The First Commandment

Jeff Garrison
First Presbyterian Church
Exodus 20:1-4, Revelation 22:8-9
June 21, 2026

At the beginning of worship:

Happy Father’s Day to all who are fathers and all who have fathers. We begin today working through the Ten Commandments, We start with the first commandments which is to have no other gods before the one true God. As Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer to address God as “Father,” it’s a good day to begin this series. 

Throughout this summer, I plan to focus my sermons  on one of the Ten Commandments. By the time we’re done, I hope none of you will be under the illusion they’re the Ten Suggestions. Instead, consider the commandments as God’s gift; the boundaries in which we can have abundant life on earth. Envision the law as being fence posts staking out our territory. Within the boundaries, we have lots of freedom, but when we move beyond the fence, we damage our relationships with God and with others in the human family.  

The commandments were important for Martin Luther.  We think of Luther being so focused on grace, but he wrote that to know the commandments is to know the Bible. As a modern commentator writes, “to understand them properly, we must know the great overarching story—Creation, Exodus, kingship, prophets, exile, Jesus, death, resurrection and ascension.”^[1]

Before reading the Scripture: 

As I focus on the Ten Commandments for this summer, I plan to draw from the commandments as presented in the book of Exodus. The Commandments can be found in two places in the Old Testament: Exodus and Deuteronomy. The same list, but they have some slight differences as the reason for obeying the commandments.  

Let me go over one additional thing about the Commandments. There are two ways of numbering them, both come up to ten. The traditional way, used by Jews use as well as those of us in the Reformed tradition, has the first commandment as having no other gods and the second as the probation against idols. However, some churches, notably the Roman Catholics and Lutherans, combine these two commandments then split what we think of as the tenth commandment, the probation against coveting, into two parts. 

Read Exodus 20:1-3, Revelation 22:8-9

We’re given a three-fold proof of why we are to have no other gods before the One True God—the Creator of heaven and earth. 

First, it’s the Lord who gives this commandment to us. “I am the Lord,” the fifth chapter beings. As Americans, we don’t tend to like titles like Lord and King and as we’ll celebrate in two weeks, we fought a revolution against such. But to understand what’s being said here, we should recall that in ancient times a “Lord” controlled lands and those who lived on it. This text implies that God, as Creator, rightful holds the title for the earth. As the Psalmist proclaims, the world and they that dwell therein” belong to God.^[2]   

And just who is this God? The Confessions of the Presbyterian Church bring together many of the attributes of God found in Scripture. We speak of God as: “a Spirit, infinite in being, glory, blessedness and perfection.” God is “all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, all present, almighty, all knowing, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth.”^[3]That’s a mouthful.

Furthermore, we should remember on this Father’s Day that while we speak of God as “Father,” it’s metaphorical. Jesus uses such language in the Lord’s Prayer as a way for us to understand the relationship God desires. The same is true when Isaiah speaks of God as a caring mother.^[4] God cares for us like parents care for children.

In addition, the male pronoun often used for God shows a limitation with the English language. Using the pronoun “He” or “Him” doesn’t mean God is a man. To think of God as a man puts God in a human category, which breaks this commandment. God exist beyond human sexual categories. 

When we think about God, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. As mere creatures, God exists beyond our imaginations. It’s easy when contemplating God to give up and resign ourselves to be unable to understand God and therefore drop our quest to know God. But God, as he lays out the commandments, encourages us. We’re reminded that not only is he Lord, he’s also our God. “I am the Lord, your God,” he says. God, the all-powerful creator, who rightfully claims ownership of Creation, is also “our God.” There is an intimacy expressed here. God isn’t just a Creator with no interest in us. God calls us and wants us to be a part of his family.. And God takes the initiative to enter a relationship with us, to be personally involved with us.

Abraham Heschel, the great Jewish philosopher of the 20^thCentury titled one of his books, God in Search of Man. Even before we know God exists, God seeks us out. Think about how God works: God reached out to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses. God came in the life of Jesus Christ. God wants to be in a relationship with us and therefore calls us back to himself. And God could demand our allegiance based solely upon his rightful position as Creator. But God isn’t petty. By entering a relationship with us, by being OUR GOD, God earns our respect and allegiance. 

The second reason given to us to encourage our compliance with the first commandment is that God led our spiritual ancestors out of Egypt. Our Great God, the Creator of all, heard the cries of the Hebrew people as they labored, building pyramids and other sorts of monuments to the rulers of Egypt. Today we marvel over their work. We shouldn’t forget that the construction of these ancient wonders was done by the backbreaking labor of an enslaved people. But God heard their prayers. Over the sound of cracking whips, God heard their cries, just as he hears ours. Through the leadership of Moses and a host of special effects, God rescued his people. God is not a distant Creator, uninterested in what goes on in the world. Our God listens and answers prayers.

The third reason given for our obeying this commandment is that we were brought out of the house of slavery. Certainly, in the wilderness, as Moses recalled the Commandments, he was referring to Egypt and the 400-year period of bondage.  

Paralleling the land of Egypt and the house of slavery gives this sentence a nice ring. It’s balanced. But let’s take a bit of liberty with its original meaning and see if we can come up with a meaning for us today. The Exodus event provides a model of how God rescues his people. It’s an archetype which reminds us how our God works in the world. With this understanding, we can make this third reason to obey the commandment apply to us personally. We obey because we’ve experienced release from bondage, whatever the form of slavery it might have been.

Has God helped you kick the smoking habit, beat drugs, get control over alcohol abuse, recover from an accident, a job loss, a divorce, or regain self-esteem? Regardless of what it was, if God helps us regain control, we are indebted in him. Therefore, we should desire not to break the commandments.  

We’re given three reasons not to break this first commandment:  

1. God as Creator desires a relationship with us.  

2.  God shows his faithfulness by delivering our spiritual ancestors from bondage in Egypt.  

3. God has or can deliver us from whatever enslaves us, from whatever holds us back from being who he has created us to be.

These are three good reasons not to have any false gods. Now let’s consider for a few minutes what it means to have no other gods before our One True God. It is interesting the way this commandment reads: NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. If God is, as we proclaim, all-knowing and all-powerful, then having any other gods would be to have them in front of God. So, we’re not to have any other gods. 

In Israel’s time, the Hebrew people found themselves constantly lured into worshipping their neighbor’s gods. This was especially true if their neighbor had a better harvest in a particular year. They’d want to do whatever they could to get a competitive advantage, so if they thought their neighbor’s gods looked favorably upon them, they’d in turn pray to these false gods and end up experiencing the rage of the Living God.

Having no other gods goes beyond the command to make no idols—we’ll discuss that one next week.  It means not elevating ourselves too high or not putting what should be our trust in God into some form of superstitious behavior. Think of the angel John wanted to worship in the book of Revelation. The angel quickly corrected John. We don’t lift any other being to be equivalent or even closely equivalent to God. 

Having no other gods mean we let God be God and we trust and depend upon him. God gives life. We need to remember this for whenever we put something between God and us, we find our lifeline compromised. If you have difficulty breathing and are on oxygen, you want to be careful not to stand on the tubing between you and the oxygen tank. Otherwise, you won’t get the air you need and might pass out or even die. It’s the same way with God. God desires for us to draw our life from him and to live abundantly. We don’t want to cut off our supply of his life-giving breath, but we do this anytime we place something between God and us.  

Examine yourself. Take an inventory; see where you do not completely trust God. Are there areas in your life where you’ve relegated God to second or third place and made something else more important? If so, and we’re all guilty at one time or another, confess your sins. Work toward cleaning up those areas in your life so you can live life to its fullness, as God intends.  Let us pray: 

Almighty God, you are the source of life. Through Jesus Christ, you save us from your wrath and our sinfulness. You call us to be your people and command us not to have any other gods before you. That’s easier said than done. We don’t always fully trust you and find ourselves placing other things in front of you: families, occupations, wealth, accomplishments, abilities, intellect, nation, even our church. Forgive us and fill us with your vision so we may grow into a deeper relationship with you.  Amen. 

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^[1] Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon, The Truth About God; The Ten Commandments in Christian Life (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999), 30.

^[2] Psalm 98:7, KJV.

^[3] Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 7.

^[4] Isaiah 66:13.