You shall have no other gods before Me
The blogs for recent days have been about how we move toward a closer walk with the Lord, beginning with confession of sin. Mention was made of the Ten Commandments as God’s moral law. Given to Israel as it became a nation under what is now considered the Old Covenant, these commandments also reveal the nature of God and the universal moral code that He has given to us. Since we have introduced these thoughts the last few days in these blogs, it seems to me that further discussion of the Ten Commandments is appropriate. So today we begin a series of blogs about the Commandments.
The First four Commandments are about how we relate to our God. The First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me,” means “Have no other gods, period.” “Before me” is literally translated, “Before my face,” making the commandment mean, “no other gods at all.”
Only one king of Israel obeyed this Commandment: King David. All the other kings led God’s people into idolatry because it satisfied their sinful desires. But King David was “a man after God’s own heart,” meaning he viewed life through God’s eyes. He therefore saw God as the only God there is, demanding our obedience.
It seems to me that each of us who claim to know the Lord will allow nothing to take God’s place in our heart. Idolatry today takes a different form: it is whatever we desire that gives God second place in our plans and dreams. It leads to sinful ambition, greed, self-sufficiency, narcissism, exaltation of self in myriad forms. It is as if we said to God, “move over, big guy, make room for what I really want in life.”
If I am confessing my sins, therefore, I see myself breaking this Commandment to have no other gods being broken in countless ways as I go my own way, sinning and coming short of God’s glory. Please forgive, Lord.
Words: Adelaide A. Pollard
Music: George C. Stebbins
1907
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your
God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.