SABBATH THOUGHTS FOR YOUR WEEK
“Thou
shalt have no other gods before Me”
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They are called the “ten words” in the Hebrew.
We call them the ten commandments.
But a most interesting factor is that while they were the basis of the
covenant God made with the entire nation of Israel (Ex. 19:1-3), they are stated
in the singular pronoun “you” or “thou” rather than the plural “ye.”
“You (individually) shall have no other gods “before Me."
A more accurate rendering would be: "beside me" or "in addition
to Me.”
God claims to be God and there is no other (Isa. 46:9).
He specifically states we are not to follow other gods (Jer. 25:6;
35:15).
This commandment is reiterated in Exodus 20:23-24: “You shall not make other gods besides (same Hebrew word translated “before”) Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves” (NAS). The NIV translates this verse like this: “Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold” (NIV).
It was not good enough to say that you worshipped the Eternal (YHVH) the God of
Israel but then said that you also worshipped Dagon the god of the Phillistines.
You could not worship YHVH and Chemosh or Molech too. This is wht the
commandment forbade.
No one compromised himself more on this commandment than did King
Solomon.
He built shrines for his foreign wives with their pagan religions.
He held to the Eternal God but he didn’t think that it would hurt if he
allowed others to have their gods and even if he joined his wives in their
worship!
God spoke to him twice about this but he would not listen or change (1
Kings 11).
The great commandment that Jesus sanctioned was:
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5).
This left no room for watering down or placing other gods beside Him.
“Who among the gods is like you, O LORD?
Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working
wonders?” (Ex.15:11).
Jesus refused to bow down to and worship Satan even for all the kingdoms
of the world quoting the passage:
“For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”
(NIV).
Anything can be made into a “god.” Pride, covetousness, sensuality or
anything that is esteemed, loved, feared, delighted in or depended on more than
God Himself!
Paul said that in the world there are many “gods” and many
“lords” but for us there is but one God, the Father, and one Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom al things come and through who we live” (1 Cor. 8:4-7 NIV).
The command forbids us to worship others in addition to the Eternal.
Each individual must search his/her own heart to be sure there is no
other god beside or in addition to the Almighty God the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ!
--David L. Antion for Guardian Ministries