Exodus 20:3
"You shall have no other gods before Me."
In Exodus 20 verse 2 we read "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
Whenever we see the Name "LORD" written in all capital letters in our English translations, we know that in the original Hebrew the Name of God, יהוה (YHVH) was used.
The phrase "your God" in Hebrew is אלהיך (Elohim). Eloha is singular and Elohim is plural. From a Biblical point of view the use of the plural form of the word, points to the fact that "all power and all authority" belongs to God! There is nothing else besides Him or like Him.
The word Elohim means to judge. In other words God was saying: "I am YHVH, your Judge."
In Matthew 7:1-5 we read a well known passage... "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
This verse has nothing to do with "judging" the actions of others like many people these days like to use this piece of Scripture for.
This piece of Scripture is actually saying that we should not try to take the role of YHVH over someone else's life. There is a massive difference between judging someone and keeping someone accountable!
We are called to keep one another accountable. Being kept accountable is hardly ever a nice experience and that's why so many people feel offended and immediately fight back by saying "who are you to judge" or that we are not allowed to judge one another.
Keeping others accountable means that we help others - in love - to stick to the Truth, to align their lives to be according to Abba's instructions. We are instructed to do that! If we don't, we are actually partialy responsible for their fall.
However, when we judge someone based on whether WE think they measure up or whether WE agree with their actions - it's no longer rooted in the Word. And then we step into the position of "elohim" - appointing ourselves as judges over others. We are appointing ourselves to be gods. That "job" and title belongs to God and God alone!
We are allowed (and supposed to) to call fellow believers out when they are not walking according to the Word. But we are not allowed to judge them according to our own beliefs and ideas. Accountability is a biblical principle that’s rooted in the Word. Judgement belongs to God and when we apply it it comes from a place which is rooted in “self.”
Romans 14:4
Psalms 139:16-17
God knows exactly what He expects from each one of us individually and what He has called us for. He will take care of the judgement work that needs to be done - it's not for us to worry about.
Thus what we can learn from this commandment is, that we are not supposed to exalt ourselves to "little gods" through stepping into a position which we are not called for through judging others.
Instead of keeping one another accountable through standing in Truth and operating in love... The world has accepted the standard to judge one another.
This worldy standard has caused us to run after things of the flesh. Just to avoid the judgement of the world...
We spend so much of our time trying to impress people whom we don't even know or like.
We spend less time to impress the people whom we know and do like.
And we spent the least amount of time to impress God - the Only One Whom we are supposed to "impress."
We should desire to impress God because we love Him. And we impress Him when we שהמ (shama - listen and obey) His instructions.
Everything in the Bible, all of the instructions and everything we do and how we conduct our lives - should all flow from the love which we have for Abba.
He loved us first and gave us an opportunity (eternity with Him) which we do not deserve nor could we ever earn it. He did it all because of His love for us. In return, as a result of the love we have for Him - we choose to obey and walk according to His instructions.
When you love someone, nothing you do for them is burdensome. When you choose Abba it should come from a place of love and not from a place of obligation. If you love Him - it will be your joy and honour to obey Him.
John 14:15 & 21
God loved Israel, His chosen nation, so much that He set them free from slavery. Today, He loves His children (us) just as much and He wants to set us free as well.
Our greatest desire and goal in life should be to love and be loved by Abba Father. The latter is already true, we are already loved by Him. If it wasn’t the case, He would not have sent His Son to die for our sins! But the choice is in our hands whether we will love Him back. When we do - He will have the number 1 position in our lives! He would not have to fight for our time and a spot in our busy schedules - or shall we call them for what they are - our little gods!
Each and every god have their own commandments - be it work commitments, relationship obligations, chasing money, etc... If you allow another god first place in your life - you will run after that god. The only God Who truly deserves our time and our commitment is God and God alone. When we are in place - in submission through love driven obedience - the rest will then automatically fall in place!
This commandment is the basis / starting point for the rest of the commandments. We'll never be able to keep any of the other commandments if we don't firstly keep this one!
1st Commandment (The blog you are reading now)
2nd Commandment - scheduled for 1 November 2023
3rd Commandment - scheduled for 8 November 2023
4th Commandment - scheduled for 15 November 2023
5th Commandment - scheduled for 22 November 2023
6th Commandment - scheduled for 29 November 2023
7th Commandment - scheduled for 6 December 2023
8th Commandment - scheduled for 13 December 2023
9th Commandment - scheduled for 20 December 2023
10th Commandment - scheduled for 27 December 2023