Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you
Joshua 24:22-24. Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”
Psalms 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Psalms 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
Psalms 81:9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.
Isaiah 45:22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
Isaiah 46:9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me
Jeremiah 25:6 Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’
Jeremiah 35:15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.
Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
Philippians 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
In these first few words, God both reminded and taught Israel essential facts or principles about who He is, about His nature.
· God is above nature; He is not merely the personification of fire, or the wind, or the sun, or the sky, or any other created thing.
· God is personal; He is not a depersonalized force; He relates with and communicates to man in an understandable way. God has a mind, a will, a voice, and so forth.
· God is good; He had done good for Israel and now does good for them in giving these commands, the keeping of which not only pleases Him, but is genuinely best for humanity.
· God is holy; He is different than the supposed gods of the pagans, and He therefore also expects His people to be different.
“God did not promulgate a code of laws for the children of Israel, while they were in bondage, telling them that if they would obey it, He would deliver them. He brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and then gave them His law.” (Morgan)
The first commandment logically flowed from understanding who God was and what He had done for Israel. Because of that, nothing was to come before God and He was the only God we worship and serve. In the days of ancient Israel, there was great temptation to worship the gods of materialism (such as Baal, the god of weather and financial success) and sex (such as Ashtoreth, the goddess of sex, romance, and reproduction), or any number of other local deities. We are tempted to worship the same gods, but without the old-fashioned names and images. It has been said (perhaps first by John Calvin) that human nature is like an idol factory that operates constantly. We constantly deal with the temptation to set all kinds of things before or competing with God and His preeminent place in our life. This means God demands to be more than added to our lives. We don’t just add Jesus to the life we already have. We must give Him all our life. Failure to obey this commandment is called idolatry. We are to flee idolatry. (Guzik)
God will have no rivals and competitors; though he was worshipped, yet if others were worshipped with him, if others were set before him and worshipped along with him, or it was pretended he was worshipped in them, and even he with a superior and they with an inferior kind of worship; yet this was what he could by no means admit. (Gill)
The Israelites had lived in bondage within a nation that had worshipped many idols. God has not only shown them His power and might and love by many signs and wonders, He has also led, fed, and given water to them. He was a fire by night and cloud by day – ever-present. He allowed them to hear His voice speaking to Moses. His first commandment was clear – “You shall have no other gods besides me”. You shall not share in worship, praise, honor, or glory with another god or idol in your life. Whatever we place before or whatever we allow to take place of honor, glory, worship, and praise of God is falling short of this commandment. Family, friends, sports, work, pleasure, etc…. all have the potential to consume not only our time but our worship of God and time with God. In fact, it is placing something else in front of Him.
We do well to live in His presence at all times with the deep desire and commitment to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.