And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:1–3
Q: What is the first commandment?
A: You shall have no other gods before Me.
What does this mean?
We should worship, love, and trust in God more than anything else.
Who gets to go first? When someone has a birthday party, it’s tradition that the birthday boy or girl gets to have the first and biggest piece of cake. When you have guests over for dinner, it’s best to serve them first. When someone gets first place in a competition, what does that signify?
Being first is often the place of highest honor, isn’t it? When someone is first, it means that there is no one ahead of them. Said differently, there is no one “before” them.
That is what God is trying to communicate here. He is saying that He should be first in our lives. There should be no one “before” Him. He loves us too much to allow us to worship that which will ultimately makes us very sad, because it will let us down. God is the only person in the universe who won’t let us down when we make Him first. And, when God is first we have love and other good things from Him to share with others.
Read Psalm 96:1–6:
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
- According to this text why should we not worship idols?
- In contrast to the worship of idols, based on this Scripture, what are some ways that we should worship God?
Prayer
Our Father, may You help us to make You first in our lives. Thank You that You love us too much to allow us to make ourselves miserable by worshiping false gods. We want to worship You—and You alone. We know that true life and satisfaction is found in You alone. May You bring help and healing to us when we stray. In Jesus’ name and for his sake. Amen.