Introduction
As college student I thought seriously about studying law. However, for two reasons I did not do so. For one, I simply could not afford it and was not smart enough to get a scholarship. And second, when I was a Junior in college I was called to ministry. So, instead of law school, I went to seminary and studied theology.
- Literally millions of laws are on the books in the United States. Some are enacted at the national level, some at the state level, and some at the local city and county level. Many laws enacted years ago have long sense passed their time of practical relevance. Nonetheless, some strange and/or archaic laws still remain on the books in many states and communities. Here are a few examples:
- In Missouri it is illegal to drive with an uncaged bear as a passenger. (So do you have to let him do the driving?)
- In New Jersey it is not lawful to commit a crime while wearing a bullet-proof vest. (So, is it lawful to commit a crime if you’re not wearing a bullet-proof vest?)
- In Wisconsin it is illegal to serve margarine in the state penitentiary. (It’s bad for the inmate’s sensitive hearts.)
- In Alaska it is against the law to wake a sleeping bear to take its picture. (It’s alright if he’s already awake and is willing to pose for it.)
- Connecticut has a law against making a pickle that does not bounce. (You can’t do a decent layup with it.) It is also illegal there to walk across the street on your hands. (You have to stay on the sidewalk.)
- Idaho law forbids giving away more than 50 pounds of candy. (But you can give away as many pounds of potatoes as you want.)
- Louisiana will level a $500 dollar fine for sending a pizza deliverer to a wrong address. (Especially if it is in the middle of a bayou where gators might try to eat the pizza [and maybe the deliverer].)
- In Athens, Georgia, it is still illegal to let a mule wander around town unsupervised. (So students at the University of Georgia have to take their mules to class with them.)
- In Alabama it is still illegal to open an umbrella in the street as it can scare the horses. (But they can let their mules wander around Tuscaloosa.) It is also illegal in Bama to wear a fake mustache or spit on the floor in church. (That’s to keep the atheists out.)
In Western civilization, most all laws are based on a Biblical moral foundation. In other words the principles law makers have used have their basis in biblical definitions of the worth of humanity, justice, and personal moral ethics. That being said, the foundation for biblical morality is the Ten Commandments. Those are the ten laws God gave to Moses on Mount Horeb for the people of Israel. They are sometimes referred to as the Decalogue.
The fact is, if people obeyed those ten universal precepts, there would be no need for any other laws. Of course, most people today have heard of them (thanks mainly to Cecil B. DeMille and Charlton Heston). However, they do not know what the Ten Commandments actually say, much less obey them.
In this installment, and the following nine of this series, we will be undertaking a close examination of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:1-17. We will look at what God dictated to Moses, discuss what they mean, then see how Jesus deepened those behavioral legalities to include motives and thoughts. Most importantly, we will see how they apply to our personal lives and how they should effect our national laws and culture.
In this Part One we will look at the First Commandment as recorded by Moses in Exodus 20:1-3.
1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me.” (NASB)
First, notice that God identifies Himself. He is the LORD your God. That is, He is YAHWEH, the Great I AM who had confronted Moses in the desert from a burning bush (see below). In most Old Testament English translations, the Hebrew name of God (YAHWEH) is replaced by the word LORD. That is because the Jews never pronounced His name and always replaced it with the Hebrew word for Lord (Adonai).
He was also the God who had provided the cover for the Israelites to escape the slavery of Egypt. He often reminded Moses and the Israelites of that fact. They owed their very existence to Him. So He tells them that they “shall have no other gods before Me.” Note, the generic Hebrew word for God or gods is Elohim. They are to never to place any other Elohim before Him. And neither should we!
So, Why “No Other Gods”?
There are three essential reasons why we should have no other gods:
1. We should have no other gods because the LORD (YHWH) is the one and only Eternal and Infinite Creator.
God identifies Himself as the God of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As we said, He gives His name as the one and only “LORD God” (Yahweh Elohim).
Earlier in Exodus 3:13-15 Moses and God had an important conversation.
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”
The name of God, YHWH, is used more than 6,000 times in the Old Testament. Hebrew had no vowels so the exact pronunciation is not known. In any case, the divine name has its root from “I AM WHO I AM.” It is stated that way because God is never the object, He is always the subject. Sometimes it is transliterated incorrectly as “Jehovah.” Actually the best pronunciation is probably YAHWEH.
Another key passage for this monotheistic principle is Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
4 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD (YAHWEH) is our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
This passage is considered the cornerstone of the Hebrew religion. It is called the Shema (hear) by Jews and was quoted by Jesus as the greatest commandment in Scripture. It is the foundation for the Judeo-Christian theistic worldview and states unequivocally that there is only one true living God – Yahweh!
What is most significant for Christians is that Jesus identified Himself with this God. Jesus referred to Himself with the “I AM” numerous times. In doing so He equated Himself with “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Here are two notable examples.
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” (John 8: 58)
Other passages in Scripture testify to the one God, but also assert that He consists of Three Persons: the Father; the Son; and the Holy Spirit. Here are a few relevant selections: Deuteronomy 5:1-11; 6:4-9; Mark 6:50; Luke 22:70; John 6:35-52; 7:28-36; 8:23-28; 9:5-9; 10:7-36; 11:24-26; 12:32; 13:13-19; 14:6-20; 15:5; 18:5-8; Acts 9:5; Revelation 1:8-18; 4:8; 21:6-8; 22:11-13.
The point of all this is that Yahweh is the True God and we should never elevate any other so called deity above or beside Him! So what do we do make of those “other gods?”
2. We should have no other gods because they simply do not exist.
When I was a boy I loved reading Greek and Roman mythology. I was fascinated by all the different gods and goddesses (Zeus/Jupiter, Hera/Juno, Eros/Cupid; Artemis/Diana; Hades/Pluto; Ares/Mars; Hermes/Mercury; Aphrodite/Venus and many more). Though I enjoyed reading the adventures of those deities, I always thought of them, of course, as sort of fairy tales. I never took them seriously, as I am sure you did not as well. We need to remember, however, that in the Biblical era, those gods and goddesses were considered by millions of people to be actual living entities.
This was brought to my attention dramatically when my wife, my son, a group from our church, and I, went on a mission trip to Lebanon in 2005. While we were there, we visited the ruins in an area called Baalbek. It is located in the Eastern part of the country near the Syrian border. The ruins were of three enormous temples built by the Romans in the First Century AD and dedicated to their gods Jupiter, Bacchus, and Venus. The design, size, and detail that went into the construction of these buildings was mind-blowing. The temple of Jupiter, which was destroyed in an earthquake (some of its huge columns remain standing), was so big it would have held a football field inside its walls (which were 75 feet high from floor to the ceiling). The temple of Bacchus was about a third smaller, but still stands with its walls and roof intact. The temple of Venus was rather small and only a little of it remains.
So when the Bible writers addressed the pagan gods that competed for the loyalty of the Hebrews and Christians, they were dead serious. However, the Bible’s clear position in both the Old and New Testaments is that those pagan gods simply do not exist! Here are a few explicit passages that leave no doubt:
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.” “Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.” (Isaiah 44:6, 8b)
5 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. (Isaiah 45:5-7)
Notice what Paul told the formerly pagan Christians in Galatia:
However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. (Galatians 4:8)
The most important truth that defines the religion of the Bible is that there is only One True and Living God, and that no other gods exist or ever did exist. To worship or honor any other god is foolish and evil. Sadly, even in America, millions of people worship and pray to pagan gods in elaborate temples. For instance, in the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn, Georgia is located the largest Hindu temple in North America. It contains literally hundreds of idols honoring the thousands of gods of that faith. (More about idols in the next installment).
But there is an even more critical reason not to place other gods above the LORD God.
3. We should have no other gods because false gods are actually demonic counterfeits.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, the Scriptures warn that the false gods of the nations do not exist as gods. Nevertheless, they do represent the deception of satanic and demonic forces that indeed do exist, and who work to divert worship from God. Here are some passages that strongly communicate that warning.
16 They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread. 18 You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot the God who gave you birth. (Deuteronomy 32:16-18)
Consider Paul’s explanation to the Corinthians why they should avoid eating meat sacrificed to idols.
19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. (1 Corinthians 10:19-21)
The fact is, demons can disguise themselves as gods to those who lack spiritual discernment. Some Old Testament examples included Baal, Dagon, Marduk, Molech, Astarte/Ishtar, and many others. Those pagan cults usually included perverse sexual practices and even human (child) sacrifice. Unfortunately, the Israelites, time and again, violated this commandment and tolerated or participated in some of the cults that worshiped demonic and counterfeit gods.
Those same demonic forces are still at work today. Thousands of bizarre cults and false religions can be found around the world. Even in 21st century America millions of people are engaged in pseudo-Christian cults, anti-Christian world religions, various aspects of the occult, the New Age Movement, Santeria, voodoo, witchcraft, and many other “spiritual movements.” All of those are undergirded by demonic deception in order to draw people away from the truth of God and the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We even see examples of this in music and entertainment. Often pop songs are hymns to false gods or have vulgar lyrics. Many singers blatantly wear pagan symbols on their costumes. TV shows and movies glorify immorality, violence and wickedness. Even some shows geared to children contain occult themes. I believe it is possible that some of those artists have literally made compacts with the devil in order to succeed. We don’t know if they are consciously Satanists, demon possessed, attempting to create a persona, or just don’t care what they do or say. In any case, worshipping false gods, dabbling in the occult, or engaging in perverse immorality dangerously opens people to deception and demonic powers.
That might also be said of nations. It is well known that Hitler and the Nazis were steeped in occult mythology. Communism blatantly denied the existence and authority of God and the Bible. Both of those devilish movements combined to cause the deaths of over 200 million people in the 20th century. When a nation rebels against God, it, like people, are vulnerable to the cunning of the evil one. We must remember, no nation or people is exempt from the rule and standards of God and His justice (including our own)!
Conclusion
The Bible indicates, without compromise, that there is only One True Infinite and Eternal God. The Old Testament identifies Him as the LORD (Yahweh) God (Elohim). It declares unequivocally no other gods exist. Those who worship any other god or gods are spiritually deceived and are actually worshipping demons.
Jesus identified Himself with that one God as did the Holy Spirit (the Trinity). He audaciously declared Himself to be equal to the great I AM. He proved His divine status by His sinless life and resurrection from the dead. It is through faith in His sacrificial death and bodily resurrection that we can know and worship the true and Living God and thus faithfully obey the First Commandment.
In the next installment we will look at the Second Commandment, which is closely related to the first.
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20: 4-6)
© 2018 Tal Davis