Commandment #1, No Other God
Top Ten: Commandment #1, No Other God
Main Verse: Exodus 20:1-3
Keep the Following in Mind
- The Law fits into a larger Biblical Narrative
- God’s Law Reveal His love and His Character
God’s commands come out of God’s love
So, disobeying God’s command is a form of rejecting God’s love.
We don’t have God’s love because we obey His commandments. We have God’s commandments because we have received His love.
The covenant was an agreement between God and the Nation of Israel that would set the stage for the coming Messiah.
In the Text (Exodus 20:1-3)
The Bible is important because God is speaking (Exodus 20:1)
- 3800 times the readers are instructed to hear the word of the Lord
- 32 times in the New Testament readers are commanded to hear the word of the Lord
- We receive this not because it’s convenient, culturally aligned, or compatible with our sensitivities.
God desires to bring people out of bondage from their false gods (20:2).
- The False god, Pharoh
- The True God, Yahweh
- A Loving King
- Frees People
- Values Life
- Invites us into a Covenant Relationship
God alone is completely sufficient to be God (20:3).
- This is a contrast with the following
- Pantheism- The Universe is god
- Polytheism- There are many gods
- Atheism- There is no god
- Deism- There is a god, but he’s not talking to us
- This also means, you are not God.
Reaction to the First Commandment:
- To the pluralist this is offensive, but it’s still true.
- To the agnostic this is presumptuous, but it’s still true.
- To the hedonist this is a buzz kill, but it’s still true.
- To the Hindu, this is obnoxious, but it’s still true.
- To the eastern mystic this seems too simple, but it’s still true.
- To the postmodern mind this is way too narrow, but it’s still true.
- But to the one who desires walk God, hear from God, be amazed by God, and then rise up to serve this might king, then this a wonder-filled message, that also happens to be true.
Application:
This week, examine how closely you are listening to God’s word as compared to what systems of the world say.
Do you have a tender heart toward God?