“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
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Exodus 20:2-3 sits inside this longer paragraph.
God spoke all these words, saying, “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Parallel Translations
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“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
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I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Show all 3 translations
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I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (2)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (46)
- Deuteronomy 5:7 (v3) “You shall have no other gods before me.
- Matthew 4:10 (v3) Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’ ”
- Deuteronomy 5:6 (v2) “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
- Psalms 81:9 (v3) There shall be no strange god in you, neither shall you worship any foreign god.
- Isaiah 46:9 (v3) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me.
Show all 46 cross-references
- Hosea 13:4 (v2) “Yet I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt; and you shall acknowledge no god but me, and besides me there is no savior.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (v3) You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
- Deuteronomy 6:14 (v3) You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you,
- Leviticus 26:13 (v2) I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke,…
- Psalms 81:10 (v2) I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
- Exodus 13:3 (v2) Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahweh…
- Jeremiah 25:6 (v3) Don’t go after other gods to serve them or worship them, and don’t provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; then I will do you no…
- Leviticus 19:36 (v2) You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
- Joshua 24:18-24 (v3) Yahweh drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve Yahweh; for he is…
- Genesis 17:7-8 (v2) I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to…
- Deuteronomy 26:6-8 (v2) The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers. Yahweh heard our…
- Jeremiah 35:15 (v3) I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Every one of you must return now from his…
- 1 John 5:20-21 (v3) We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in…
- Deuteronomy 7:8 (v2) but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a…
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 (v3) yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,…
- Exodus 15:11 (v3) Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
- Deuteronomy 5:15 (v2) You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an…
- Isaiah 26:4 (v3) Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.
- Ephesians 5:5 (v3) Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the…
- Philippians 3:19 (v3) whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
- Colossians 2:18 (v3) Let no one rob you of your prize by self-abasement and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly…
- Revelation 19:10 (v3) I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, “Look! Don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers…
- Leviticus 23:43 (v2) that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters when I brought them out of the land of…
- Exodus 20:23 (v3) You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.
- Psalms 29:2 (v3) Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Worship Yahweh in holy array.
- Psalms 73:25 (v3) Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you.
- Isaiah 43:10 (v3) “You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh, “With my servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he.…
- Isaiah 44:8 (v3) Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me?…
- Leviticus 26:1 (v2) “ ‘You shall make for yourselves no idols, and you shall not raise up a carved image or a pillar, and you shall not place any figured stone…
- Deuteronomy 13:10 (v2) You shall stone him to death with stones, because he has sought to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of…
- Deuteronomy 15:15 (v2) You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this thing today.
- 2 Kings 17:29-35 (v3) However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in…
- Revelation 22:9 (v3) He said to me, “See you don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the…
- 1 Corinthians 8:4 (v3) Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other…
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (v2) Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one. You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your…
- Isaiah 45:21-22 (v3) Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I,…
- Jeremiah 31:33 (v2) “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward…
- Exodus 10:1-15 (v2) Yahweh said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these my signs among…
- Psalms 50:7 (v2) “Hear, my people, and I will speak. Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
- Romans 3:29 (v2) Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t he the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
- Romans 10:12 (v2) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Or, servants.
Or, servants.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Exo 20:2 I [am] the LORD thy God, which…
Exo 20:2 I [am] the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Ver. 2. Which have brought thee.] God’s blessings are binders; and every deliverance a tie to obedience. {See Trapp (for summary of Law) on "Exo 20:17"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–3 The only true God, and
The only true God, and
thy God by special title, having entered into covenant with thee, and chosen thee for my peculiar people, to protect, and rule, and bless thee above all others. God’s authority and right over them is fitly put in the front, as the foundation of all God’s commands, and their duties.
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Which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt; and so by right of redemption thou art mine. Out of the house, i.e. the place; for so the word house is sometimes used, as Jdg 16:21.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–3 I am the Lord thy God,.... This verse does…
I am the Lord thy God,.... This verse does not contain the first of these commands, but is a preface to them, showing that God had a right to enact and enjoin the people of Israel laws; and that they were under obligation to attend unto them with reverence, and cheerfully obey them, since he was the Lord, the eternal and immutable Jehovah, the Being of beings, who gives being to all creatures, and gave them theirs, and therefore had a right to give them what laws he pleased; and he was their God, their covenant God, in a special and peculiar manner, their King and their God, they being a Theocracy, and so more immediately under his government, and therefore had laws given them preferable to what any other people had:
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt: where they had been afflicted many years, and reduced to great distress, but were brought forth with an high hand, and with great riches, and in a very wonderful and miraculous manner; so that they were under great obligations to yield a ready and cheerful obedience to the will of God:
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out of the house of bondage: or "servants" (b); that is, where they had been servants and slaves, but now were made free, and were become a body politic, a kingdom of themselves, under their Lord, King, Lawgiver, and Saviour, Jehovah himself, and therefore to be governed by laws of his enacting; and this shows that this body of laws was delivered out to the people of Israel, and primarily belong to them; for of no other can the above things be said.
(b) "servorum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–3 I am the Lord thy God - Herein, God…
I am the Lord thy God - Herein, God asserts his own authority to enact this law; and proposeth himself as the sole object of that religious worship which is enjoined in the four first commandments. They are here bound to obedience.
1. Because God is the Lord, Jehovah, self-existent, independent, eternal, and the fountain of all being and power; therefore he has an incontestable right to command us.
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2. He was their God; a God in covenant with them; their God by their own consent.
3. He had brought them out of the land of Egypt - Therefore they were bound in gratitude to obey him, because he had brought them out of a grievous slavery into a glorious liberty. By redeeming them, he acquired a farther right to rule them; they owed their service to him, to whom they owed their freedom. And thus, Christ, having rescued us out of the bondage of sin, is entitled to the best service we can do him. The four first commandments, concern our duty to God (commonly called the first-table.) It was fit those should be put first, because man had a Maker to love before he had a neighbour to love, and justice and charity are then only acceptable to God when they flow from the principles of piety.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Against mental or theoretic idolatry.
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
Against mental or theoretic idolatry.
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Verse 2. I am the LORD thy God] יהוה אלהיך Yehovah eloheycha. On the word JEHOVAH, which we here translate LORD, See Clarke on Ge 2:4, and "Ex 6:3". And on the word Elohim, here translated GOD, See Clarke on Ge 1:1. It is worthy of remark that each individual is addressed here, and not the people collectively, though they are all necessarily included; that each might feel that he was bound for himself to hear and do all these words. Moses laboured to impress this personal interest on the people's minds, when he said, De 5:3-4: "The Lord made this covenant with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day."
Brought thee out of the land of Egypt, &c.] And by this very thing have proved myself to be superior to all gods, unlimited in power, and most gracious as well as fearful in operation. This is the preface or introduction, but should not be separated from the commandment. Therefore, -
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Exo 20:2. I am the Lord thy God —…
Exo 20:2. I am the Lord thy God — Herein God asserts his own authority to enact this law; and proposeth himself as the sole object of that religious worship which is enjoined in the four first commandments. They are here bound to obedience. 1st, Because God is the Lord, Jehovah, self-existent, independent, eternal, and the fountain of all being and power; therefore he has an incontestible right to command us. 2d, He was their God; a God in covenant with them; their God by their own consent. 3d, He had brought them out of the land of Egypt — Therefore they were bound in gratitude to obey him, because he had brought them out of a grievous slavery into a glorious liberty. By redeeming them, he acquired a further right to rule them; they owed their service to him to whom they owed their freedom. And thus Christ, having rescued us out of the bondage of sin, is entitled to the best service we can do for him. The first four commandments concern our duty to God, commonly called the first table. It was fit those should be put first, because man had a Maker to love before he had a neighbour to love, and justice and charity are then only acceptable to God when they flow from the principles of piety.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Thy God. By this endearing title, we are all…
Thy God. By this endearing title, we are all required to consecrate our whole hearts and souls to our only Maker and Redeemer; and therefore we must love God sincerely, and comply with all his commandments. This preface to the Decalogue, enforces the acts of faith, hope, charity, religion, &c. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–3 I am the Lord thy God--This is a preface…
I am the Lord thy God--This is a preface to the ten commandments--the latter clause being specially applicable to the case of the Israelites, while the former brings it home to all mankind; showing that the reasonableness of the law is founded in their eternal relation as creatures to their Creator, and their mutual relations to each other.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–3 2. I am the Lord thy God — Many…
2. I am the Lord thy God — Many of the Jews, as we have seen above, regard this verse as the first of the ten words, or commandments, but they are rather of the nature of an introduction, showing emphatically the origin and source of the commandments. As the Eternal God, the I AM of previous revelation, (Exo_3:14-15,) he appropriately announces his NAME, and mentions the redemption from Egypt as a ground of obligation for Israel to hear and keep his commandments. The singular form of the address, thy God, not your God, gives a particular individuality of personal appeal to this announcement. The same is to be noted in each of the commandments which follow. The redemption out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, was the greatest fact in Israel’s history, and he who wrought that wonderful deliverance is the author of this holy law, and directs its words to every individual of the nation.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–3 2. The Testimony (or attestation, averment, viz. of God’s…
2. The Testimony (or attestation, averment, viz. of God’s will; see on Exo_25:16): 36 times in P (cf. ibid.). Elsewhere in this sense only 2Ki_11:12 (but doubtfully: see Skinner in the Century Bible, and Barnes in the Cambr. Bible), and 2Ch_24:6 (as Num_17:7-8 al.).
2. Introduction. The commandments are introduced by the statement who it is that gives them: One, viz., who is Israel’s God and who has also been Israel’s benefactor; and who has thus both the right to impose them, and a claim upon Israel for obedience to them.
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Jehovah thy God] so Exo_20:5; Exo_20:7; Exo_20:10; Exo_20:12; Exo_15:26 (see note), Exo_23:19 = Exo_34:26, Exo_34:24, and frequently (more than 200 times) in Dt. Not elsewhere in Ex.—Nu.
which brought thee out, &c.] and consequently has a claim upon thee for gratitude and obedience; cf. Exo_13:3; Exo_13:9; Exo_13:14; Exo_13:16 : he same motive, also, Deu_5:15; Deu_6:12; Deu_8:14; Deu_13:5; Deu_13:10; Amo_2:10; Hos_13:4 (RVm.).
the house of bondage (lit. of slaves)] as Exo_13:3 (see note), 14; and often in Dt. (cf. esp. Deu_6:12, Deu_8:14, Deu_13:10, just quoted).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–3 (2) I am the Lord thy God.—The binding nature…
(2) I am the Lord thy God.—The binding nature of commands upon the conscience depends upon the authority of the person who issues them. That there might be no dispute as to what the authority was in the case of the Decalogue, God prefaced the commands themselves by this distinct statement. By whomsoever they were communicated (see the first Note on Exo_20:1), they were the commands of Jehovah Himself.
Which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.—Thus exhibiting at once Almighty power and the tenderest compassion and care. God desires the obedience which springs from love, not fear.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–3 I am the Lord thy God. The ten precepts…
I am the Lord thy God. The ten precepts were prefaced by this distinct announcement of who it was that uttered them. God would have the Israelites clearly understand, that he himself gave them the commandments. It is only possible to reconcile the declarations of the New Testament, that the law was given by the ministration of angels (Gal_3:19; Heb_2:2) with this and other plain statements, by regarding God the Son as the actual speaker. As sent by his father, he too was, in a certain sense, an angel (i.e. , a messenger). Which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. God does not appeal to his authority as creator, but to his mercy and kindness as protector and deliverer. He would be obeyed by his people from a sentiment of love, not by fear. Out of the house of bondage. Compare Exo_13:3, Exo_13:14; and for the ground of the expression, see Exo_1:14 Exo_6:9.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v3 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Exo_20:3
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
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The First Commandment
I. This Commandment does not tell the Jews that the gods worshipped by other nations have no existence; it tells him that he must offer them no homage, and that from him they must receive no recognition of their authority and power. The Jew must serve Jehovah, and Jehovah alone. This was the truest method of securing the ultimate triumph of monotheism. A religious dogma, true or false, perishes if it is not rooted in the religious affections and sustained by religious observances. But although the First Commandment does not declare that there is one God, the whole system of Judaism rests on that sublime truth, and what the Jews had witnessed in Egypt and since their escape from slavery must have done more to destroy their reverence for the gods of their old masters than could have been effected by any dogmatic declaration that the gods of the nations were idols.
II. The First Commandment may appear to have no direct practical value for ourselves. It would be a perversion of its obvious intention to denounce covetousness, social ambition, or excessive love of children. These are not the sins which this Commandment was meant to forbid. It must be admitted that there is no reason why God should say to any of us, Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. If He were to speak to many of us, it would be necessary to condemn us for having no god at all. The appalling truth is, that many of us have sunk into atheism. We all shrink from contact with God. And yet He loves us. But even His love would be unavailing if He did not inspire those who are filled with shame and sorrow by the discovery of their estrangement from Him, with a new and supernatural life. (R. W. Dale, D. D.)
The First Commandment
I. All want of a positive allegiance to Jehovah is a positive allegiance to another Elohim or supreme God. A self-reliant man, in the strict sense of the word, never yet existed. Mans nature is such that he looks without him for support, as the ivy feels for the tree or the wall. If he has not the true and living God as his stay, then he is an idolater.
II. All allegiance to God that does not recognize Him as He has revealed Himself is allegiance to a false god. So a view of God as careless of personal holiness in His creatures, or as too exalted to notice all their minute acts and thoughts, or as tyrannical and arbitrary in His dealings with them, or as appeasable by self-denials and penances, is a view of a false god, and not a view of Jehovah, the only living and true God. And the man who, despising or neglecting the Holy Scriptures, and trusting to his reason or his dreams, or to nature, or to nothing, holds such a god before his mind, is an idolater; he has put another Elohim before Jehovah Elohim. Because the thought of the Divine Being which he thus introduces into his heart becomes the substitute for the true motion that should guide his life, he puts the helm into as false hands as if he had delivered it to Mammon. Several subordinate thoughts naturally follow.
1. The help of the true God, Jehovah Jesus, should be sought by us to overthrow our false gods. By that very act we should offer rightful allegiance, and, in so doing, consecrate our life to the rightful service of Him who is our rightful King.
2. How watchful we should be in this earth, where the false gods are not only plenty, but exactly after the fashion of our own depraved hearts! It was said of Athens that at each corner there was a new god, and some have even said that in population Athens had more gods than men. It is so with our unseen gods of the unregenerate heart. They abound with different names and different characters, according to the tastes and characters of different men.
3. The Word of God ought to be in our hands all the while. This is the only offensive weapon against our false gods. (H. Crosby, D. D.)
The First Commandment
This Commandment, as all the rest, hath a positive part requiring something, and a negative part prohibiting something.
I. We shall, in the first place, speak to what is required here, and we take it up in these three things.
1. And first, it requireth the right knowledge of God; for there can be no true worship given to Him, there can be no right thought or conception of Him, or faith in Him, till He be known.
2. It requireth from us a suitable acknowledging of God in all these His properties. As--
(1) That He be highly esteemed above all
(2) Loved.
(3) Feared.
(4) Believed and trusted in.
(5) Hoped in.
(6) Adored.
(7) Honoured.
(8) Served and obeyed. And so--
(9) He must be the supreme end in all our actions that should mainly be aimed at by us.
3. It requireth such duties as result from His excellency, and our acknowledging Him to be such a one. As--
(1) Dependence upon Him.
(2) Submission to Him, and patience under cross dispensations from Him.
(3) Faith resting on Him.
(4) Prayers put up to Him.
(5) Repentance for wronging Him.
(6) Communion, and a constant walking with Him.
(7) Delighting in Him.
(8) Meditating on Him; and such other as necessarily may be inferred as duties incumbent on creatures in such a relation to such a God, whose excellency and worth calleth and inviteth men to all suitable duties.
4. Next, it is necessary that we add some advertisements to these generals.
(1) That the Commandment requireth all these, and in the highest and most perfect degree.
(2) That it not only requireth them in ourselves, but obligeth us to further them in all others, according to our places and callings.
(3) That it requireth the diligent use of all means that may help and further us in these; as reading and meditation, study, etc.
(4) That these things, which in some respect may be given to creatures, as love, fear, etc., yet, when they are required as duties to God, they are required in a far more imminent way.
II. In the next place, we should consider the negative part of this Commandment, for the extent thereof will be best discerned by considering what is forbidden therein, and how it may be broken. This idolatry is either:--
1. Doctrinal, or idolatry in the judgment, when one professedly believeth such a thing besides God to have some divinity in it; as heathens do of their Mars and Jupiter; or--
2. Practical, when men believe no such thing, and will not own any such opinion, yet are guilty of the same thing, as covetous men, etc.
3. It may be distinguished into idolatry that hath something for its object, as the Egyptians worshipped beasts, and the Persians the sun or fire, and that which has nothing but mens imaginations for its object, as these who worship feigned gods; in which respect the apostle saith, an idol is nothing (1Co_8:4).
4. We would distinguish betwixt the objects of idolatry; and they are either such as are in themselves simply sinful, as devils, profane men; or they are such as are good in themselves, but abused and wronged, when they are made objects of idolatry, as angels, saints, sun, moon, etc.
5. Distinguish betwixt idolatry that is more gross and professed, and that which is more latent, subtle, and denied. This distinction is like that before mentioned, in opinion and practice, and much coincideth with it.
6. Distinguish betwixt heart-idolatry (Eze_14:1-23.; Exo_14:11-12; Exo_16:2-3), and external idolatry. The former consisteth in an inward heart-respect to some idol, as this tumultuous people were enslaved to their ease and bellies in the last two fore-cited places; the other in some external idolatrous gesture or action. (James Durham.)
The First Commandment
First, there is the positive declaration of a personal God; and secondly, His claim to be worshipped as the one True and living God. The most obvious errors requiring our attention are four in number--Atheism, Polytheism, Pantheism, and Deism.
1. Except as a cloke for immorality and sinful indulgence, I am inclined to doubt the existence of Atheism, and the study of history confirms me in the doubt.
2. But what of the Polytheist, the worshipper, that is, of many gods; in this respect, at least, the very opposite to the last? It is not difficult to trace his origin. When time was young, men lived together in families, tribes, or small communities; beyond the circle of these they very rarely travelled. Before they were able to realize the idea of the oneness of the human race, each family would not unnaturally aim at being complete in itself; and as tending, especially to this, they would place themselves under the protection of some one particular god, and then gods multiplied, as a necessary consequence, upon the increase of people and subdivision of tribes. This was one cause. We might discover, without difficulty, others of a different nature. To take one instance, in times of ignorance, when the mind was unable to grasp the Infinite, men seized upon what was best in themselves, or what was noblest in nature, and deified this; and so at one time we find Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, receiving the homage of men; and at another we see temples arising to Faith, or Modesty, or Constancy, or Hope. But all this, whatever its origin, was openly denounced by the simple declaration standing at the head of the first table: I am, etc.
3. Of the Pantheist I shall only speak briefly. The meaning of the term is: one who believes that everything is God, and God is everything. He deifies all that is best in nature, especially the intellect or mind, and His Supreme Being is a combination of the united intelligences of the world. But if all that is intelligent, all that is best in created things, is God, then that which is best in myself is God, and demands my worship and adoration. And what is this but to give to the creature what belongs and is due to the Creator alone?
4. The Deist believes in a God, as his name implies, but does not believe that that God has ever revealed Himself to man; and this is to deny the Bible, to deny Christianity, to deny Christ. He holds that when the Supreme Being finished the creation of the world, He assigned to nature Laws that should never be broken, and then withdrew Himself from the government of the universe. Again, besides the fact that the Deist will not allow to God any superintendence or control over the works of His hands, thereby cutting off from man his most consoling faith in an all-wise and merciful Providence, He casts him adrift on the wide ocean of life, with no compass to steer by, and no chart to preserve his vessel from shoals and rocks, and all the countless perils of the deep. If God has not revealed Himself to man, then what can he know of a future life, what of the immortality of his soul? And with this unknown, it matters not what be his life and conduct on earth, for death is the close of all things, and there is nothing but darkness beyond the grave! (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
On going after other gods
Going after other gods is a snare of the spiritual life into which we are liable to drift before suspecting any danger, for it does not necessarily mean the pursuit of things evil in their nature, but of things, innocent enough perhaps in themselves, which, by impressing us with an exaggerated idea of their importance or blessing, absorb that devotion which we owe to God, and demand from us a service which is due to Him alone.
I. There is the God of public opinion. There is such a thing as healthy public opinion; but there are times when its tone becomes lowered, and a very imperfect standard of conduct is all that is needed to satisfy its requirements. It involves a moral effort to which many are unequal to retain, in its integrity, the sense of sinfulness attached to any course of conduct which God forbids when public opinion gives its sanction.
II. There is the god of pleasure. This is a deity which, when once installed in the heart of a man, is insatiable in its demands. Instead of remaining the handmaid of duty, it becomes its sworn foe; instead of being the solace and refreshment of toil, it harasses and interferes with our work. The man who is a slave to pleasure looks upon all work as a grievance more or less; to be shirked altogether, if possible, or to be got through as quickly as may be. His main interest in life is not centred in duty, but in amusement. But this exacting deity not only grudges every moment of our time which is not given up to its service, it grudges, too, every penny of our money which is not spent for its gratification.
III. There is the god of success. The dangers of the spiritual life attached to the worship of this god are very real. The man who worships success, who in his innermost heart values it more than anything else, and looks upon it as the one object to set before himself, by a natural law of his being, is prepared, if the need arises, to make any sacrifice for it, including even the incurring of Gods displeasure. There is no more dangerous rival deity which we can admit into our hearts than success. It blinds us to all that is by the way. It makes us inconsiderate and unscrupulous in the struggle of life; and as the competition of life increases, and the chances of getting on become fewer, we are tempted to subordinate all higher considerations to the one idea of personal advancement. Another and by no means the least mischievous effect of putting too great store by success in any shape, is that it leads us to look to it for our sole encouragement and reward in the efforts both of spiritual and secular life. As it is not in man to command success, it follows that those who make success their god can have nothing to fall back upon in the hour of failure. (M. Tweddell, M. A.)
The First Commandment
How shall we conceive of God? Who is He? What is His name? The First Commandment answers these questions. The language is local, but the meaning is universal.
I. The meaning of the First Commandment for the ancient Jew.
II. The meaning of the First Commandment for ourselves.
1. The Divine declaration.
(1) The name Jehovah. Jesus of Nazareth is Deity in exposition--the Word of God. See how the I AM of the burning bush reappears in the I am of the Nazarene (Mat_18:20; Mat_28:20; Joh_8:58; Joh_14:3; Joh_17:24; Rev_1:8).
(2) The Divine relation. Who is Jehovahs Israel in our day and land? It is the Church of the Living God (see Rom_2:28-29; 1Co_12:27). If we really belong to Christ, truly loving Him and obeying Him and sharing His character, we are, in spite of all our diversities, one Christian personality; for in Christ Jesus there can be neither Jew nor Gentile, neither Greek nor Scythian, neither male nor female; for all in Christ are one, and Christ is all and in all.
(3) The Divine deliverance. As it is the Church that is the true Israel, so it is Diabolus who is the true Pharaoh, and Sin which is the true Egypt, and Jesus who is the true Deliverer.
2. The Divine prohibition. We ourselves need this prohibition no less than did ancient Israel. For, although Christendom, theoretically speaking, is monotheistic, yet Christendom, practically speaking, is largely polytheistic. Recall, for example, the practical tritheism of many Trinitarians, conceiving the three Persons in the Trinity as three distinct Gods; or the practical dualism of many Christians, conceiving the Father as the God of wrath, and the Son as the God of love: or, again, conceiving the Creator as the God of nature, and the Redeemer as the God of Scripture. Behold in the Pantheon of our Christendom how many niches there are for various gods--the god of the deist, the god of the materialist, the god of the fatalist, the god of the sentimentalist, the god of the churchman, the god of the pantheist. Concluding lessons:
1. Our indebtedness to the Jew for monotheism.
2. Jehovah is to be worshipped.
3. Jehovah alone is to be worshipped. (G. D. Boardman.)
The First Commandment
I. What is it to make God to be a God to us?
1. To acknowledge Him for a God. Deity is a jewel that belongs only to His crown.
2. To choose Him. An act of mature deliberation and self-dedication.
3. To enter into a solemn covenant with Him.
4. To give Him adoration.
(1) Reverence.
(2) Worship.
5. To fear Him. This fearing of God is
(1)--To have God always in our eye, I have set the Lord always before me; mine eyes are ever towards the Lord. He who fears God, imagines that whatever he is doing God looks on, and, as a Judge, weighs all his actions.
(2) To fear God, is when we have such a holy awe of God upon our hearts that we dare not sin; Stand in awe and sin not. It is a saying of Anselm, If hell were on one side and sin on the other, I would rather leap into hell than willingly sin against my God.
6. To love Him. In the godly, fear and love kiss each other.
7. To obey Him.
II. That we must have no other God.
1. There is really no other God.
(1) There is but one First Cause.
(2) There is but one Omnipotent Power.
2. We must have no other God. This forbids--
(1) Serving a false God.
(2) Joining a false God with a true.
III. What is it to have other gods besides the true God
1. To trust in anything more than God.
(1) Riches.
(2) Arm of flesh.
(3) Wisdom.
(4) Civility.
(5) Grace.
2. To love anything more than God.
(1) Our estate.
(2) Our pleasures.
(3) Our belly.
(4) A child.
If we love the jewel more than Him that gave it, God will take away the jewel, that our love may return Him again.
Use 1. It reproves such as have other gods, and so renounce the true God.
(1) Such as set up idols; According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah; Their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field.
(2) Such as seek to familiar spirits (see 2Ki_1:6).
Use 2. It sounds a retreat in our ears. Let it call us off from the idolizing any creature; and renouncing other gods, let us cleave to the true God and His service. If we go away from God, we know not where to mend ourselves.
(1) It is honourable serving of the true God; it is more honour to serve God than to have kings serve us.
(2) Serving the true God is delightful, I will make them joyful in My house of prayer.
(3) Serving the true God is beneficial; they have great gain here--the hidden manna, inward peace, and a great reward to come.
(4) You have covenanted to serve the true Jehovah, renouncing all others. You cannot go back from God without the highest perjury.
(5) None had ever cause to repent of cleaving to God and His service. (T. Watson.)
The First Commandment
I. Four things are here required.
1. That we must have a God--against atheism.
2. That we must have the Lord Jehovah for our God--which forbids idolatry.
3. That we must have the only true God the Lord Jehovah alone for our God.
4. It requires that all these services and acts of worship, which we tender unto the true and only God, be performed with sincerity and true devotion. This is implied in that expression before Me, or in My sight. And this forbids both profaneness on the one hand and hypocrisy on the other.
II. It forbids us four things.
1. Atheism, or the belief and acknowledgment of no God.
2. Ignorance of the true God.
3. Profaneness, or the wretched neglect of the worship and service of God.
4. Idolatry, or the setting up and worshipping of false gods. (Bp. E. Hopkins.)
The First Commandment
The object of religious devotion has to be defined, and it has to be set into some ascertained relationship with ourselves.
I. What we have first to look at, therefore, is the self-disclosure of God, upon which He grounds His claim to Israels devotion. God is a Person; a personal Spirit like our own; a self-existent, eternal Spirit, apart from and above His world; a Person capable of entering into converse with men, and acting towards them as Deliverer and Saviour from evil. What follows? This follows--This God shalt thou have for thy God; and thou shalt have no other! A tie on both its sides solitary and unique must bind the human person with the Divine; saved with Saviour; Jehovahs people with Jehovahs self.
II. We are now, you perceive, in a position to examine our fundamental law, or First Commandment, defining the object of worship. It has resolved itself into this--a mutual relationship exists betwixt God and His human people, absolutely unique and exclusive. Besides Jehovah, Israel has no other Saviour; Israel, therefore, ought to know no other God. Jehovah is not simply first; He is first without a second. He is not the highest of a class of beings, but in His class He stands alone. Other Helper have we nowhere; beneath the covert of His everlasting wings must we run to hide. If we are not to people the heavens with shadowy powers, half Divine, or parcel earth among forces of nature, as the provinces of an empire are parcelled among satraps, or elevate human aid into the remotest competition with the Almightys; if to us there is but one seat of power, source of help, well-head of blessing, Author and Finisher of deliverance from every species and form of evil: then, what undivided dependence upon God results! what absoluteness of trust! what singleness of loyalty! what unstinted gratitude! what perfect love! More is shut out than polytheistic rites. Superstition is shut out, which trusts in mechanical aids and not in the free, living, and righteous Will. Magic is shut out, which seeks to extort deliverance by spells from unholy spirits. Luck is shut out, and the vague hope in what will turn up. Spiritual tyranny is shut out, which makes one man the lord of anothers faith and conscience. Policy is shut out, or godless state-craft, with its trust in human foresight, but none in the justice of Providence. Irreligion is shut out, which doubts if prayer avail or God can help, and puts its confidence only in the strongest battalions. Everything, in short, which divides the deep trust and hope of the heart between God and that which is not God, becomes a breach of loyalty to the unique, the solitary Deliverer. (J. O. Dykes, D. D.)
The First Commandment
1. It is quite evident that this Commandment prescribes a general fitness of things, the proper relation of man to God; aims to promote the highest happiness, directing man to seek his good in the highest source--God Himself; and describes the nature of man, setting forth a great principle of his being, that he is capable of giving allegiance to God, has faculties and powers capable of knowing and loving God. Our power of knowing and loving Him in the distinguishing power of man, separating him from the brutes with whom he is in many other respects allied, Not to exercise this power is to cast away the crown of our manhood. Of course, we cannot know God fully. Our weak, limited minds cannot comprehend the Infinite One. If we could comprehend God, we would be greater than He. The unknowable in God leads us to worship the God we know. This command calls us to a constant advance in the knowledge of God, so securing the activity and development of our power of knowing, and making it our duty to carefully attend to the revelation He has made of Himself. This certainly commends the study of nature; not only the poetic listening to its subtle teaching, but the scientific research for its great truths. This certainly commends the study of the Scriptures. Every neglected Bible should thrill the conscience with the charge, You have not yet taken the first step towards obeying this commandment. Gods revelation of Himself in the Bible is progressive. It had reached a certain stage at the time the Law was given at Sinai, sufficiently clear and full to make mans duty plain. But it did not stop there. It unfolded through succeeding ages until it culminated in the Lord Jesus Christ. So this first commandment makes it our duty to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. To reject Him is not merely to reject an offer of mercy; it is to refuse to receive the complete revelation of God made in His Son.
2. The prohibitory form of the Commandment shows that there are tendencies in our nature to break this law of our being. We are prone to give supreme allegiance to and find our highest good in some person or thing other than God.
3. But even if we had full and accurate knowledge of the one true God, and were free from all debasing superstitions, we would still have tendencies drawing us away from entire consecration to Him. Whatever we value more than God, is our god. Wherever a man makes the gratification of himself his chief aim, he takes the crown belonging to God and crowns himself.
(1) There is a strong tendency to make the gratification of even the lowest portion of our nature our chief aim and greatest delight. He only can have the highest animal enjoyment who remembers that he is more than an animal, and honouring God, seeks to discover and obey His laws of healthful living.
(2) One would think that the exercise of our reasoning powers would lead the soul to God, yet there is a very strong tendency to make this exercise end in itself. Many of the great thinkers of the world have been worshippers of their own powers of thinking, and we who can with difficulty follow their great thoughts are prone to worship our own intellectual culture and acquirements, and to claim a considerable amount of incense from our fellow-men.
(3) How prone we are to make our loved ones idols! Now the idolatry of loved ones does not consist in loving them too much, but in not loving them enough. The father who allows his child to so absorb his love that he has no thought of or love for God, does not love his child as an immortal spiritual being, nor does he regard himself as such.
(4) Above the animal, the intellectual, and the social nature in man, is the spiritual. To ignore this nature, or dwarf it, is to degrade man. To have this nature in healthful control, and giving supreme allegiance to God, is to bring the whole man into obedience to this Commandment; it is to ennoble his social, inspire his intellectual, and elevate his animal natures; it is to reach the noble manhood God designs for us. (F. S. Schenck.)
The First Commandment
I. The question we are now to try and answer is, what is it to have a God? I mean by this a true God, such as the Lord Jesus Christ is to us.
1. To have a God is to have one who can do three things for us.
(1) The first thing we want our God to be able to do is, always to help. The little child always needs the help of its mother. The blind man always needs the help of some one to guide him. The sick man always needs the help of a physician. We need some one who can always help us. Then it must be some one who is present in every place, whose eye never slumbers, and whose arm never grows weary. Is there such a one to be found? Yes, God our Saviour is just such a one.
(2) The second thing we want our God to be able to do is, always to save us. Our bodies are often in danger as well as our souls, and we want a God who can save them both. We cant preserve ourselves; and our best friends cant preserve us. Jesus says, Look unto Me, all ye ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. Besides Me there is no Saviour. We need a God who can always save.
(3) But, then, there is a third thing that we expect God to be able to do for us, and that is, always to make us happy. When we are in health, and have affectionate parents and kind friends, and many comforts and enjoyments around us, we do not feel so much our need of God.
2. But, then, there are three things that He who is our God has a right to expect from us.
(1) He has aright to expect our highest love. He is good; He is holy. God is love. He expects, and He deserves, our highest love. It is right to love Him better than any one else; but it is neither right nor possible to love any one else in this way.
(2) The second thing He has a right to expect from us is, our unquestioning obedience. It may not be always right to obey, without questioning, all that others command us; but it is always right to obey, without questioning, everything that God commands. He never does wrong Himself, and never commands others to do wrong.
(3) Then there is a third thing God expects from us, and that is, sincere worship. Sincere means that which is true or pure. Worship. Let us see what this means. Worship is a word made up of two other words, viz., worth, and ship or shape. It means, then, that we should put ourselves in the position or shape that is worthy of God. Or, it means that we should render to Him the service that is worthy of Him. And what is the proper shape or position for sinners such as we are to put ourselves in before God? David tells us, when he says, O come, let us worship and fall down; and kneel before the Lord our Maker. Yes, a position of humble reverence is what we should put ourselves in when we would worship God. This is the shape or condition worthy of God for sinful creatures to appear in. But the shape of a thing denotes its use or service. If you see iron put in the shape of a bright, sharp blade, you know it is designed to cut. If you see it put into a round shape, like a ball, you know it is designed to roll. If you see a pile of wood broken up into the shape of kindling, you know it is designed to burn. And if you see a man in the form of a servant, with an apron on, and his sleeves rolled up, you know he is designed for work. And so when we appear before God as His worshippers--in the form or shape worthy of Him--we mean to say that we are ready to offer Him our prayers and praises, and that we desire to serve Him. And when we do this honestly and earnestly, with all our hearts, that is sincere worship. This is the service God deserves. He is worthy of it.
II. The reason why we should have no other gods than the Lord. I wish to speak of three reasons.
1. The first reason is, because it is very foolish to do so.
(1) God is too rich for any one to take His place. All the gold and silver, all the gems and jewels and precious things in the world, and in all other worlds, belong to Him. He has need of them to supply the wants of His creatures. It is very foolish to have any one else than the Lord for our God, because no one else is rich enough to be our God.
(2) God is too great for any one to take His place. He is the greatest of all beings. How foolish it would be to blot out the sun from the sky, and then try to light up the world with candles! Yet it would be easier to do this than to put anything in the place of God.
(3) And then God is too wise for any one to take His place. How strange it is that anybody should ever think of putting stupid idols of wood or stone in the place of God!
2. The second reason why we ought to have no other gods than the Lord is, because it is very injurious.
(1) To have any other God than the Lord is injurious in two ways: one way in which it is so is, that it leaves us without help. Wouldnt it be very injurious to a sick man to leave him in a place where he could get no physician, no medicine, and no nurse? Wouldnt it be very injurious to a hungry man to leave him in a position where he could get no food?
(2) The other way is this: it exposes us to many troubles. We are told in the Bible, Their sorrows shall be greatly multiplied who go after other gods. All who are not Christians have some other god but the Lord. And all who do this will be made to feel how very injurious it is. When trouble and sorrow come upon them, they will have none to comfort them. When their sins press upon them as a heavy burden, they will have none who can give them pardon, and so lift off that burden. When they come to die, they will have no one to lean on as they go through the dark valley. At the judgment seat they will have no one to be their friend. In eternity they will have nothing to make them happy.
3. The third and last reason is, that it is very wicked. There are two things about this which show how wicked it is.
(1) There is robbery in it. And it is not robbing our friends, or our relations, or our fellow-creatures, or the angels of heaven. Any of these would be bad enough; but this is worse than all of them put together. It is robbing God!
(2) There is treason in it. (R. Newton, D. D.)
God supplemented
No other gods before Me. That is, No other gods in My presence; in sight of Me. God will not share His sovereignty with any being. And this is the commonest way of breaking this Commandment in our day. There is no danger of breaking it through over-loving a fellow-creature, through loving a child, or a wife, or a parent, or a friend, too dearly. It is a frightful error to suppose that. But it is possible for us to think that Gods power must be supplemented by mans power, by mans influence, by mans wealth, by mans work. A pastor may lean on God:--and a rich member of his congregation; but not without breaking the First Commandment. A politician may think that, besides Gods favour, he must have popular favour, to give him success. A business man may have it in his mind that public sentiment--even against strict right--must be yielded to in his business, although he believes in God as above all. A parent may feel that fashion and wealth have a power that cannot be dispensed with in giving his child a desirable place in life. A professed Christian may feel that Jesus Christ will save him, if only he does enough for his own salvation. All these are ways of breaking the First Commandment; not very uncommon ways, either! (H. C. Trumbull.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2–3 20:2 This sentence corresponds to the preamble in the…
20:2 This sentence corresponds to the preamble in the ancient covenant format. It gives the historical setting that makes such an agreement between two parties both possible and reasonable. We are told that the Lord your God was offering the covenant. It was not some unknown deity that offered this special relationship, but the God of Israel’s ancestors who had revealed his power and his care directly to them. Furthermore, that revelation was an act of gracious rescue on their behalf, demonstrating that he is the only God.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.