The First Commandment

The Struggles We Face

Humanity has faced struggles since the Adam and Eve took a bite of the fruit. Once their teeth sunk into it and their tongue gathered its taste - they encountered struggle. They realized they were naked. They became full of shame and full of guilt. They hid from God in his divine garden, Eden.

Their struggle spread to all of humanity. As Paul tells us in Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—”

And God saw humanities struggle. He witness disorder flow from Adam to Moses. He witnessed harm done by pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and slothfulness. These sins - these vices impacted the individual and the group causing harm for generations.

But then the Lord chose Abraham. He chose him to be the father of many nations and to bless him! This is where the people of Israel come from - and their history is vast. But they did not grow until Joseph, known from the end of the Genesis, did what was right before all - living a life of character, faith, and integrity. Joseph’s people, Israel, were able to live in harmony in Egypt for many years - until a new ruler did not know them and enslaved them.

This is where the book of Exodus begins - it starts with the cry of a people who have forgotten their God. Exodus 3 recounts that the people didn’t know who they were crying to, but they aimed up to the heavens. And their God heard them. And he empowered Moses to lead them. Moses led them through the 10 plagues on Egypt. He led them through the Red Sea as the Egyptian Army chased heavily behind them. He led them, by God’s direction, into the wilderness. He led them against their foes, the Amalekites (remember them?), and won.

And in Exodus 19, the Lord speaks to Moses at Mt Sinai. This is what he says in Exodus 19:3-6

Exodus 19:3–6 NIV

3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Moses relays these words to the people and their response was this in Exodus 19:8

Exodus 19:8 NIV

8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

The Israelites agreed to do what God will command through his covenant. They could have said “Uh, yeah… no thanks!” but they responded together - all of them - and said “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” They recognized that God is the way, the truth, and the life. And it is from here where God presents his people with the 10 words - the 10 commandments - on how to love God, love others, and live in harmony with Him and all people.

The 10 Words

What comes to mind when you think of the 10 commandments? Do you imagine something like Carlton Heston’s portrayal of Moses in The 10 Commandments?

I remember watching that on ABC yearly growing up. Thinking Moses carried two giant stone tables with 5 commandments on one and the remaining on the other.

Another image that comes to mind is the individuals attempting to incorporate the 10 commandments into American law. Here is an image of Roy Moore, former Alabama judge, standing next to a replica of the 10 commandments he placed inside the courthouse.

But the image here is God speaking to the whole assembly of Israel as he lays out his covenant with them.

These 10 commandments direct us toward the two most important rules to live by - Love God and Love others. Jesus summarizes it in Matthew 22:37-39

Matthew 22:37–39 NIV

37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

These two, the first which requires in broad terms a loyal, covenantal obedience to God, who is put first above all other relationships. The second requires loving (loyal) treatment of other human beings.

The 10 commandments hang upon these two in this way - the first four commandments hang on the command to love God since they describe ways to show covenant loyalty directly to him. The final six hang on the command to love neighbor as self.

The 10 commandments are then both vertical commands and horizontal commands.

The laws work much different from what we know and have experienced. We live in an exhaustive legal system with thousands of pages that address thousands of individual actions by way or requirement or restriction or control or outright banning of those actions.

So, we see that it is not uncommon in the American legal system that criminals evade prosecution because of a “technicality” or a “loophole” in the law. Ancient laws did not work this way.

Ancient laws gave guiding principles, or samples, rather than complete descriptions of all things regulated. When common sense told judges that a crime had been committed, they reasoned their way from whatever the most nearly applicable law specified to a decision as to how to administer proper justice in the case before them.

So, you may be asking: If the commands to love God with one’s whole heart and to love neighbor as self are the two greatest, why weren’t these the first commandments spoken to Israel?

It is because too many people could not appreciate the two great commandments except in reference to the others - including the 10 and the 613 commandments - seeing within them the high standards of God’s holiness. You and I, Israel - corrupted by a fallen world - cannot easily get to the point of what the two greatest commandments are intended to summarize without knowing the 10 first and foremost.

“I am the LORD your God”

So, here we are - looking in on Israel before the living God as he speaks to them from Mt. Sinai. Join me in Exodus 20:1-3, as we read God’s word together.

Exodus 20:1–3 NIV

1 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

In this scene all the people have gathered around the base of Mt. Sinai in order to listen to the words God is about to speak. They were all hearing the voice of God just as Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, and the patriarchs had heard it.

The Lord begins his covenant agreement with them with this reminder - I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

This is a two-party covenant, linking Yahweh - the Hebrew word for Israel’s God - and his people in a formal legal relationship.

This prologue presents to us God’s claim on this people because he has rescued them from slavery. This sometimes called a “hesed relationship” from the Hebrew word meaning “loyalty.”

This relationship shows that loyalty is required in response to loyalty shown.

So the God who is loyal has important words for a nation he has delivered, a nation that has agreed in one voice, “what you say and do we will do.”

“Do not have other gods beside me”

So Yahweh - God - states the first word Israel will have to do to remain loyal to him. He states in Exodus 20:3

Exodus 20:3 NIV

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

Because Yahweh is the Savior of Israel, Israel is to have no other gods. They do not “owe” it to God. It is more of a matter that Yahweh demonstrated his incomparable might and love, his faithfulness to the promises he made to his people beginning with Abraham. This is not payback for God’s deliverance; rather,

God is worthy

This command also sets Israel apart from the other nations. Every other nation in the ancient world worship many gods. Israel is called to worship only one - Yahweh. They are called to be different. They are called to an allegiance to the one true God which is their confession before the other nations, but for that to happen they have to learn: there is no other god but Yahweh.

I have always struggled that the commandment does not say, “there are no other gods before me, therefore do not worship them.”

We must remember that Israel had just spent several hundred years in Egypt, living among a polytheistic people. It is here, in Israel’s infancy, God is teaching them about himself in a way that speaks to them most directly. He is not yet declaring with blazing clarity that he and he along is the only God in the universe - that will come later on in Israel’s journey. But for now, God speaks in a manner that his infant people can readily identify with. “You shall have no other gods before me.”

The first commandment gets to the heart of what it means to be God’s people, not only in terms of what the Israelites have left behind, but also in terms of where they will be going - Canaan, another polytheistic land. When they get there, they have to remember what their God does to those, both divine and human, who oppose him.

Why is this a struggle in my life?

You see, the 10 commandments - and this one - is not understand as an isolated moral maxim, instruction for personal piety, or commands in order for you to win God’s favor. These were given to a people already redeemed - not so that they might be redeemed.

The focus is foster social cohesion, where serves not to make us “nice people” but agents of change, image-bearers of God to be a light to the nations.

As God’s redeemed people, they are to reflect what God is like. And God is the only true God.

But Israel struggled - In Exodus 32 to created a golden calf and worshipped it. In Numbers 25 they worshipped Baal of Peor. The Book of Judges is a cycle of sin, punishment, and redemption. The prophets routinely denounced kings for their failure to keep the first commandment and many others.

There is no doubt that we struggle, just like Israel, with giving loyalty to gods who are not deserving of loyalty. We struggle with trusting in gods that have not been trustworthy toward us.

In an article for the Gospel Coalition, pastor and author Tim Keller offers this potent definition of sin:

"Sin isn't only doing bad things, it is more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things. Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry."

So - having other gods can look like this:

If you center your life and identity on your spouse or partner - you will be be emotionally dependent, jealous, and controlling. The other person’s problems will be overwhelming to you.

If you center your life and identity on your work and career, you will be a driven workaholic and a boring, shallow person. At worst you will lose family and friends and, if your career goes poorly, develop deep depression.

If you center your life and identity on money and possessions, you'll be eaten up by worry or jealousy about money. You'll be willing to do unethical things to maintain your lifestyle, which will eventually blow up your life.

If you center your life and identity on relationships and approval, you will be constantly overly hurt by criticism and thus always losing friends. You will fear confronting others and therefore will be a useless friend.

If you center your life and identity on a "noble cause," you will divide the world into "good" and "bad" and demonize your opponents. Ironically, you will be controlled by your enemies. Without them, you have no purpose.

Friends, you are called to loyalty with the one true God who has redeemed you. When you say “Jesus, I believe! You are the way the truth and the life!”’ you are pledging your allegiance to him and him alone. You are to cut off relationships with all other gods and be faithful to the God who revealed himself through Jesus Christ to bring hope to the hopeless, peace to those in chaos, and life to those facing death.

Daily this week - immediately upon returning home from lunch - take time to sit with God and realize what “gods” you have placed before him. I would even recommend doing it before this afternoon’s NFL slate.

Be honest with God about your disordered values of money, spouse, family, approval, pleasure, career, or whatever else in this world which takes your loyalty from the one true God who have given redemption through the blood of Jesus.

Paul writes it well in Ephesians 2:1-9

Ephesians 2:1–9 NIV

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Friends, I know first hand how difficult it is to have no other gods before Him. I know how difficult it is to deny my pleasures, desires, my wants in order to be loyal to the God who has shown himself to be loyal unto death. And I know you struggle with it to - but take heart and trust in the God who is loyal and has redeemed you. Let him be your shepherd, your light in the darkness. Your source of life, love, and abundance here and now.

Will you pray with me?