kingdom is divided with his son Rehoboam. (4.4)  It is astounding to realize that the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:13-16), from a human perspective, doesn't even last one generation!  Praise the Lord that the Davidic covenant was a promissory one and the Lord Himself keeps it for us through Jesus, a son of David (Matthew 1).

This example also highlights another aspect of this commandment in its intentional contrast between the divine authority of God and the human authority of Commandment 5.  The divine authority of God will always be absolute (whether we acknowledge it or not) and perfect, as opposed to the temporary and astonishingly imperfect authority of humans, so we should always look to Him instead of anything or anyone (including ourselves). (4.5)

In these chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses gives plenty of ways the Israelites can keep this commandment, but the essence of the first commandment is expressed in two statements of authority:

Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

Deuteronomy 10:17 "For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes."

Together with the prologue (again that's Genesis 1:1-Exodus 19:2) and next three commandments having to do with the divine-human relationship, God Himself gives us the 5 W's of "who," "what," "where," "when," and "why" laid out for us behind Deuteronomy 6:5 which Jesus tells us sums up the foundation of all the Law and Prophets (Matthew 22:36-40):

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart 

and with all your soul and with all your strength."

Here are a few questions to ponder before you continue:

How is your heart responding to what you just learned?  
Even if we are not actually worshipping other "gods," what other things are we giving authority to or ascribing power to in our lives that diminish His place of authority?  
In what ways does relying on our own knowledge and strength diminish His authority?
How about when we seek everyone else's input on our troubles and decisions, but not His?
In quiet prayer time, ask Him to reveal to you if you have not yet circumcised your heart for Him alone (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Next Post:  Commandment 2

Credit Notes

Previous Posts:

The Decalogue (The Ten Commandments)

Some Background

Introduction

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Last updated: June 28, 2018