you shall have no other gods before me

Well, we have finally come to the final message on the Ten Commandments. And for all those who have been following us through this series you know that we have been working our way backwards—counting down the commandments. Today we conclude by looking together at the first of the Ten Commandments: You shall have no other gods before me.

Now as we have been seeing all along this series, each of these commandments holds an application that goes broadly beyond the immediate command itself. For example, we have seen that the commandment to honor father and mother is about proper relationship with all authority. So if you have been with us throughout this series then hopefully this does not come as a surprise today that we will be talking about more than simply rejecting false gods.

You see, there are two equally appropriate points of view we can pursue with this command. There are two different angles we can take in considering this command. Question 94 of the catechism points us toward a two part answer in regards to the first commandment. The first part of the answer tells us that we ought to avoid any divine superstitions that would take the place of the one true God—or simply said, that we put no other gods before the LORD. The second part of catechism question 94 goes on to say that the first commandment also implies we should do everything we can to make the LORD first in our lives.

It’s this second point of view that we can see displayed in the passage from Exodus 33. The encounter between God and Moses in this Bible passage gives us a glimpse into what it is like to put God first. The catechism would say it is not enough to avoid false gods—so let’s go that extra step and consider what life is like when we place God as the top priority above all else in this world.

Exodus 33:12–23 NIV

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” 14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” 18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” 19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Background with God and Moses

To help us get into this teaching of the passage from Exodus for today, it would be good to wrap just a little bit of context around these events. The conversation between God and Moses that we read takes place after the Israelites fall into the sin with the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. So this encounter in Exodus 33 happens when Moses goes back up the mountain after the people of Israel had sinned.

verses 1-6 — God will send the Israelites to the promised land without him

Take a look with me then at how chapter 33 begins, because there are some very key events that take place right here at the start of the chapter. The first thing we see in the passage is that in verses 1-6 of Exodus 33 there is a conversation between God and Moses where God says to Moses that he will send Moses and the Israelites to the promised land without him. So after the Israelites sinned with the golden calf God returns by telling Moses that his presence will not be going along with them. And beginning with verse 12 and following we get the response that Moses brings back to God concerning this news. But hold on. Let’s not overlook verses 7-11. Here we get this side story about the tent of meeting. And it may seem like an unrelated episode to stick into the middle of such a critical moment of tension between God and Moses, but let’s consider that for moment.

verses 7-11 — Moses and the tent of meeting

In verses 7-11 we get this story about the tent of meeting. The most important detail in this story is that the tent where God’s presence comes to rest is outside the camp. And we should also note that although Moses goes to the tent to meet with God, the other Israelites would stay behind in the camp. Maybe you were not aware of this, but a huge portion of the book of exodus is taken up with instructions for building the tabernacle. At this point in the story the tabernacle is not yet constructed. The looming question hanging over most of the book of Exodus has to do with whether or not God’s presence would ever come to dwell among the people. And the point to these opening verses in Exodus 33 is to make certain that God’s abiding presence with Israel is in serious jeopardy.

verses 12-23 — the covenant presence of God renewed with Moses

Now we see what this passage for today’s message is all about. This story has everything to do with the presence of God. Now, stay with me here because it may seem right now that we’ve been steering off on a tangent. I mean, isn’t this message supposed to be about the first commandment? What’s up with all this talk about Moses and the presence of God? Let’s tie it back together so you know where we’re going.

God’s covenant renewal is based upon the presence of God

As I’ve already mentioned, the angle we’re taking on this commandment today is to ask the question, what does it take to put God first in out lives? Right? The catechism instructs us that it is not enough to simply have no other gods before the LORD. We are compelled to go further and do whatever it takes to make sure that the one true God of the Bible is first and foremost at the center of everything we do. And isn’t this the very thing that Moses is after as well here in this passage? The adamant request of Moses to have God’s presence remain with Israel gives us a perfect glimpse into what it means to place God at the center.

So here’s what we need to do together in order to make sense of this. First let’s work together through the conversation between God and Moses that we read about here in Exodus 33 and specifically see how it is a conversation that speaks about the first commandment. Then we can spend a few minutes making some applications to see how this passage sets forth a principle for us to follow as a way of pursuing the first commandment in our own lives.

What Is Moses Asking God to Do?

pronoun “you” is singular; Moses insists that God must be present with “us”

The first thing we see Moses doing in verses 12-13 is setting forth the favor that he has gained with God. And God replies in verse 14 that he will go with Moses. There are two very important details in the verse that we need to pick up. First, the pronoun, “you,” in verse 14 is singular. God is talking just to Moses. God is saying, “My presence will go with you [Moses], and I will give rest to you [Moses].” You see, this is what prompts Moses to respond in verse 15, “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” You see, Moses is insisting, no more of this tent of meeting outside the camp. Moses insists that God’s presence must come directly among the people when they leave Sinai and travel to the Promised Land.

Hebrew pani = presence, face

The second detail we need to point out in these verses has to do with the presence of God. The Hebrew word for presence is the word pani. It literally means “face.” This word is repeated so many times throughout this passage that we cannot help but notice how centrally important it is for the readers of this passage to understand the significance of God’s face—or presence. Look at verse 15. “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.” Verse 14 literally reads, “The LORD replied, ‘My face will go with you.’” Moses asks to see God’s glory and the LORD replies in verse 20 by saying, “You cannot see my face.” And in verse 23, “my face must not be seen.”

So this whole idea about God’s face—or his presence—is a big deal. Moses is very insistent that God’s face must go with Israel from the mountain. God is very insistent that—while his face goes with them—it cannot be seen. Not even Moses may look directly upon the face of God—or presence of God.

We need to remind ourselves of what the presence of God was like in the Old Testament. Since you and I live after Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church we have this understanding that God’s presence is everywhere today. God is just as much present here in the midst of us as believers as he is present in every other church where believers are gathered. But remember that in the Old Testament God’s presence was localized to one place at a time. This explains why the Hebrew word for face is also understood to mean presence. So even though God is all-knowing and all-seeing, Moses and the Israelites understood God to only be face-to-face present in one place at a time. And in this passage, that place is Mount Sinai.

Moses is insisting that God be active and evident in the lives of the people of Israel and in the lives of everyone who they come to meet

The kind of presence that Moses is asking of God is so much more than simply knowing and seeing what happens to Israel. Moses is asking for more than God to simply be aware of what happens. Moses is asking for more than God to passively go along. By insisting upon God’s face—or presence—Moses is insisting that God be active and evident in the lives of the people of Israel and in the lives of everyone who they come to meet. Moses is saying, don’t just be present in the background somewhere, let everyone know you’re here.

not just close by or aware, but giving your full attention

You know, sometimes at home it happens that I’m reading a book or typing an email or something while my kids are trying to talk to me. I’m ashamed to say that I don’t always put the book down and give them my full attention. I may be physically present in the same room with them, but I’m not really present in the sense of giving them my full attention. That’s what Moses is asking for. It’s not enough that God is omnipresent and knows what happens around the world. Moses wants God’s full attention. And Moses wants everyone to know that God is giving Israel his full attention.

Why Is Moses Asking for God’s Presence?

But why is Moses asking for this? What is it that Moses really wants here? We get a picture of this in the request that Moses makes in verse 18. After God agrees that his face will go with the people of Israel, Moses says to God, “Now show me your glory.” And notice that God responds not by agreeing to show his glory, but he says that his goodness will pass in front of Moses. God knows that Moses cannot see his face and live. But God agrees to something of this request because it is so important to Moses.

God’s presence passing in front of Moses is an example of God renewing the covenant relationship with Israel

This act of God’s presence passing in front of Moses is an example of God renewing the covenant relationship with Israel. Moses is asking God to confirm again the promise he made to Abraham. This is why he wants God to show his glory; it confirms and renews the covenant.

Remember the covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis 12.

Genesis 12:2–3 NIV

2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Moses knows that the presence of God—the face of God—is a necessary part of blessing

The covenant is all about blessing. It’s about God’s blessing and about the children of Abraham being a blessing for others. Moses insists on God’s presence and he insists on renewing the covenant because he is concerned about the blessing. The blessing of God is where Moses is going with all of this. And Moses knows that the presence of God—the face of God—is a necessary part of this blessing.

the real blessing comes from a life that moves and interacts with the movements and interactions of God

You see, the blessing comes along with the presence. Moses is not just interested in superficial blessings like money or good health. Sometimes when you and I think of God’s blessing, those are the kinds of things we think of; but Moses is after something more than that. Moses is after the eternal blessing of a close relationship centered upon the God of the universe. Moses knows that the real blessing comes from a life that moves and interacts with the movements and interactions of God.

It’s as though Moses is saying to God, “Your presence is necessary because the blessing of living close to you is top priority.”

Covenant Blessing – Commandment Blessing

And that brings us back around to where we started today. The first commandment instructs us to keep God as our center priority. And the reason we want to do that, the motivation we have to keep God as number one should be no different for us than it was for Moses. It has to do with God’s blessing.

through Jesus you and I are included as children of God who continue living out the story of God’s covenant relationship

People of God, God wants to bless you with his faithful eternal presence. It is God’s desire to shower his people with blessings in such abundance that those blessings spill over. And when those blessings spill over then you and I become agents of blessing to those around us. God uses us to bless other people. Remember, that’s exactly what God promised Abraham way back in genesis 12—that all people would be blessed through him. We have received that blessing through Jesus Christ. And now through Jesus you and I are included as children of God who continue living out the story of God’s covenant relationship.

Just like with Moses, this isn’t about material blessings. This isn’t about making deals with God—that if God will give you lots of nice things and if God will give you good health, then you promise to be good, or something like that. This isn’t about making a deal.

No. This is not about what you want to get. This is about what God wants to give. He wants to give you his blessing. But God knows—and Moses knew too—that in order to get that, the way to get that blessing was to live close to God. Moses knew that the people of Israel needed to be close to God’s presence in order for the blessing of God to come upon them. And it’s no different for us here today.

after Sinai, God’s presence moves from the tent of meeting on the outside of the camp to the tabernacle at the center of camp

Of course we no longer deal with God’s presence as something confined to a temple in Jerusalem. Since Pentecost, we live as those who experience the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. But we also live with the same truth of the first commandment that Moses and the Israelites lived with. So don’t be afraid to approach God with boldness as Moses did. Don’t be afraid to insist upon God’s covenant promises. Don’t be afraid to ask for God’s blessing—because he desires to give it.

commandments are less about defining boundaries to stay within, more about defining proximity to the center

Sometimes we reserve blessing for sneezes. Somebody sneezes and we say, “God bless you.” God’s blessing is nothing to sneeze at. God’s blessing requires devotion and priority. When God says, “You shall have no other gods before me” it is not because he is looking for a way to punish us. No, just the opposite. When God says, “You shall have no other gods before me” he’s looking for a way to bless us.