The Ten Commandments (they are not suggestions) – #1 (No Other Gods)

This is an excerpt from my book, GRAFTED: Embracing Torah, which can be purchased at Amazon.

Enjoy!

The Ten Commandments (The Big Ones)

And God (Elohim) spake all these words, saying, (Exodus 20:1)

Exodus 19:25 states, “So Moses went down unto the people,
and spake unto them.” This is the third time Moses came down from
Mount Sinai (between Exodus 19:3 and Exodus 34:29, Moses goes
up to meet Elohim atop Mount Sinai and comes back down seven
times – not bad for an eighty-year-old guy).

The verse following Exodus 19:25 (Exodus 20:1) states, “God
spake all these words…” so it appears Elohim audibly spoke to all the Israelites.

This seems to be confirmed in verses 18–22:

¹⁸ And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. ¹⁹ And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. ²⁰ And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. ²¹ And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. ²² And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven.

The people in the valley were so shaken by the experience that
they did not want Elohim to speak to them again (I’m sure there was
a lot of reverb and pyrotechnics). The word Elohim is used because
His Message was for more than just the Israelites. This tells me that
what we refer to as the Ten Commandments are so important that
Elohim felt the need to personally tell them to His people. This is
why I wanted to start with them.

1. “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out
   of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou
   shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2–3).

Paganism is identified by the use of many gods for any number
of functions. The Israelites were considered odd for only having one
God. Worship of any other gods (e.g., Ba’al, Dagon, Osiris) was
equated with adultery (Jeremiah 3:8–9. See also, chapter 7 in my book GRAFTED: Embracing Torah). Yahweh warned the Israelites that they would be tempted by the gods (and traditions) of the land they would enter, and Joshua had to admonish them to put away the gods of the Amorites that they had taken as spoils of war.

The cycle is continuous and painful. Throughout the books of
the Kings, the rulers of Israel would rise up and purge the land of
false deities, and others would rise up and purge the land of true
worship and would venerate idols.

Yahweh directed Moses to make an image of a “fiery serpent” and place it upon a pole (Numbers 21:8–9). While in the wilderness, the people once again spoke against Moses and Yahweh. They removed themselves from the protection of Yahweh, and snakes came and bit the people, causing many to die. All who looked upon the brass serpent Moses had made, and believed, were healed of the lethal effects of the snake bites.

What was made for good later became idolatrous. King Hezekiah (750 years later) destroyed the serpent made by Moses (2Kings 18:4) because the people of Judah were worshiping it. No doubt the serpent had been kept to remind people of the power and mercy of Yahweh, but it evolved into something they believed could heal on its own if they worshiped it.

Yahweh warned that he would allow the Gentiles to ravage their land and carry them off into captivity, but still they worshiped the pagan gods. Even after the ten northern tribes of Israel were conquered and carried away to Assyria (2 Kings 17), the remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin refused to give up idol worship and were conquered then carried away to Babylon (2 Kings 24).

Therefore, what constitutes “having other gods before me”? The
obvious ones are idol worship. Are you worshiping Dagon (head
of a fish and the body of a man – the main god of the Philistines)?
You probably will want to stop that. Other forms of idolatry are less
obvious, and may even appear innocent.

The Catholic Church made a fortune by allowing the faithful
to offer indulgences for relics (i.e., pay coin in order to pay homage
to a “sacred relic”). It was taught that these bits of artifacts, if revered, could heal and/or ensure salvation, replacing true homage of the Father who is the Author of salvation. It was one of the “wicked practices” that Martin Luther spoke out against when he posted his 95 theses on the chapel door of the University of Wittenberg.

What does idolatry look like in the modern world?  What do people worship today?

Gods of the arena comes to mind.  Sports are wonderful and the great talent is exhilarating, but how many people do we know that have a virtual shrine in their home of their favorite sport’s team or individual athlete?  How many people do we know that spend endless hours pouring over sports’ statistics, collecting sports’ memorabilia, and debating the greatness of present and historical sports’ figures?

I put forward that anything that distracts from Yahweh is idolatry – even good things. Sports’ zealots, music groupies, Cosplay fanatics, environmental extremists – anything that can be good in normal circumstances can become idolatry based on one’s intensity and level of devotion.

Do you believe in conservationism? That is a good thing. Adam was “placed in Eden” to “dress and keep” the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15).

Are you an environmental extremist? Do you believe in leaving
our forests untouched and pristine (leading to massive wildfires
that destroy the land, the wildlife, and the humanity present) and
wage legal battles to stop the stewardship of our forests and other
resources? This could be idolatry depending on your level of intensity and time committed to the cause.

Are you an extreme Swiftie? I was a huge Beatles fan – I listened to their music constantly, read everything I could find about them, covered my walls with posters of them, had a Beatles’ haircut. I even started a Beatles fan club in my high school in 1977, eight years after the group had split up. Being a fan of good music is probably not a bad thing. If you were a Beatlemaniac in the 1960s (or in the 1970s in my case), then you may have crossed the line, depending on your level of devotion.

Even intellect can become a god. Yahweh blessed King Solomon with great wisdom to help him rule justly over Israel (1Kings 3:9-14). Over time, his quest for knowledge perverted his faithfulness to Yahweh as he sought after the gods of his foreign wives (1Kings 113-6).

     People of intellect often think they can be moral in the absence of a universal God and His precepts. The French Revolution denounced Roman Catholicism and replaced Yahweh’s moral code with the “Cult of Reason”. Faith is mocked and ridiculed today amongst governmental leaders, university faculties, and popular culture (movies and music) – their enlightened vision for humanity is seen as superior to antiquated faith and morality.

Satan can use nearly anything to promote idol worship. Worshipping a mythical goddess (e.g., Starbucks or Versace logos) does not necessitate a shrine and comfort with embracing ungodly product logos, music lyrics, screen images, and political causes makes one receptive to being beguiled in other ways.

How much of your time do you devote to the distractions of life? Many of those distractions are important and must be dealt with – often on a daily basis. There is a balance you must recognize and maintain. Continually examine how much time you spend in prayer and devotion compared with worldly activities. It helps to have people in your life to help keep you accountable.

I would venture to say that since the Scriptures do not support the doctrine of trinity, believing in three gods instead of one is idolatry.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.  ⁵ And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 

(Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

I believe that the Word states Yeshua is the son of God, but it also tells us that the Messiah was as Adam in every way, except that Yeshua led a sinless life (Romans 5:12–17). No one professes that Adam was God.

I’m sure that many have closed this website after reading the previous paragraph. I do not seek to convert you to a form of Unitarianism, but if you are interested in seeing why many people do not profess the divinity of Yeshua and why this is scripturally important, then I recommend you get a copy of One God & One Lord by Mark H. Graeser, John A. Lynn, and John W. Schoenheit. Many other books on the same topic are available.

Jesus Christ is Not God by Victor Paul Weirwille is another good (and easier to read) source of information but is less annotated.

Belief in Yeshua’s humanity or divinity does not impact the Commandments – the central point of obeying Yahweh’s Laws and renewing your relationship with Him, through His son, remains the whole purpose of this work.

[continue to the 2d Commandment – No Graven Images]

[1st Commandment – No Other Gods]

[2d Commandment – No Graven Images]

[3d Commandment – Taking the Name of Yahweh in Vain]

[4th Commandment – Keep the Sabbath Holy]

The first four Commandments are considered to be vital to our relationship with Elohim. The last six Commandments concern our relationship with others. This is why, when asked what the greatest commandment is, Yeshua is able to embody all ten in his short answer:

³⁷ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

(Matthew 22:37–39)

[5th Commandment – Honor Your Father and Mother]

[6th Commandment – Do Not Murder]

[7th Commandment – No Adultery]

[8th Commandment – Do Not Steal]

[9th Commandment – Do Not Swear Falsely]

[10th Commandment – Do Not Covet]