The first commandment

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Exodus 20:3 3"Youshall have no other gods before
me.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The First And SecededCommandments:Against Polytheism And Image-
worship
Exodus 20:3-6
D. Young
These two commandments seemto be bound togethernaturally by the reason
given in ver. 5. There Jehovahsays, "I am a jealous God;" obviously such a
feeling of jealousyapplies with as much force to the worship of other gods as
to the making of graven images. Consider-
I. THE POSSIBLE TRANSGRESSION HERE INDICATED.The having of
other gods than Jehovah, and the representationof them by images of created
things. The declarationhere is not againstmore gods than one. Such a
declarationwould have been incomprehensible to the Israelite at this time,
even to Moses himself. The utter emptiness of all idolatry, the non-existence,
exceptas the imagination of a superstitious and darkenedmind, of any other
Deity than Jehovahwas a truth not yet appreciable by those to whom Jehovah
spoke. He had to take his people as they stood, believers in the existence and
powerof other gods, and proclaim to them with all the impressiveness that

came from the demonstrations of Sinai, that none of these gods was to be in
the smallestdegree recognised. An idolater in the midst of his idolatries, and
not yet laid hold of by Jehovah's hand, might as well have a thousand gods as
one. Jehovahspeaks here to those who are already bound to himself. Have
they not made their promise? Did not the people answerand say, "All that the
Lord hath spokenwe will do"? It was the right and dutiful course of every
Israelite to worship him, serve him, and depend upon him. The greatand
pressing peril was that, side by side with Jehovah, the people should try to put
other gods. And to have other gods meant, practically, to have images of them.
How necessaryand appropriate these two commandments were to come at
this particular time and in this particular order, is seenwhen we considerthe
image-making into which Israelfell during the seclusionof Mosesin the
mount. This seems to have been the accordantactof the whole people;Aaron,
who was soonto be the chief officialin Jehovah's ritual, being the eager
instrument to gratify their desires. Nor was this a mere passing danger to the
Israelites, a something which in due time they would outgrow. The peril lies
deep in the infirmities of human nature. Those whom Jehovahhas brought in
any measure to himself, need to be reminded that he is master. Jesus has put
the thing as plain as it canbe put, "No man canserve two masters." We
canner serve God and Mammon. Dependence onsomething else than God,
even though there be nothing of religious form in the dependence, is a peril
into which we are all liable to come. It is hard to fight - harder than we
imagine till we are fairly put to the struggle - againstthe allurements of the
seenand temporal. Even when we admit that there is an invisible God whose
claims are supreme, and whose gifts, presentand future, are beyond anything
that the seenin its pride and beauty canafford - even then we have the utmost
difficulty in carrying our admission into practice.
II. CONSIDERIN PARTICULAR HOW THE COMMANDMENT
AGAINST IMAGE-WORSHIP MAY APPLY TO US. Those who go in the
way of right worship are in the wayto a profitable knowledge ofGod. They
come to be recognisedby him, acceptedby him, and blessedby him. Having
graven images inevitably led away from Jehovah. There was no possibility of
keeping the first commandment, even in the leastdegree, if the secondevenin
the leastdegree was broken. Certainly we are under no temptation to make

images, but it comes to the same thing if we have images ready made. It is
conceivable that the day may come when not an image shall be left in the
world, except on museum shelves, and the trade of Demetrius thus come to an
end. But what of that? The change may simply be one of form. Why men
should first have made images and called them gods is an impenetrable
mystery. We cannot but wonderwho was the first man to make an image and
why he made it. But that image-making, once established, shouldcontinue and
return into practice again and again in spite of all attempts to destroy it, is
easyenough to understand. Habit, tradition, training, will accountfor
everything in this way. Yet the practice of image-worship, atall events in its
grossestforms, can only exist togetherwith dense intellectual darkness. When
men begin to think and question as to the foundation of things, when they get
awayfrom their mother's knee, then the simple faith in what they have been
taught deserts them. There is a frequent and natural enough lamentation that
those who have been taught concerning Christ in childhood, oftentimes in
manhood depart from him by the way of scepticism, into utter disbelief and
denial. Yet we must remember that it is exactly by this kind of process
thousands in still image-worshipping lands have broken awayfrom their
image-worship. It has not satisfiedthe awakenedand expanding intellect.
There is this difference, however, that whereas the awakenedintellect
forsaking Christ may come back to him, and indeed actually does so oftener
than we think, the awakenedintellectforsaking image-worshipcannotgo
back to it. But to something as a dependent creature he must go. A man
leaving his old idolatries and not finding Christ, must needs turn to some new
idolatry, none the less real as an idolatry, none the less injurious to his best
interests because the image-form is absent. We must not make to ourselves
anything whatever to take the place of God, intercept the sight of him, or
deaden his voice. We may contradictthe spirit of the secondcommandment,
in doing things which we think profitable to the religious life and glorifying to
God. A greatdeal that is reckonedbeneficialand even indispensable in the
Church of Christ, that has grownwith its growthand strengthened with its
strength, might come to look very questionable, if only the spirit of this
commandment were exactly appreciated. How many splendid buildings, how
many triumphs of the architect, how many combined results of many arts
would then be utterly swept away!Men delude themselves with the notion

that these things bring them nearerto God, whereas they simply take his
place. In worshipping him we should regard with the utmost jealousyall mere
indulgence of the sensesand even of the intellect.
III. THE DIVINE REASON GIVEN FOR ATTENDING TO THESE
COMMANDMENTS, Manyreasons might have been given, as for instance,
the vanity of graven images, their uselessnessin the hour of need, the
degradationin which they involved the worshippers. But God brings forward
a reasonwhich needed to be brought forward, and put in the very front place,
where human thought might continually be directed to it. Polytheism and
image-worshipare indeed degrading and mischievous to man - but what is of
far greatermoment, they are also dishonouring to the glory of Deity. Those
who were sliding awayinto the service of other gods were showing that they
had no truly reverent appreciation of Jehovah;and in order to intimate the
severity of his requirements with respectto exclusive and devoted service,
Jehovahspeaks ofhimself as possessing a feeling which, when found among
men is like a devouring and unquenchable fire. A jealous man does well to be
jealous, if he has sufficient ground for the feeling at all, if the affection,
service, and sympathies that should be reservedfor him are turned elsewhere.
Think then of such a feeling, exalted into the pure intensity of a holy anger
and bursting into actionfrom God himself, and then you have the measure of
his wrath with those who think that the glory of the incorruptible God can be
changedinto an image made like to corruptible man. He makes his jealousy
apparent in unquestionable, deeply penetrating action. It is the actionof the
greatI AM, who controls thousands of generations. Goddoes, as a matter of
fact, visit the iniquities of the fathers on the children, and the magnitude of
what he does is accountedfor by the intensity of his feelings with respectto
those who give his glory to another. His almighty hand comes down with a
blow the afflictive energies ofwhich cannot be exhausted in one or even two
generations. Saynot that there is something unjust about this. That each
generationmust take something in the way of suffering from preceding
generations is a fact only too plain, altogetherapart from the Scriptures. The
mercy of God is that he here gives us something in explanation of the fact, and
of how to distinguish its working and at lastdestroy it. To serve idols, to
depend upon anything else than God, anything less than him, anything more

easilyreachedand more easilysatisfied - this, when stripped of all disguise,
amounts to hating God. And a man living in this wayis preparing, not only
punishments for himself, but miseries for those who come after him. Many
times we have advice given us to think of posterity. Depend upon it, he thinks
most of posterity who serves the will of God most humbly and lovingly, with
the utmost concentrationand assiduity, in his own generation. Note here also
the unmistakable revelation of God's merciful disposition. He visits iniquity to
the third and fourth generationof them that hate him. But those who love him
are blessedto thousands of generations. Notthat the blessing will be actually
operative, for, alas, there may come in many things to hinder. But the
expresseddispositionof Godremains. If the posterity of the faithful to God
are unblessed, it is because they themselves are utterly carelessas to the
peculiar privileges into which they have been introduced. - Y.
Biblical Illustrator
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:3

The First Commandment
R. W. Dale, D. D.
I. This Commandment DOES NOT TELL THE JEWS THAT THE GODS
WORSHIPPED BYOTHER NATIONS HAVE NO EXISTENCE;it tells him
that he must offer them no homage, and that from him they must receive no
recognitionof their authority and power. The Jew must serve Jehovah, and
Jehovahalone. This was the truest method of securing the ultimate triumph of
monotheism. A religious dogma, true or false, perishes if it is not rooted in the
religious affections and sustained by religious observances.But although the
First Commandment does not declare that there is one God, the whole system
of Judaism rests on that sublime truth, and what the Jews had witnessedin
Egypt and since their escape from slavery must have done more to destroy
their reverence for the gods of their old masters than could have been effected
by any dogmatic declarationthat the gods of the nations were idols.
II. THE FIRST COMMANDMENTMAY APPEAR TO HAVE NO DIRECT
PRACTICAL VALUE FOR OURSELVES. It would be a perversion of its
obvious intention to denounce covetousness,socialambition, or excessive love
of children. These are not the sins which this Commandment was meant to
forbid. It must be admitted that there is no reasonwhy God should say to any
of us, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." If He were to speak to
many of us, it would be necessaryto condemn us for having no god at all. The
appalling truth is, that many of us have sunk into atheism. We all shrink from
contactwith God. And yet He loves us. But even His love would be unavailing
if He did not inspire those who are filled with shame and sorrow by the
discoveryof their estrangementfrom Him, with a new and supernatural life.
(R. W. Dale, D. D.)
H. Crosby, D. D.

I. ALL WANT OF A POSITIVE ALLEGIANCE TO JEHOVAH IS A
POSITIVE ALLEGIANCE TO ANOTHER ELOHIM OR SUPREME GOD.
A self-reliant man, in the strict sense of the word, never yet existed. Man's
nature is such that he looks without him for support, as the ivy feels for the
tree or the wall. If he has not the true and living God as his stay, then he is an
idolater.
II. ALL ALLEGIANCE TO GOD THAT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE HIM AS
HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF IS ALLEGIANCE TO A FALSE GOD. So
a view of God as careless ofpersonalholiness in His creatures, oras too
exalted to notice all their minute acts and thoughts, or as tyrannical and
arbitrary in His dealings with them, or as appeasable by self-denials and
penances, is a view of a false god, and not a view of Jehovah, the only living
and true God. And the man who, despising or neglecting the Holy Scriptures,
and trusting to his reasonor his dreams, or to nature, or to nothing, holds
such a god before his mind, is an idolater; he has put another Elohim before
JehovahElohim. Becausethe thought of the Divine Being which he thus
introduces into his heart becomes the substitute for the true motion that
should guide his life, he puts the helm into as false hands as if he had delivered
it to Mammon. Severalsubordinate thoughts naturally follow.
1. The help of the true God, JehovahJesus, shouldbe soughtby us to
overthrow our false gods. By that very act we should offer rightful allegiance,
and, in so doing, consecrate ourlife to the rightful service ofHim who is our
rightful King.
2. How watchful we should be in this earth, where the false gods are not only
plenty, but exactlyafter the fashion of our own depraved hearts! It was saidof
Athens that at eachcornerthere was a new god, and some have even said that
in population Athens had more gods than men. It is so with our unseen gods of
the unregenerate heart. They abound with different names and different
characters, according to the tastes and characters ofdifferent men.
3. The Word of God ought to be in our hands all the while. This is the only
offensive weaponagainstour false gods.
(H. Crosby, D. D.)

James Durham.
This Commandment, as all the rest, hath a positive part requiring something,
and a negative part prohibiting something.
I. We shall, in the first place, speak to WHAT IS REQUIRED here, and we
take it up in these three things.
1. And first, it requireth the right knowledge ofGod; for there can be no true
worship given to Him, there can be no right thought or conceptionof Him, or
faith in Him, till He be known.
2. It requireth from us a suitable acknowledging ofGod in all these His
properties. As —
(1)That He be highly esteemedabove all
(2)Loved.
(3)Feared.
(4)Believedand trusted in.
(5)Hoped in.
(6)Adored.
(7)Honoured.
(8)Servedand obeyed. And so —
(9)He must be the supreme end in all our actions that should mainly be aimed
at by us.
3. It requireth such duties as result from His excellency, and our
acknowledging Him to be such a one. As —
(1)Dependence upon Him.

(2)Submission to Him, and patience under cross dispensations from Him.
(3)Faith resting on Him.
(4)Prayers put up to Him.
(5)Repentance forwronging Him.
(6)Communion, and a constantwalking with Him.
(7)Delighting in Him.
(8)Meditating on Him; and such other as necessarilymay be inferred as duties
incumbent on creatures in such a relation to such a God, whose excellencyand
worth calleth and inviteth men to all suitable duties.
4. Next, it is necessarythat we add some advertisements to these generals.(1)
That the Commandment requireth all these, and in the highest and most
perfect degree.(2)Thatit not only requireth them in ourselves, but obligeth us
to further them in all others, according to our places and callings.(3)That it
requireth the diligent use of all means that may help and further us in these;
as reading and meditation, study, etc.(4)That these things, which in some
respectmay be given to creatures, as love, fear, etc., yet, when they are
required as duties to God, they are required in a far more imminent way.
II. In the next place, we should considerTHE NEGATIVE PART of this
Commandment, for the extent thereof will be best discernedby considering
what is forbidden therein, and how it may be broken. This idolatry is either:
—
1. Doctrinal, or idolatry in the judgment, when one professedlybelieveth such
a thing besides God to have some divinity in it; as heathens do of their Mars
and Jupiter; or —
2. Practical, whenmen believe no such thing, and will not own any such
opinion, yet are guilty of the same thing, as covetous men, etc.
3. It may be distinguished into idolatry that hath something for its object, as
the Egyptians worshipped beasts, and the Persians the sun or fire, and that
which has nothing but men's imaginations for its object, as these who worship

feigned gods;in which respectthe apostle saith, "an idol is nothing" (1
Corinthians 8:4).
4. We would distinguish betwixt the objects of idolatry; and they are either
such as are in themselves simply sinful, as devils, profane men; or they are
such as are goodin themselves, but abused and wronged, when they are made
objects of idolatry, as angels, saints, sun, moon, etc.
5. Distinguish betwixt idolatry that is more gross andprofessed, and that
which is more latent, subtle, and denied. This distinction is like that before
mentioned, in opinion and practice, and much coincideth with it.
6. Distinguish betwixt heart-idolatry (Ezekiel14.;Exodus 14:11, 12, and
Exodus 16:2,3), and external idolatry. The former consistethin an inward
heart-respectto some idol, as this tumultuous people were enslavedto their
ease and bellies in the last two fore-cited places;the other in some external
idolatrous gesture or action.
(James Durham.)
H. M. Luckock, D. D.
First, there is the positive declarationof a personalGod; and secondly, His
claim to be worshipped as the one True and living God. The most obvious
errors requiring our attention are four in number — Atheism, Polytheism,
Pantheism, and Deism.
1. Exceptas a cloke forimmorality and sinful indulgence, I am inclined to
doubt the existence ofAtheism, and the study of history confirms me in the
doubt.
2. But what of the Polytheist, the worshipper, that is, of many gods;in this
respect, at least, the very opposite to the last? It is not difficult to trace his
origin. When time was young, men lived togetherin families, tribes, or small
communities; beyond the circle of these they very rarely travelled. Before they

were able to realize the idea of the oneness ofthe human race, eachfamily
would not unnaturally aim at being complete in itself; and as tending,
especiallyto this, they would place themselves under the protection of some
one particular god, and then gods multiplied, as a necessaryconsequence,
upon the increase ofpeople and subdivision of tribes. This was one cause. We
might discover, without difficulty, others of a different nature. To take one
instance, in times of ignorance, when the mind was unable to graspthe
Infinite, men seized upon what was best in themselves, or what was noblestin
nature, and deified this; and so at one time we find Earth, Air, Fire, and
Water, receiving the homage of men; and at another we see temples arising to
Faith, or Modesty, or Constancy, or Hope. But all this, whatever its origin,
was openly denounced by the simple declarationstanding at the head of the
first table: "I am," etc.
3. Of the PantheistI shall only speak briefly. The meaning of the term is: "one
who believes that everything is God, and God is everything." He deifies all
that is best in nature, especiallythe intellect or mind, and His Supreme Being
is a combination of the united intelligences ofthe world. But if all that is
intelligent, all that is bestin createdthings, is God, then that which is bestin
myself is God, and demands my worship and adoration. And what is this but
to give to the creature what belongs and is due to the Creatoralone?
4. The Deist believes in a God, as his name implies, but does not believe that
that God has ever revealedHimself to man; and this is to deny the Bible, to
deny Christianity, to deny Christ. He holds that when the Supreme Being
finished the creationof the world, He assignedto nature "Laws that should
never be broken," and then withdrew Himself from the government of the
universe. Again, besides the fact that the Deistwill not allow to God any
superintendence or controlover the works of His hands, thereby cutting off
from man his most consoling faith in an all-wise and merciful Providence, He
casts him adrift on the wide oceanof life, with no compass to steerby, and no
chart to preserve his vesselfrom shoals and rocks, andall the countless perils
of the deep. If God has not revealedHimself to man, then what canhe know of
a future life, what of the immortality of his soul? And with this unknown, it
matters not what be his life and conduct on earth, for death is the close of all
things, and there is nothing but darkness beyond the grave!

(H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
On going after other gods
M. Tweddell, M. A.
Going after other gods is a snare of the spiritual life into which we are liable
to drift before suspecting any danger, for it does not necessarilymean the
pursuit of things evil in their nature, but of things, innocent enough perhaps
in themselves, which, by impressing us with an exaggeratedidea of their
importance or blessing, absorb that devotion which we owe to God, and
demand from us a service which is due to Him alone.
I. There is the God of PUBLIC OPINION. There is such a thing as healthy
public opinion; but there are times when its tone becomes lowered, anda very
imperfect standard of conduct is all that is needed to satisfy its requirements.
It involves a moral effort to which many are unequal to retain, in its integrity,
the sense ofsinfulness attached to any course ofconduct which God forbids
when public opinion gives its sanction.
II. There is the god of PLEASURE. This is a deity which, when once installed
in the heart of a man, is insatiable in its demands. Instead of remaining the
handmaid of duty, it becomes its swornfoe; instead of being the solace and
refreshment of toil, it harassesand interferes with our work. The man who is
a slave to pleasure looks upon all work as a grievance more or less;to be
shirked altogether, if possible, or to be gotthrough as quickly as may be. His
main interest in life is not centred in duty, but in amusement. But this
exacting deity not only grudges every moment of our time which is not given
up to its service, it grudges, too, every penny of our money which is not spent
for its gratification.
III. There is the god of success. The dangers of the spiritual life attachedto the
worship of this god are very real. The man who worships success,who in his
innermost heart values it more than anything else, and looks upon it as the
one objectto set before himself, by a natural law of his being, is prepared, if
the need arises, to make any sacrifice forit, including even the incurring of

God's displeasure. There is no more dangerous rival deity which we canadmit
into our hearts than success. Itblinds us to all that is by the way. It makes us
inconsiderate and unscrupulous in the struggle of life; and as the competition
of life increases, and the chances ofgetting on become fewer, we are tempted
to subordinate all higher considerations to the one idea of personal
advancement. Another and by no means the leastmischievous effectof putting
too greatstore by successin any shape, is that it leads us to look to it for our
sole encouragementand rewardin the efforts both of spiritual and secular
life. As "it is not in man to command success," it follows that those who make
successtheir godcan have nothing to fall back upon in the hour of failure.
(M. Tweddell, M. A.)
G. D. Boardman.
How shall we conceive ofGod? Who is He? What is His name? The First
Commandment answers these questions. The language is local, but the
meaning is universal.
I. THE MEANING OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT FOR THE
ANCIENT JEW.
II. THE MEANING OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENTFOR
OURSELVES.
1. The Divine declaration.(1)The name "Jehovah." JesusofNazareth is Deity
in exposition — the Word of God. See how the "I AM" of the burning bush
reappears in the "I am" of the Nazarene (Matthew 18:20; Matthew 28:20;
John 8:58; John 14:3; John 17:24;Revelation1:8).(2) The Divine relation.
Who is Jehovah's Israelin our day and land? It is the Church of the Living
God (see Romans 2:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 12:27). If we really belong to Christ,
truly loving Him and obeying Him and sharing His character, we are, in spite
of all our diversities, one Christian personality; for in Christ Jesus there can
be neither Jew nor Gentile, neither Greek nor Scythian, neither male nor

female; for all in Christ are one, and Christ is all and in all.(3) The Divine
deliverance. As it is the Church that is the true Israel, so it is Diabolus who is
the true Pharaoh, and Sin which is the true Egypt, and Jesus who is the true
Deliverer.
2. The Divine prohibition. We ourselves need this prohibition no less than did
ancient Israel. For, although Christendom, theoreticallyspeaking, is
monotheistic, yet Christendom, practicallyspeaking, is largely polytheistic.
Recall, for example, the practicaltritheism of many Trinitarians, conceiving
the three Persons in the Trinity as three distinct Gods; or the practical
dualism of many Christians, conceiving the Father as the Godof wrath, and
the Sonas the God of love: or, again, conceiving the Creatoras the God of
nature, and the Redeemeras the God of Scripture. Behold in the Pantheonof
our Christendom how many niches there are for various gods — the godof
the deist, the god of the materialist, the god of the fatalist, the godof the
sentimentalist, the god of the churchman, the godof the pantheist.
CONCLUDING LESSONS:
1. Our indebtedness to the Jew for monotheism.
2. Jehovahis to be worshipped.
3. Jehovahalone is to be worshipped.
(G. D. Boardman.)
I. WHAT IS IT TO MAKE GOD TO BE A GOD TO US?
1. To acknowledgeHim for a God. Deity is a jewelthat belongs only to His
crown.
2. To choose Him. An actof mature deliberation and self-dedication.
3. To enter into a solemn covenantwith Him.
4. To give Him adoration.

(1)Reverence.
(2)Worship.
5. To fear Him. This fearing of God is(1) — To have God always in our eye, "I
have setthe Lord always before me"; "mine eyes are ever towards the Lord."
He who fears God, imagines that whateverhe is doing God looks on, and, as a
Judge, weighs all his actions.(2)To fearGod, is when we have such a holy awe
of God upon our hearts that we dare not sin; "Stand in awe and sin not." It is
a saying of Anselm, "If hell were on one side and sin on the other, I would
rather leap into hell than willingly sin againstmy God."
6. To love Him. In the godly, fear and love kiss eachother.
7. To obey Him.
II. THAT WE MUST HAVE NO OTHER GOD.
1. There is really no other God.
(1)There is but one First Cause.
(2)There is but one Omnipotent Power.
2. We must have no other God. This forbids —
(1)Serving a false God.
(2)Joining a false God with a true.
III. WHAT IS IT TO HAVE OTHER GODS BESIDES THE TRUE GOD
1. To trust in anything more than God.
(1)Riches.
(2)Arm of flesh.
(3)Wisdom.
(4)Civility.
(5)Grace.

2. To love anything more than God.
(1)Our estate.
(2)Our pleasures.
(3)Our belly.
(4)A child.If we love the jewelmore than Him that gave it, God will take away
the jewel, that our love may return Him again.Use 1. It reproves such as have
other gods, and so renounce the true God.(1)Such as set up idols; "According
to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah"; "Their altars are as heaps
in the furrows of the field."(2)Such as seek to familiar spirits (see 2 Kings
1:6).Use 2. It sounds a retreat in our ears. Let it callus off from the idolizing
any creature;and renouncing other gods, let us cleave to the true God and His
service. If we go awayfrom God, we know not where to mend ourselves.(1)It
is honourable serving of the true God; it is more honour to serve God than to
have kings serve us.(2) Serving the true God is delightful, "I will make them
joyful in My house of prayer."(3)Serving the true Godis beneficial;they have
greatgain here — the hidden manna, inward peace, anda great rewardto
come.(4)You have covenantedto serve the true Jehovah, renouncing all
others. You cannot go back from God without the highest perjury.(5) None
had ever cause to repent of cleaving to God and His service.
( T. Watson.)
Bp. E. Hopkins.
I. FOUR THINGS ARE HERE REQUIRED.
1. That we must have a God — againstatheism.
2. That we must have the Lord Jehovahfor our God — which forbids
idolatry.
3. That we must have the only true God the Lord Jehovahalone for our God.

4. It requires that all these services and acts of worship, which we tender unto
the true and only God, be performed with sincerity and true devotion. This is
implied in that expression"before Me," orin My sight. And this forbids both
profaneness on the one hand and hypocrisy on the other.
II. IT FORBIDS US FOUR THINGS.
1. Atheism, or the belief and acknowledgmentofno God.
2. Ignorance ofthe true God.
3. Profaneness, orthe wretched neglectof the worship and service of God.
4. Idolatry, or the setting up and worshipping of false gods.
(Bp. E. Hopkins.)
J. O. Dykes, D. D.
The objectof religious devotion has to be defined, and it has to be setinto
some ascertainedrelationshipwith ourselves.
I. What we have first to look at, therefore, is THE SELF-DISCLOSURE OF
GOD, upon which He grounds His claim to Israel's devotion. God is a Person;
a personalSpirit like our own; a self-existent, eternalSpirit, apart from and
above His world; a Personcapable ofentering into converse with men, and
acting towards them as Delivererand Saviour from evil. What follows? This
follows — "This God shalt thou have for thy God; and thou shalt have no
other!" A tie on both its sides solitary and unique must bind the human
person with the Divine; savedwith Saviour; Jehovah's people with Jehovah's
self.
II. We are now, you perceive, in a position to examine our fundamental law,
or First Commandment, DEFINING THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP. It has
resolveditself into this — a mutual relationship exists betwixt God and His
human people, absolutely unique and exclusive. Besides Jehovah, Israelhas no

other Saviour; Israel, therefore, ought to know no other God. Jehovahis not
simply first; He is first without a second. He is not the highest of a class of
beings, but in His class He stands alone. Other Helper have we nowhere;
beneath the covertof His everlasting wings must we run to hide. If we are not
to people the heavens with shadowypowers, half Divine, or parcel earth
among forces ofnature, as the provinces of an empire are parcelledamong
satraps, or elevate human aid into the remotestcompetition with the
Almighty's; if to us there is but one seatof power, source of help, well-headof
blessing, Author and Finisher of deliverance from every species andform of
evil: then, what undivided dependence upon God results! what absoluteness of
trust! what singleness ofloyalty! what unstinted gratitude! what perfect love!
More is shut out than polytheistic rites. Superstition is shut out, which trusts
in mechanicalaids and not in the free, living, and righteous Will. Magic is
shut out, which seeksto extort deliverance by spells from unholy spirits. Luck
is shut out, and the vague hope in what will turn up. Spiritual tyranny is shut
out, which makes one man the lord of another's faith and conscience.Policyis
shut out, or godless state-craft, withits trust in human foresight, but none in
the justice of Providence. Irreligion is shut out, which doubts if prayer avail or
God can help, and puts its confidence only in the strongestbattalions.
Everything, in short, which divides the deep trust and hope of the heart
betweenGod and that which is not God, becomes a breach of loyalty to the
unique, the solitary Deliverer.
(J. O. Dykes, D. D.)
F. S. Schenck.
1. It is quite evident that this Commandment prescribes a general"fitness of
things," the proper relation of man to God; aims to promote the highest
happiness, directing man to seek his goodin the highest source — God
Himself; and describes the nature of man, setting forth a greatprinciple of his
being, that he is capable of giving allegiance to God, has faculties and powers
capable of knowing and loving God. Our powerof knowing and loving Him in

the distinguishing power of man, separating him from the brutes with whom
he is in many other respects allied, Not to exercise this poweris to castaway
the crownof our manhood. Of course, we cannot know God fully. Our weak,
limited minds cannot comprehend the Infinite One. If we could comprehend
God, we would be greaterthan He. The unknowable in God leads us to
worship the Godwe know. This command calls us to a constantadvance in the
knowledge ofGod, so securing the activity and development of our power of
knowing, and making it our duty to carefully attend to the revelation He has
made of Himself. This certainly commends the study of nature; not only the
poetic listening to its subtle teaching, but the scientific researchforits great
truths. This certainly commends the study of the Scriptures. Every neglected
Bible should thrill the conscience withthe charge, "Youhave not yet taken the
first step towards obeying this commandment." God's revelationof Himself in
the Bible is progressive. It had reacheda certain stage atthe time the Law was
given at Sinai, sufficiently clearand full to make man's duty plain. But it did
not stopthere. It unfolded through succeeding ages until it culminated in the
Lord Jesus Christ. So this first commandment makes it our duty to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. To rejectHim is not merely to reject an offer of mercy;
it is to refuse to receive the complete revelation of God made in His Son.
2. The prohibitory form of the Commandment shows that there are tendencies
in our nature to break this law of our being. We are prone to give supreme
allegiance to and find our highest goodin some person or thing other than
God.
3. But even if we had full and accurate knowledgeofthe one true God, and
were free from all debasing superstitions, we would still have tendencies
drawing us away from entire consecrationto Him. Whatever we value more
than God, is our god. Wherevera man makes the gratification of himself his
chief aim, he takes the crownbelonging to God and crowns himself.(1) There
is a strong tendency to make the gratificationof even the lowestportion of our
nature our chief aim and greatestdelight. He only can have the highest animal
enjoyment who remembers that he is more than an animal, and honouring
God, seeksto discoverand obey His laws of healthful living.(2) One would
think that the exercise ofour reasoning powers would lead the soulto God, yet
there is a very strong tendency to make this exercise end in itself. Many of the

greatthinkers of the world have been worshippers of their own powers of
thinking, and we who can with difficulty follow their greatthoughts are prone
to worship our own intellectual culture and acquirements, and to claim a
considerable amount of incense from our fellow-men.(3)How prone we are to
make our loved ones idols! Now the idolatry of loved ones does not consistin
loving them too much, but in not loving them enough. The father who allows
his child to so absorb his love that he has no thought of or love for God, does
not love his child as an immortal spiritual being, nor does he regard himself as
such.(4)Above the animal, the intellectual, and the socialnature in man, is the
spiritual. To ignore this nature, or dwarf it, is to degrade man. To have this
nature in healthful control, and giving supreme allegiance to God, is to bring
the whole man into obedience to this Commandment; it is to ennoble his
social, inspire his intellectual, and elevate his animal natures; it is to reachthe
noble manhood God designs for us.
(F. S. Schenck.)
R. Newton, D. D.
I. The question we are now to try and answeris, WHAT IS IT TO HAVE A
GOD? I mean by this a true God, such as the Lord Jesus Christ is to us.
1. To have a God is to have one who can do three things for us.(1) The first
thing we want our God to be able to do is, always to help. The little child
always needs the help of its mother. The blind man always needs the help of
some one to guide him. The sick man always needs the help of a physician. We
need some one who canalways help us. Then it must be some one who is
present in every place, whose eye never slumbers, and whose arm never grows
weary. Is there such a one to be found? Yes, God our Saviour is just such a
one.(2)The secondthing we want our God to be able to do is, always to save
us. Our bodies are often in danger as well as our souls, and we want a God
who can save them both. We can't preserve ourselves;and our best friends
can't preserve us. Jesus says, "Look unto Me, all ye ends of the earth; for I am

God, and there is none else. BesidesMe there is no Saviour." We need a God
who can always save.(3)But, then, there is a third thing that we expect God to
be able to do for us, and that is, always to make us happy. When we are in
health, and have affectionate parents and kind friends, and many comforts
and enjoyments around us, we do not feel so much our need of God.
2. But, then, there are three things that He who is our God has a right to
expectfrom us.(1)He has aright to expect our highest love. He is good;He is
holy. "Godis love." He expects, and He deserves, ourhighest love. It is right
to love Him better than any one else;but it is neither right nor possible to love
any one else in this way.(2)The secondthing He has a right to expect from us
is, our unquestioning obedience. It may not be always right to obey, without
questioning, all that others command us; but it is always right to obey,
without questioning, everything that God commands. He never does wrong
Himself, and never commands others to do wrong.(3)Then there is a third
thing God expects from us, and that is, sincere worship. Sincere means that
which is true or pure. Worship. Let us see what this means. Worship is a word
made up of two other words, viz., "worth," and "ship" or "shape." It means,
then, that we should put ourselves in the position or shape that is worthy of
God. Or, it means that we should render to Him the service that is worthy of
Him. And what is the proper shape or position for sinners such as we are to
put ourselves in before God? David tells us, when he says, "O come, let us
worship and fall down; and kneelbefore the Lord our Maker." Yes, a position
of humble reverence is what we should put ourselves in when we would
worship God. This is the shape or condition worthy of God for sinful
creatures to appearin. But the shape of a thing denotes its use or service. If
you see iron put in the shape of a bright, sharp blade, you know it is designed
to cut. If you see it put into a round shape, like a ball, you know it is designed
to roll. If you see a pile of woodbroken up into the shape of kindling, you
know it is designed to burn. And if you see a man in the form of a servant,
with an apron on, and his sleeves rolledup, you know he is designedfor work.
And so when we appear before God as His worshippers — in the form or
shape worthy of Him — we mean to say that we are ready to offer Him our
prayers and praises, and that we desire to serve Him. And when we do this

honestly and earnestly, with all our hearts, that is sincere worship. This is the
service God deserves. He is worthy of it.
II. THE REASON WHY WE SHOULD HAVE NO OTHER GODS THAN
THE LORD. I wish to speak ofthree reasons.
1. The first reasonis, because it is very foolishto do so.(1)God is too rich for
any one to take His place. All the gold and silver, all the gems and jewels and
precious things in the world, and in all other worlds, belong to Him. He has
need of them to supply the wants of His creatures. It is very foolish to have
any one else than the Lord for our God, because no one else is rich enough to
be our God.(2)God is too greatfor any one to take His place. He is the
greatestofall beings. How foolishit would be to blot out the sun from the sky,
and then try to light up the world with candles!Yet it would be easierto do
this than to put anything in the place of God.(3)And then God is too wise for
any one to take His place. How strange it is that anybody should ever think of
putting stupid idols of woodor stone in the place of God!
2. The secondreasonwhy we ought to have no other gods than the Lord is,
because it is very injurious.(1) To have any other God than the Lord is
injurious in two ways: one way in which it is so is, that it leaves us without
help. Wouldn't it be very injurious to a sick man to leave him in a place where
he could getno physician, no medicine, and no nurse? Wouldn't it be very
injurious to a hungry man to leave him in a position where he could getno
food?(2)The other way is this: it exposes us to many troubles. We are told in
the Bible, "Their sorrows shallbe greatly multiplied who go after other gods."
All who are not Christians have some other godbut the Lord. And all who do
this will be made to feel how very injurious it is. When trouble and sorrow
come upon them, they will have none to comfort them. When their sins press
upon them as a heavy burden, they will have none who can give them pardon,
and so lift off that burden. When they come to die, they will have no one to
lean on as they go through the dark valley. At the judgment seatthey will
have no one to be their friend. In eternity they will have nothing to make them
happy.

3. The third and last reasonis, that it is very wicked. There are two things
about this which show how wickedit is.(1) There is robbery in it. And it is not
robbing our friends, or our relations, or our fellow-creatures, orthe angels of
heaven. Any of these would be bad enough; but this is worse than all of them
put together. It is robbing God!(2) There is treasonin it.
(R. Newton, D. D.)
God supplemented
H. C. Trumbull.
"No other gods before Me." Thatis, "No other gods in My presence;in sight
of Me." God will not share His sovereigntywith any being. And this is the
commonestway of breaking this Commandment in our day. There is no
danger of breaking it through over-loving a fellow-creature, through loving a
child, or a wife, or a parent, or a friend, too dearly. It is a frightful error to
suppose that. But it is possible for us to think that God's powermust be
supplemented by man's power, by man's influence, by man's wealth, by man's
work. A pastor may lean on God: — and a rich member of his congregation;
but not without breaking the First Commandment. A politician may think
that, besides God's favour, he must have popular favour, to give him success.
A business man may have it in his mind that public sentiment — even against
strict right — must be yielded to in his business, although he believes in God
as above all. A parent may feel that fashion and wealth have a powerthat
cannot be dispensedwith in giving his child a desirable place in life. A
professedChristian may feelthat Jesus Christ will save him, if only he does
enough for his own salvation. All these are ways of breaking the First
Commandment; not very uncommon ways, either!
(H. C. Trumbull.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES

Adam Clarke Commentary
Thou shalt have no other gods before me - ‫אלה‬ ‫אחרים‬ on ,mirehca mihole ‫ים‬
strange gods - none that thou art not acquainted with, none who has not given
thee such proofs of his power and godheadas I have done in delivering thee
from the Egyptians, dividing the RedSea, bringing waterout of the rock,
quails into the desert, manna from heavento feedthee, and the pillar of cloud
to direct, enlighten, and shield thee. By these miracles Godhad rendered
himself familiar to them, they were intimately acquainted with the operation
of his hands; and therefore with great propriety he says, Thou shalt have no
strange gods before me; ‫ינפ‬ ‫לע‬ al panai, before or in the place of those
manifestations which I have made of myself.
This commandment prohibits every species ofmental idolatry, and all
inordinate attachment to earthly and sensible things. As God is the fountain of
happiness, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through him, whoever
seeks happiness in the creature is necessarilyan idolater; as he puts the
creature in the place of the Creator, expecting that from the gratificationof
his passions, in the use or abuse of earthly things, which is to be found in God
alone. The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely calculated
to prevent man's misery and promote his happiness, by taking him off from
all false dependence, and leading him to God himself, the fountain of all good.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Exodus 20:3". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/exodus-
20.html. 1832.
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The Biblical Illustrator
Exodus 20:3
I. This Commandment does not tell the Jews that the gods worshipped by
other nations have no existence;it tells him that he must offer them no
homage, and that from him they must receive no recognitionof their authority
and power. The Jew must serve Jehovah, and Jehovahalone. This was the
truest method of securing the ultimate triumph of monotheism. A religious
dogma, true or false, perishes if it is not rooted in the religious affections and
sustainedby religious observances. Butalthough the First Commandment
does not declare that there is one God, the whole systemof Judaism rests on
that sublime truth, and what the Jews had witnessedin Egypt and since their
escape from slaverymust have done more to destroy their reverence for the
gods of their old masters than could have been effectedby any dogmatic
declarationthat the gods of the nations were idols.
II. The First Commandment may appearto have no direct practical value for
ourselves. It would be a perversion of its obvious intention to denounce
covetousness,socialambition, or excessive love of children. These are not the
sins which this Commandment was meant to forbid. It must be admitted that
there is no reasonwhy God should sayto any of us, “Thou shalt have no other
gods before Me.” If He were to speak to many of us, it would be necessaryto
condemn us for having no god at all. The appalling truth is, that many of us
have sunk into atheism. We all shrink from contactwith God. And yet He
loves us. But even His love would be unavailing if He did not inspire those who
are filled with shame and sorrow by the discoveryof their estrangementfrom
Him, with a new and supernatural life. (R. W. Dale, D. D.)

I. All want of a positive allegiance to Jehovahis a positive allegiance to
another Elohim or supreme God. A self-reliant man, in the strict sense of the
word, never yet existed. Man’s nature is such that he looks without him for
support, as the ivy feels for the tree or the wall. If he has not the true and
living God as his stay, then he is an idolater.
II. All allegiance to God that does not recognize Him as He has revealed
Himself is allegiance to a false god. So a view of God as carelessofpersonal
holiness in His creatures, oras too exalted to notice all their minute acts and
thoughts, or as tyrannical and arbitrary in His dealings with them, or as
appeasable by self-denials and penances, is a view of a false god, and not a
view of Jehovah, the only living and true God. And the man who, despising or
neglecting the Holy Scriptures, and trusting to his reasonor his dreams, or to
nature, or to nothing, holds such a godbefore his mind, is an idolater; he has
put another Elohim before JehovahElohim. Because the thought of the Divine
Being which he thus introduces into his heart becomes the substitute for the
true motion that should guide his life, he puts the helm into as false hands as if
he had delivered it to Mammon. Severalsubordinate thoughts naturally
follow.
rightful King.

offensive weaponagainstour false gods. (H. Crosby, D. D.)
I. We shall, in the first place, speak to what is required here, and we take it up
in these three things.
properties. As--
acknowledging Him to be such a one. As--
4. Next, it is necessarythat we add some advertisements to these generals.
II. In the next place, we should considerthe negative part of this
what is forbidden therein, and how it may be broken. This idolatry is either:--
and Jupiter; or--
which has nothing but men’s imaginations for its object, as these who worship

feigned gods;in which respectthe apostle saith, “an idol is nothing” (1
Corinthians 8:4).
6. Distinguish betwixt heart-idolatry (Ezekiel14:1-23.;Exodus 14:11-12;
Exodus 16:2-3), and external idolatry. The former consistethin an inward
idolatrous gesture or action. (James Durham.)
errors requiring our attention are four in number--Atheism, Polytheism,
doubt.

first table: “I am,” etc.
3. Of the PantheistI shall only speak briefly. The meaning of the term is: “one
who believes that everything is God, and God is everything.” He deifies all
that God has ever revealed Himself to man; and this is to deny the Bible, to
finished the creationof the world, He assignedto nature “Laws that should
never be broken,” and then withdrew Himself from the government of the
things, and there is nothing but darkness beyond the grave! (H. M. Luckock,
D. D.)

I. There is the God of public opinion. There is such a thing as healthy public
opinion; but there are times when its tone becomes lowered, and a very
II. There is the god of pleasure. This is a deity which, when once installed in
the heart of a man, is insatiable in its demands. Instead of remaining the
God’s displeasure. There is no more dangerous rival deity which we canadmit

life. As “it is not in man to command success,” it follows that those who make
successtheir godcan have nothing to fall back upon in the hour of failure. (M.
Tweddell, M. A.)
I. The meaning of the First Commandment for the ancientJew.
II. The meaning of the First Commandment for ourselves.
1. The Divine declaration.
our Christendom how many niches there are for various gods--the god of the
deist, the god of the materialist, the godof the fatalist, the god of the

sentimentalist, the god of the churchman, the godof the pantheist. Concluding
lessons:
3. Jehovahalone is to be worshipped. (G. D. Boardman.)
I. What is it to make Godto be a God to us?
crown.
5. To fear Him. This fearing of God is
7. To obey Him.
II. That we must have no other God.
2. We must have no other God. This forbids--
III. What is it to have other gods besides the true God

If we love the jewelmore than Him that gave it, God will take awaythe jewel,
that our love may return Him again.
Use 1. It reproves such as have other gods, and so renounce the true God.
Use 2. It sounds a retreat in our ears. Let it call us off from the idolizing any
creature;and renouncing other gods, let us cleave to the true God and His
service. If we go awayfrom God, we know not where to mend ourselves.
I. Four things are here required.
1. That we must have a God--againstatheism.
2. That we must have the Lord Jehovahfor our God--which forbids idolatry.
implied in that expression“before Me,” orin My sight. And this forbids both
II. It forbids us four things.
4. Idolatry, or the setting up and worshipping of false gods. (Bp. E. Hopkins.)

I. What we have first to look at, therefore, is the self-disclosure ofGod, upon
which He grounds His claim to Israel’s devotion. God is a Person;a personal
Spirit like our own; a self-existent, eternalSpirit, apart from and above His
world; a Personcapable ofentering into converse with men, and acting
towards them as Deliverer and Saviour from evil. What follows? This follows-
-“This Godshalt thou have for thy God; and thou shalt have no other!” A tie
on both its sides solitary and unique must bind the human personwith the
Divine; savedwith Saviour; Jehovah’s people with Jehovah’s self.
or First Commandment, defining the objectof worship. It has resolveditself
into this--a mutual relationship exists betwixt God and His human people,
absolutely unique and exclusive. Besides Jehovah, Israelhas no other Saviour;
Israel, therefore, ought to know no other God. Jehovahis not simply first; He
is first without a second. He is not the highest of a class ofbeings, but in His
class He stands alone. Other Helper have we nowhere; beneath the covert of
His everlasting wings must we run to hide. If we are not to people the heavens
with shadowypowers, half Divine, or parcelearth among forces of nature, as
the provinces of an empire are parcelledamong satraps, or elevate human aid
into the remotest competition with the Almighty’s; if to us there is but one
seatof power, source of help, well-head of blessing, Author and Finisher of
deliverance from every species and form of evil: then, what undivided
dependence upon God results! what absoluteness oftrust! what singleness of
loyalty! what unstinted gratitude! what perfect love! More is shut out than
polytheistic rites. Superstition is shut out, which trusts in mechanicalaids and
not in the free, living, and righteous Will. Magic is shut out, which seeksto
extort deliverance by spells from unholy spirits. Luck is shut out, and the
vague hope in what will turn up. Spiritual tyranny is shut out, which makes
one man the lord of another’s faith and conscience.Policyis shut out, or

godless state-craft, with its trust in human foresight, but none in the justice of
Providence. Irreligion is shut out, which doubts if prayer avail or God can
help, and puts its confidence only in the strongestbattalions. Everything, in
short, which divides the deep trust and hope of the heart betweenGod and
that which is not God, becomes a breachof loyalty to the unique, the solitary
Deliverer. (J. O. Dykes, D. D.)
1. It is quite evident that this Commandment prescribes a general“fitness of
things,” the proper relation of man to God; aims to promote the highest
happiness, directing man to seek his goodin the highest source--GodHimself;
and describes the nature of man, setting forth a greatprinciple of his being,
that he is capable of giving allegiance to God, has faculties and powers
Bible should thrill the conscience withthe charge, “Youhave not yet taken the
first step towards obeying this commandment.” God’s revelationof Himself in
given at Sinai, sufficiently clearand full to make man’s duty plain. But it did

God.
chief aim, he takes the crownbelonging to God and crowns himself.
I. The question we are now to try and answeris, what is it to have a God? I
mean by this a true God, such as the Lord Jesus Christ is to us.
1. To have a God is to have one who can do three things for us.
expectfrom us.
II. The reasonwhy we should have no other gods than the Lord. I wish to
speak of three reasons.
1. The first reasonis, because it is very foolishto do so.
because it is very injurious.
about this which show how wickedit is.
God supplemented

“No other gods before Me.” Thatis, “No other gods in My presence;in sight
of Me.” God will not share His sovereigntywith any being. And this is the
suppose that. But it is possible for us to think that God’s powermust be
supplemented by man’s power, by man’s influence, by man’s wealth, by
man’s work. A pastor may lean on God:--and a rich member of his
congregation;but not without breaking the First Commandment. A politician
may think that, besides God’s favour, he must have popular favour, to give
him success. Abusiness man may have it in his mind that public sentiment--
even againststrict right--must be yielded to in his business, although he
believes in God as above all. A parent may feel that fashion and wealth have a
powerthat cannot be dispensed with in giving his child a desirable place in
life. A professedChristian may feel that Jesus Christwill save him, if only he
does enough for his own salvation. All these are ways of breaking the First
Commandment; not very uncommon ways, either! (H. C. Trumbull.)
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "Exodus 20:3". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/exodus-20.html. 1905-
1909. New York.
The Biblical Illustrator

Exodus 20:3
I. This Commandment does not tell the Jews that the gods worshipped by
other nations have no existence;it tells him that he must offer them no
homage, and that from him they must receive no recognitionof their authority
and power. The Jew must serve Jehovah, and Jehovahalone. This was the
truest method of securing the ultimate triumph of monotheism. A religious
dogma, true or false, perishes if it is not rooted in the religious affections and
sustainedby religious observances. Butalthough the First Commandment
does not declare that there is one God, the whole systemof Judaism rests on
that sublime truth, and what the Jews had witnessedin Egypt and since their
escape from slaverymust have done more to destroy their reverence for the
gods of their old masters than could have been effectedby any dogmatic
declarationthat the gods of the nations were idols.
II. The First Commandment may appearto have no direct practical value for
ourselves. It would be a perversion of its obvious intention to denounce
covetousness,socialambition, or excessive love of children. These are not the
sins which this Commandment was meant to forbid. It must be admitted that
there is no reasonwhy God should sayto any of us, “Thou shalt have no other
gods before Me.” If He were to speak to many of us, it would be necessaryto
condemn us for having no god at all. The appalling truth is, that many of us
have sunk into atheism. We all shrink from contactwith God. And yet He
loves us. But even His love would be unavailing if He did not inspire those who
are filled with shame and sorrow by the discoveryof their estrangementfrom
Him, with a new and supernatural life. (R. W. Dale, D. D.)

I. All want of a positive allegiance to Jehovahis a positive allegiance to
another Elohim or supreme God. A self-reliant man, in the strict sense of the
word, never yet existed. Man’s nature is such that he looks without him for
support, as the ivy feels for the tree or the wall. If he has not the true and
living God as his stay, then he is an idolater.
II. All allegiance to God that does not recognize Him as He has revealed
Himself is allegiance to a false god. So a view of God as carelessofpersonal
holiness in His creatures, oras too exalted to notice all their minute acts and
thoughts, or as tyrannical and arbitrary in His dealings with them, or as
appeasable by self-denials and penances, is a view of a false god, and not a
view of Jehovah, the only living and true God. And the man who, despising or
neglecting the Holy Scriptures, and trusting to his reasonor his dreams, or to
nature, or to nothing, holds such a godbefore his mind, is an idolater; he has
put another Elohim before JehovahElohim. Because the thought of the Divine
Being which he thus introduces into his heart becomes the substitute for the
true motion that should guide his life, he puts the helm into as false hands as if
he had delivered it to Mammon. Severalsubordinate thoughts naturally
follow.
rightful King.
offensive weaponagainstour false gods. (H. Crosby, D. D.)

I. We shall, in the first place, speak to what is required here, and we take it up
in these three things.
properties. As--
acknowledging Him to be such a one. As--
4. Next, it is necessarythat we add some advertisements to these generals.
II. In the next place, we should considerthe negative part of this
what is forbidden therein, and how it may be broken. This idolatry is either:--
and Jupiter; or--
which has nothing but men’s imaginations for its object, as these who worship
feigned gods;in which respectthe apostle saith, “an idol is nothing” (1
Corinthians 8:4).

6. Distinguish betwixt heart-idolatry (Ezekiel14:1-23.;Exodus 14:11-12;
Exodus 16:2-3), and external idolatry. The former consistethin an inward
idolatrous gesture or action. (James Durham.)
errors requiring our attention are four in number--Atheism, Polytheism,
doubt.

first table: “I am,” etc.
3. Of the PantheistI shall only speak briefly. The meaning of the term is: “one
who believes that everything is God, and God is everything.” He deifies all
that God has ever revealedHimself to man; and this is to deny the Bible, to
finished the creationof the world, He assignedto nature “Laws that should
never be broken,” and then withdrew Himself from the government of the
things, and there is nothing but darkness beyond the grave! (H. M. Luckock,
D. D.)

I. There is the God of public opinion. There is such a thing as healthy public
opinion; but there are times when its tone becomes lowered, and a very
II. There is the god of pleasure. This is a deity which, when once installed in
the heart of a man, is insatiable in its demands. Instead of remaining the
God’s displeasure. There is no more dangerous rival deity which we canadmit

life. As “it is not in man to command success,” it follows that those who make
successtheir godcan have nothing to fall back upon in the hour of failure. (M.
Tweddell, M. A.)
I. The meaning of the First Commandment for the ancientJew.
II. The meaning of the First Commandment for ourselves.
1. The Divine declaration.
our Christendom how many niches there are for various gods--the god of the
deist, the god of the materialist, the godof the fatalist, the god of the
sentimentalist, the god of the churchman, the godof the pantheist. Concluding
lessons:

3. Jehovahalone is to be worshipped. (G. D. Boardman.)
I. What is it to make Godto be a God to us?
crown.
5. To fear Him. This fearing of God is
7. To obey Him.
II. That we must have no other God.
2. We must have no other God. This forbids--
III. What is it to have other gods besides the true God
If we love the jewelmore than Him that gave it, God will take awaythe jewel,
that our love may return Him again.

Use 1. It reproves such as have other gods, and so renounce the true God.
Use 2. It sounds a retreat in our ears. Let it call us off from the idolizing any
creature;and renouncing other gods, let us cleave to the true God and His
service. If we go awayfrom God, we know not where to mend ourselves.
I. Four things are here required.
1. That we must have a God--againstatheism.
2. That we must have the Lord Jehovahfor our God--which forbids idolatry.
implied in that expression“before Me,” orin My sight. And this forbids both
II. It forbids us four things.
4. Idolatry, or the setting up and worshipping of false gods. (Bp. E. Hopkins.)

I. What we have first to look at, therefore, is the self-disclosure ofGod, upon
which He grounds His claim to Israel’s devotion. God is a Person;a personal
Spirit like our own; a self-existent, eternalSpirit, apart from and above His
world; a Personcapable ofentering into converse with men, and acting
towards them as Deliverer and Saviour from evil. What follows? This follows-
-“This Godshalt thou have for thy God; and thou shalt have no other!” A tie
on both its sides solitary and unique must bind the human personwith the
Divine; savedwith Saviour; Jehovah’s people with Jehovah’s self.
or First Commandment, defining the objectof worship. It has resolveditself
into this--a mutual relationship exists betwixt God and His human people,
absolutely unique and exclusive. Besides Jehovah, Israelhas no other Saviour;
Israel, therefore, ought to know no other God. Jehovahis not simply first; He
is first without a second. He is not the highest of a class ofbeings, but in His
class He stands alone. Other Helper have we nowhere; beneath the covert of
His everlasting wings must we run to hide. If we are not to people the heavens
with shadowypowers, half Divine, or parcelearth among forces of nature, as
the provinces of an empire are parcelledamong satraps, or elevate human aid
into the remotest competition with the Almighty’s; if to us there is but one
seatof power, source of help, well-head of blessing, Author and Finisher of
deliverance from every species and form of evil: then, what undivided
dependence upon God results! what absoluteness oftrust! what singleness of
loyalty! what unstinted gratitude! what perfect love! More is shut out than
polytheistic rites. Superstition is shut out, which trusts in mechanicalaids and
not in the free, living, and righteous Will. Magic is shut out, which seeksto
extort deliverance by spells from unholy spirits. Luck is shut out, and the
vague hope in what will turn up. Spiritual tyranny is shut out, which makes
one man the lord of another’s faith and conscience.Policyis shut out, or
godless state-craft, with its trust in human foresight, but none in the justice of
Providence. Irreligion is shut out, which doubts if prayer avail or God can
help, and puts its confidence only in the strongestbattalions. Everything, in
short, which divides the deep trust and hope of the heart betweenGod and

that which is not God, becomes a breachof loyalty to the unique, the solitary
Deliverer. (J. O. Dykes, D. D.)
1. It is quite evident that this Commandment prescribes a general“fitness of
things,” the proper relation of man to God; aims to promote the highest
happiness, directing man to seek his goodin the highest source--GodHimself;
and describes the nature of man, setting forth a greatprinciple of his being,
that he is capable of giving allegiance to God, has faculties and powers
Bible should thrill the conscience withthe charge, “Youhave not yet taken the
first step towards obeying this commandment.” God’s revelationof Himself in
given at Sinai, sufficiently clearand full to make man’s duty plain. But it did
God.

chief aim, he takes the crownbelonging to God and crowns himself.
I. The question we are now to try and answeris, what is it to have a God? I
mean by this a true God, such as the Lord Jesus Christ is to us.
1. To have a God is to have one who can do three things for us.
expectfrom us.
II. The reasonwhy we should have no other gods than the Lord. I wish to
speak of three reasons.
1. The first reasonis, because it is very foolishto do so.
because it is very injurious.
about this which show how wickedit is.
God supplemented
“No other gods before Me.” Thatis, “No other gods in My presence;in sight
of Me.” God will not share His sovereigntywith any being. And this is the

suppose that. But it is possible for us to think that God’s powermust be
supplemented by man’s power, by man’s influence, by man’s wealth, by
man’s work. A pastor may lean on God:--and a rich member of his
congregation;but not without breaking the First Commandment. A politician
may think that, besides God’s favour, he must have popular favour, to give
him success. Abusiness man may have it in his mind that public sentiment--
even againststrict right--must be yielded to in his business, although he
believes in God as above all. A parent may feel that fashion and wealth have a
powerthat cannot be dispensed with in giving his child a desirable place in
life. A professedChristian may feel that Jesus Christwill save him, if only he
does enough for his own salvation. All these are ways of breaking the First
Commandment; not very uncommon ways, either! (H. C. Trumbull.)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "Exodus 20:3". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/exodus-20.html. 1905-
1909. New York.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. This is the first command, and is
opposedto the polytheism of the Gentiles, the Egyptians, from whom Israel
was just come, and whose gods some of them might have had a favourable
opinion of and liking to, and had committed idolatry with; and the

Canaanites, into whose land they were going;and to prevent their joining with
them in the worship of other gods, this law was given, as well as to be of
standing us to them in all generations;for there is but one only living and true
God, the former and makerof all things, who only is to be had, owned,
acknowledged, served, andworshipped as such; all others have only the name,
and are not by nature gods;they are other gods than the true God is; they are
not real, but fictitious deities; they are other or strange gods to the
worshippers of them, that cry unto them, for they do not answerthem, as
Jarchiobserves:and now for Israel, who knew the true God, who had
appearedunto them, and made himself known to them by his name Jehovah,
both by his word and works, whomhe had espousedto himself as a choice
virgin, to commit idolatry, which is spiritual adultery with other gods, with
strange gods, that are no gods, and this before God, in the presence of him,
who had took them by the hand when he brought them out of Egypt, and had
been a husband to them, must be shocking impiety, monstrous ingratitude,
and extremely displeasing to God, and resentedby him; and is, as many
observe, as if a woman should commit adultery in the presence ofher
husband, and so the phrase may denote the audaciousnessofthe action, as
well as the wickednessofit; though, as Ben Melechfrom others observes, if it
was done in secretit would be before the Lord, who is the omniscientGod,
and nothing canbe hid from him: severalJewishcommentators, as Jarchi,
Kimchi, and Aben Ezra, interpret the phrase "before me", all the time I
endure, while I have a being, as long as I live, or am the living God, no others
are to be had; that is, they are never to be had; since the true God will always
exist: the Septuagint versionis, "besides me", no other were to be worshipped
with him; God will have no rivals and competitors;though he was
worshipped, yet if others were worshipped with him, if others were setbefore
him and worshipped along with him, or it was pretended he was worshipped
in them, and even he with a superior and they with an inferior kind of
worship; yet this was what he could by no means admit of: the phrase may be
rendered "againstme"F3;other gods opposition to him, againsthis will,
contrary to obedience due to him and his precepts:this law, though it
supposes and strongly inculcates the unity of the divine Being, the only object
of religious adoration, yet does not oppose the doctrine of the trinity of
persons in the Godhead;nor is that any contradictionto it, since though the

Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, there are not three
Gods, but three Persons, andthese three are one God, 1 John 5:7.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Exodus 20:3". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/exodus-
20.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
Thou shalt have no other gods b before me.
(b) To whose eyes all things are open.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Exodus 20:3". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/exodus-20.html.
1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou shalt have no other gods before me — in My presence, beside, orexcept
Me.
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Exodus 20:3". "Commentary Criticaland Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/exodus-20.html. 1871-8.
Keil & DelitzschCommentary on the Old Testament
The First Word. - “ Let there not be to thee (thou shalt have no) other gods ‫ני‬
‫ע‬ ‫על‬ ,” lit., beyond Me ( ‫לע‬ as in Genesis 48:22;Psalms 16:2), or in addition to
Me ( ‫לע‬ as in Genesis 31:50;Deuteronomy19:9), equivalent to πλὴν ἐμοῦ (lxx),
“by the side of Me” ( Luther ). “Before Me,” coramme ( Vulg ., etc.), is
incorrect;also againstMe, in oppositionto Me. (On ‫ני‬ see Exodus 33:14.)The
singular ‫היהי‬ does not require that we should regardElohim as an abstract
noun in the sense ofDeity; and the plural ‫םירחא‬ would not suit this rendering
(see Genesis 1:14). The sentence is quite a generalone, and not only prohibits

polytheism and idolatry, the worship of idols in thought, word, and deed (cf.
Deuteronomy 8:11, Deuteronomy 8:17, Deuteronomy 8:19), but also
commands the fear, love, and worship of God the Lord (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5,
Deuteronomy 6:13, Deuteronomy 6:17; Deuteronomy10:12, Deuteronomy
10:20). Nearly all the commandments are couchedin the negative form of
prohibition, because theypresuppose the existence ofsin and evil desires in
the human heart.
Copyright Statement
The Keil & DelitzschCommentary on the Old Testamentis a derivative of a
public domain electronic edition.
Bibliography
Keil, Carl Friedrich & Delitzsch, Franz. "Commentary on Exodus 20:3".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/kdo/exodus-20.html. 1854-
1889.
Hawker's PoorMan's Commentary
This is the first of the four first commandments, which belong to the first table
of the law, concerning our duty to God. Our blessedLord is the great
Commentator upon it. Matthew 22:36-38.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Hawker, Robert, D.D. "Commentary on Exodus 20:3". "Hawker's Poor
Man's Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pmc/exodus-20.html. 1828.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The first commandment is concerning the object of our worship, Jehovah, and
him only, Thou shalt have no other gods before me - The Egyptians, and other
neighbouring nations, had many gods, creatures oftheir own fancy. This law
was pre-fixed because ofthat transgression;and Jehovahbeing the God of
Israel, they must entirely cleave to him, and no other, either of their own
invention, or borrowed from their neighbours. The sin againstthis
commandment, which we are most in danger of, is giving that glory to any
creature which is due to Godonly. Pride makes a God of ourselves,
covetousness makesa God of money, sensuality makes a God of the belly.
Whateveris loved, feared, delighted in, or depended on, more than God, that
we make a godof. This prohibition includes a precept which is the foundation
of the whole law, that we take the Lord for our God, accepthim for ours,
adore him with humble reverence, and setour affections entirely upon him.
There is a reasonintimated in the last words before me. It intimates, 1. That
we cannot have any other god but he will know it2. That it is a sin that dares
him to his face, whichhe cannot, will not, overlook. The second
commandment is concerning the ordinances of worship, or the way in which
God will be worshipped, which it is fit himself should appoint. Here is, 1. The
prohibition; we are forbidden to worship even the true God by images,
Exodus 20:4,5. First, The Jews (atleastafter the captivity) thought themselves
forbidden by this to make any image or picture whatsoever. It is certain it
forbids making any image of God, for to whom canwe liken him? Isaiah
40:18,25. Italso forbids us to make images of God in our fancies, as if he were
a man as we are. Our religious worship must be governed by the powerof
faith, not by the power of imagination. Secondly, They must not bow down to
them - Shew any sign of honour to them, much less serve them by sacrifice, or

The first commandment

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