Worship of the One

You shall have no other gods before Me ()

Historical Background: God was bringing His people into a land that was filled with people groups who had one thing in common: they were all idolaters. Each of the people groups worshiped a local god, which was in truth a false god.

Yahweh was making it clear that as His chosen people, the Israelites were not to take part in any of the idolatrous practices of the peoples they were to dispossess. The reason God was dispossessing these others was due to the full measure of their iniquities () and their idolatry, which was an abomination to the One True God.

Monotheism or Henotheism?

The way the 1st Commandment is framed has led some commentators to the conclusion that the people were not true monotheists, but actually henotheists (those who worship one god among many). This conclusion is to be rejected because the other so-called gods are not real. There is only One being who is God; by His attributes it is not possible for another being like Him to exist. While the progressive nature of Revelation makes this point more explicitly clear at later times in history, there is no reason not to think the Israelites understood Yahweh to be the One True God, the Creator of the Heavens and the earth

Some commentators

Basic Meaning of the 1st Commandment

Evangelical Commentary on the Bible B. The Covenant (20:1–23:33)

The first commandment (v. 3) is a clear prohibition against the worship of other deities. This is not an admission that other gods exist

While set in language as a negative (Thou shall not), the command is actually a positive. God knew that the people had a nature that inclined them towards sin. He also knew what their entry into the worship of false gods would lead to: judgment and distress. Because of His love, His desire was for them to stay true to the covenant in order that He could continue to bless them.

While set in language as a negative (Thou shall not), the command is actually a positive. God knew that the people had a nature that inclined them towards sin. He also knew what their entry into the worship of false gods would lead to: judgment and distress. Because of His love, His desire was for them to stay true to the covenant in order that He could continue to bless them.

And, God is a jealous God (; ). We view human jealousy in the negative, but since God is the Only One worthy of worship, to give worship to a false god who is not even real is an affront to His majesty. The Worship of the One was so serious that the death penalty was in force for any Israelite who would offer worship to false gods

Example:

The 1st Commandment for Today

God is the Unchanging One, and He is still the only deity that actually exists. Even though billions may worship Allah, that doesn’t make him real. Allah is a false god and Muslims are misguided and deceived. The same can be said for the Buddha and the thousands of gods of India.

The message of the Bible is consistent, and it never veers from proclaiming Yahweh alone is God and He is the Only One worthy of exclusive worship. (, , , ).

The NT reveals that God expresses Himself most clearly in the person of Jesus (; ; ; ). Because Jesus is the God-man, the 2nd person of the Trinity in the flesh, we worship Him as God. And, as God’s final revelation of Himself, Jesus is to be worshiped exclusively. This pose serious problems in our multicultural, diversity worshiping world. Being exclusive to the point of stating that others are wrong is publically unacceptable.