10 C's: #1 No other gods before me
Exodus 20:3 (King James Version)
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
why is this? what's this mean?
"thou" is a formal "you all." so this one, like all the others, is addressed to the community.
"shalt" is a future form. this is a command and a promise, like all the others.
"have," a "being" verb.
"gods," this is the word elohim, which refers to God himself, but also competitors.
"before," instead of
"Me." God
why?
because all other things that we worship are not worth it. every thing else worshipped is created, but not creator, they are shadows, instead of the sun. God is unique.
Exodus 15:11 "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? (NIV)
Isaiah 43:10 "But you are my witnesses, O Israel!" says the LORD. "And you are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and never will be. (NLT) [attention Mormons]
Isaiah 44:8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." (NIV) [attention Hindus]
only this God can save us
Isaiah 45:21-22
Declare and present your case;let them take counsel together!Who told this long ago?Who declared it of old?Was it not I, the Lord?And there is no other god besides me,a righteous God and a Savior;there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved,all the ends of the earth!For I am God, and there is no other. (ESV) [attention universalists]
1 Corinthians 8:6 But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life. (NLT) [attention modalists]
what's it mean to have gods before God? well what's it mean to hold God first?
Dueteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you (NASB)
Worship is an action.
2 Kings 17:35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: "Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. (NIV)
worship is an ascription of honor
Psalms 29:2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. (ESV)
worship is desire
Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (NIV)
worship is identity
Psalm 81:9 There must not be a strange god among you; you must not bow down to a foreign god. (HCSB)
worship is trust
Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. (NRSV)
do we worship other gods?
Philippians 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. (NAS)
Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. (NIV)
to worship anything else other than God is to lie because only God is worthy of worship.
John 4:24 God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (NET)
if our worship isn't of the source of truth, the source of everything, the first mover, the creator then it isn't true worship. it we are honest, our object of worship wavers constantly, from hunger pangs to money to alternative philosophy to, ultimately, ourselves. but that's why there is comfort in the command also being a promise.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (KJV)
the first commandment sets the tone for all the rest. i consider the other 9 variations on this theme. its for all of us. its a command and a promise. it's about keeping the first one first.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
why is this? what's this mean?
"thou" is a formal "you all." so this one, like all the others, is addressed to the community.
"shalt" is a future form. this is a command and a promise, like all the others.
"have," a "being" verb.
"gods," this is the word elohim, which refers to God himself, but also competitors.
"before," instead of
"Me." God
why?
because all other things that we worship are not worth it. every thing else worshipped is created, but not creator, they are shadows, instead of the sun. God is unique.
Exodus 15:11 "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? (NIV)
Isaiah 43:10 "But you are my witnesses, O Israel!" says the LORD. "And you are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and never will be. (NLT) [attention Mormons]
Isaiah 44:8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." (NIV) [attention Hindus]
only this God can save us
Isaiah 45:21-22
Declare and present your case;let them take counsel together!Who told this long ago?Who declared it of old?Was it not I, the Lord?And there is no other god besides me,a righteous God and a Savior;there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved,all the ends of the earth!For I am God, and there is no other. (ESV) [attention universalists]
1 Corinthians 8:6 But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life. (NLT) [attention modalists]
what's it mean to have gods before God? well what's it mean to hold God first?
Dueteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you (NASB)
Worship is an action.
2 Kings 17:35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: "Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. (NIV)
worship is an ascription of honor
Psalms 29:2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. (ESV)
worship is desire
Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (NIV)
worship is identity
Psalm 81:9 There must not be a strange god among you; you must not bow down to a foreign god. (HCSB)
worship is trust
Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. (NRSV)
do we worship other gods?
Philippians 3:19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. (NAS)
Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. (NIV)
to worship anything else other than God is to lie because only God is worthy of worship.
John 4:24 God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (NET)
if our worship isn't of the source of truth, the source of everything, the first mover, the creator then it isn't true worship. it we are honest, our object of worship wavers constantly, from hunger pangs to money to alternative philosophy to, ultimately, ourselves. but that's why there is comfort in the command also being a promise.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (KJV)
the first commandment sets the tone for all the rest. i consider the other 9 variations on this theme. its for all of us. its a command and a promise. it's about keeping the first one first.
