Recently I’ve felt compelled to write about the Ten Commandments. I’m not sure exactly why. I have been focused on the second and fifth especially recently, but I think part of the reason is simply to put forth my current view and interpretation before I begin my MA in Biblical Studies program in early 2027.
With that short preamble, let’s dive into the first.
You shall have no other gods before Me.
When Moses received the Ten Commandments from God, the Israelites had just been delivered from slavery in Egypt and were being formed into a covenant nation. They were also surrounded by cultures that worshiped many gods and often attributed natural events, military victories, prosperity, calamity, and other aspects of life to the actions or desires of those gods.
The God of Abraham, the One True God, the I AM, made clear that this was not acceptable. He was not simply to be first among many gods. He alone was to be worshiped.
Throughout the Bible, God shows Himself as a loving yet just God. Many seem to focus heavily on the loving part while diminishing, if not outwardly ignoring, the just attribute. Scripture also describes God as jealous, though I don’t think that word carries quite the same connotation as jealousy among humans. God’s jealousy is not rooted in insecurity or envy. Rather, He requires the worship, loyalty, and devotion that rightfully belong to Him alone.
To me, that is the heart of the First Commandment: seek God, worship God, and place no other god alongside Him. And those competing gods need not necessarily have names or statues.
In today’s world, I think this also means that the idea that all religions ultimately lead to the same God is incompatible with the First Commandment from a Christian perspective.
The First Commandment seems to leave little room for the idea that God is simply one valid option among many. If He is truly the One True God, then He alone is worthy of worship.
That is my primary takeaway from the First Commandment.
What’s yours? I welcome comments below.
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