A state or government without a law or governing rules is chaotic and unstable. The 21st century believers must bear in mind that the 10 Commandments are not simply moral rules issued by God, but they are laws to be strictly and perfectly observed in the emerging nation Israel. The 10 Commandments are the laws given by YHWH to Moses in Mount Sinai as part of the covenant that He established with His own people, whom He brought out of Egypt (Exodus 12:41). The Lord as the giver of the law made a prologue, which serves as a premise of the Decalogue,1 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2, NASB).2 This statement became the foundation why Israel has to listen and obey the ten imperatives given to them.
The Nature of the Commandments
The 10 Commandments is so unique compared to the other codes written in the Ancient Near East. This set of imperatives embodies a relational aspect of both Human to God and Human to fellow Humans. There are two kinds of laws during the Old Testament times. They are the “Apodictic Laws” and the “Casuistic Laws.”3 Apodictic are laws with categorical imperatives. They begin with either “do” or “do not;” Casuistic laws on the other hand are laws for a certain condition or qualifying circumstances. The second kind or category can easily be identified with the conditional indicators “if & then.”4 The Decalogue belongs to the first category. This could mean that its essence is not based on any situation, but in any given condition, Israel has to follow all of it.
Explanation of the First Commandment
“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). The statement is a strong emphatic prohibition of YHWH for His people to be contaminated by other deities. Since the Decalogue was given within the context of the covenant in which its essence is a relationship with YHWH, then it must be understood as an emphatic prohibition for the Israelites to be related with other gods. In relation to the prologue, the people should always remember that YHWH was the one who brought them out of the Egyptian bondage which lasted for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41). The length of their slavery should cause Israel to never forget their past in the land of Egypt, which at the same time will highlight the marvellous work of God in giving them freedom with the desire of bringing them to the Promised Land. This fact should become a reminder to Israel that the God, who is YHWH, who brought them out of slavery has to receive the full allegiance or loyalty. Israel has to be faithful to YHWH in the entirety of their existence. "God’s faithfulness to His people had already been demonstrated in the exodus, as indicated in the preface to the commandments. In turn, God required more than anything else faithfulness in the relationship of His people with Him."5 In a nutshell, the first commandment should be understood within the boundary of faithfulness in the context of relationship. Israel should only be related with YHWH. This relationship is expressed in constant worship from the inmost part of every child of God, which would also require a constant awareness of His exclusive claim of their faithfulness. YHWH does not only demand priority but exclusivity.
Implication to the 21st Century Believers
To worship God means to recognize the worth of God. God’s worth is who He is for what He is in His being and what He is in His doing: What He has done; what He is doing; and what He will be doing. There are two implications of the first commandment to us today. First, we should recognize God as the cause of all good things. As the Israelites should give God the recognition for the entirety of their existence and in all the events that take place; so as the believers of the 21st century should bring God the glory and honor for what has taken place, what is taking place, and what will be taking place in our corporate existence and in our individual lives. How can this be done? In our daily activities, we are confronted with two different causes. There is the immediate cause and the ultimate cause. The immediate causes can be our boss who gives us the salary or benefits, or our neighbours or friends who offer us gifts. They can be something or someone that we will honor because of what we received and experienced. The ultimate cause on the other hand is YHWH who is the main source of all good things. In life, it is good to thank the immediate causes, but we should never forget to give the glory to the ultimate cause of the blessings. Second, we should be constantly aware that our lives have its meaning only because of God. As Israel should remember about the freedom from their hopeless slavery in Egypt, we should also recall the fact that we were also in a hopeless case but we were redeemed by God through the blood of Christ. Every one of us must live in owe and awe of God. He owns us, and He sustains us. No one else should take His throne in our hearts. It is an exclusive claim of YHWH in every believer’s life.
1 The term used by the Greeks pertaining to the Ten Commandments.
2 All Bible verses quoted in this article are from NASB, except if it is indicated by the author.
3 Sonic Light, Notes on Exodus by Thomas Constable, 2nd ed., 1999-2012,
http://www.soniclight.com /constable/notes/pdf/exodus.pdf (accessed 16 September 2012).
4 Ibid.
5 Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed., (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academics, 2001), p1172.
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