Deuteronomy 6.13-15

“It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you, for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God, lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.”

The first commandment requires that Israel worship only God. We might expect to see this commandment reinforced in various ways throughout the Law of God, as it is here. God alone is to be feared. His name alone is to be a focal point for oaths and other forms of truthful speech. Israel is to “go after” God only and to stay away from all foreign deities, no matter how they may be pressed upon them by the surrounding nations. God is “jealous” toward Israel because He knows that only His love can suffice to meet their need and give them full and abundant life. When God’s people reject His freely-offered counsel and promises, they are left to their own fate (Prov. 14.12).

God is adamant about obeying Him, so much so that He will discipline His people in order to restore them to Him and to His way of righteousness and life. In this, as in all things, God has not changed (Heb. 12.1-11).

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.