Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me

“And God spake all these words, saying, 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.” (Exodus 20:1-3, KJV).

Controversy has raged about the Ten Commandments for some time. Once prominently displayed in public buildings in America where the laws of the land are administered, a hue and cry has arisen about how such displays are a breach of the separation of church and state and are unconstitutional. The vocal minority has overruled the silent majority and the basic tenets of a Christian nation are no longer held in high esteem as a part of life and practice.

Regardless of the controversy, the Ten Commandments are still intact and provide a framework of conduct for those who believe in the Sovereign God and seek to follow His precepts. God gave the commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” After their Exodus from Egypt, where in that culture the Egyptians worshipped sun, moon, the sacred bull, the Nile River, and other entities set up as gods, Jehovah God spoke to Moses and told him to declare to the people, “I am the Lord thy God.” God had led them out of bondage. The people were to be reminded of their dependence upon and allegiance to the God who delivers. As they progressed toward and conquered the Promised Land, where the occupants also worshipped multiple pagan gods, the Israelites were to remain faithful to God the Almighty, Deliverer and Sovereign.

The Ten Commandments were given by God to the leader of the Israelite nation, Moses. They were intended as the major guide for life as it ought to be lived.
Though set as the nation’s standard for faith and practice, the commandments are, in turn, to be obeyed by each individual. For nations of God-seeking and God-fearing people since ancient Isreal’s time, the Ten Commandments have been the basis of law and order. But it is on a personal and private level that the commandments are exercised. The first is powerful and initial to all the others: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Jesus gave new meaning to the commandments. Hear Him as He teaches the disciples and us: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-39) Today, love, honor, praise, obey and adore God.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, August 5, 2010