The First Promise: Getting it Together (Aug 27, 2023) Exodus 20.1-3

I remember once my dad saying that we did not go to movies or watch tv to learn theology. It struck me as a good statement at the time, but now I think that it is not really a solid statement. I have seen many movies and shows that have great theological themes within them and they stick out to me as something of which to be reminded.

One television show that sticks out in my mind is The West Wing. There were many episodes in this show that dealt explicitly with theology and with biblical themes. The one that sticks in my mind with the theme for today is the pilot episode. Toward the end of this episode, we find the senior White House advisors to the President in a heated discussion with a religious group. As tempers begin to flare one of the group tells an advisor that they have heard a great deal of discussion about the First Amendment but nothing about the First commandment. When pressed to give the First commandment, the answer is “Honor thy Father.” This brings an indignant reply of “No, it isn’t.” Tempers flare again and this time it is hotly asked “Well, what is the First commandment?” From outside the room comes a voice stating, “I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” This man is the President, and he humbles the entire room by knowing the First commandment when no one else was able, especially the religious group, to answer correctly. It was a powerful moment because it showed that even in a television show the Ten Commandments had a place in the story.

The First commandment, or promise as Albert Curry Winn calls it, follows a declaration. That declaration is what some would call the most important part of the Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments. This is a statement from God of who God is and what God has done. In Hebrew, the term Lord is Adonai, which is a secondary name for the name given the people by God. That name is Yahweh. It is a name not spoken by those of the Jewish faith because they do not wish to use the name without reverence and are afraid that they might speak the name without the proper dignity it deserves. It is a name that is gaining more traction in the Christian world. I try not to say the name out of deference to those of the Jewish faith. I do not wish to cause anyone to stumble or to be offended because of what I say. Therefore, it is a name that I will say only rarely and with great respect, not a casual usage.

God give the people God’s name and basically declares that this is who I am. “You have known other gods and their names, now you will know me and my name. You will know that I am the one who brought you out of Egypt when no one else cared about you. You will know that I am your God.” This your is personal. In Hebrew it is singular, so God is saying to each and every one of the Hebrews gathered at Mount Sinai that God is THEIR God. This the God who took them out of slavery, who delivered them from the pursuing Egyptians, and who led them to this place where they were. What was about to be said would be important. In other words, Listen up and learn.

After this introduction, God gives what we Christians know as the First commandment. The Jewish faith has it as the second commandment with the first being the declaration of God. But to us, the First commandment is this, “you shall have no other gods before me.”[1]

What is a god? If one is not to have other gods before or besides the LORD, then one should have a good definition of what a god is. Several definitions have been given for what a god is, and I would like to give them to you so that you can choose which is the best one for you. Paul Tillich said: “Gods are being who transcend the realm of the ordinary experience in power and meaning, with whom human beings have relations which surpass ordinary relations in intensity and significance.” H. Richard Niebuhr said, “Whatever gives me value, affirms my being, is the center of my confidence and trust; whatever at the same time engenders my loyalty, my fidelity-that is my God.” Finally, Martin Luther stated thus: “Whatever then thy heart clings to and relies upon, that is properly thy God.” These definitions give us a glimpse of what it means to call something a god.

But you may say, “That cannot be us. We are monotheists! We believe there is only one God and that is the end of the story.” I wish this statement were true. We are, according to Winn, monotheists in theory but polytheists in practice. We have our gods that we put before the Living God who delivered us out of slavery. What would those be? There are several that come to mind. Winn points out that we have “In God We Trust” on our money, but how many of us would state that we should trust God for our national security? In many states there are measures before the legislatures that will make it easier to purchase and carry a gun to promote the Second Amendment. The flag is a symbol of our country but when there is a man who embraces it to huge cheers and acclaim, then there is a god. Winn states that any suggestion that these things are subject to debate or question will bring a charge of blasphemy and blasphemy is irreverent speech about a god. If you think I am not accurate about this, just try to talk calmly about gun control or that there might just be some black marks in our history that we try to cover with the flag. See just how far you get.

So, what is all of this? Winn states that it is a time when we don’t have everything together. We find ourselves in a tug of war between competing views, issues, products, ideals and more. We are torn by what should and should not have our loyalties. It was the same with the Hebrews. They would be facing the gods of other peoples in the lands where they would be going. God wanted them to know that those gods were not anywhere near as powerful as God was. There is no monotheism at this point. In the First Testament there is what is known as henotheism, the belief that there are other gods but that one follows only one God, and that God is over all the gods. This what the First Commandment is stating. No other gods are to receive loyalty or allegiance from Israel. There is only one god who is to receive those things from Israel and that is Yahweh.

What does it mean though to have it all together? This is where the promise comes into play. It is when we come to realize that there is one living and true God that everything falls into place when we put our supreme trust and loyalty in that God alone. Walter Brueggemann states that the First promise requires that Israel, and by extension us, mobilize all of its life, in every sphere, around one single loyalty. When we do this, we have put it together. No longer are we of a divided mind. We know where we are and what we are to do. We know who we can trust and to whom we can give our loyalty.

It is said that this commandment is the most important one. That all the other nine hinge upon it. We will never be free of killing, of adultery, of covetousness and all the other until we find a single center of loyalty. Until we do, we will find that we continue to do those things that we ought not do, still finding ourselves switching from one god to another, never finding peace. H. Graf Reventlow says that this commandment is not so much a “Thou shalt not” as so much a “there will not be to you.” He states that the commandment is not an imperative but rather an indicative where God declares the banishment of all other gods before the Hebrews. He states that this statement, this commandment, this promise, is therefore a declaration of emancipation, where Israel can freely and gladly serve the Lord without any distracting compromise. In other words, they get it all together.

In the second reading today, we heard Jesus telling those that were following him to hate family and even their life. As Jesus followed the Ten Commandments faithfully, he could not have meant literally hating one’s family. What he was saying was that one could not let one’s family, one’s things, one’s life become the center of all that is. That is reserved only for God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that our purpose in life is to “…glorify God and enjoy [God] forever.” When we break the twisted lives that we lead and focus on the one who can bring us life, then and only then do we have it all together. Are we willing to have no other gods before God? Get it together and let’s find out what that life is like. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.