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The Intent of the First Commandment (3)
Exodus 20.3; Deuteronomy 5.7
“…You shall have no other gods before me.”
Second, God regards all creatures and things, other than Himself, as “gods”, albeit, false ones, when His people ascribe to them the blessings they daily enjoy.
Here we must not think only in terms of pagan deities or the false gods of major religions, past or present. Whatever human beings turn to in order to secure the blessings of God through their own hands are gods, after a fashion. This also implies that all worldviews other than that which God reveals in His Word are, in the nature of the case, religions, since they focus on unseen promises, give devotion to supposedly ultimate powers, and engender rituals and routines designed to engage those powers for those unseen but hoped-for ends.
Made in the image of God, all human beings have a sense of transcendence and of the ultimate good, toward which they strive in order to achieve wellbeing.
God would have His people know that He will tolerate no other gods, of any kind, as objects of His people’s devotion and service. God requires exclusive devotion to His Name, in the form of love and service, from those He has redeemed.
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.