The Ten Commandments
THE ONE TRUE GOD
(Ex. 20:2, 3; Is. 45:22; Mark 12:28-34; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; KJV)
Subject
The God of the Bible the Only True God in All the Universe and Thus the Only God Worthy of Worship.
Golden Texts
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3); “Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. 6:5).
Plan of the Lesson
Jehovah the Only God for Israel to Worship (Ex. 20:2, 3)
Jehovah the Only Redeemer for All Men Everywhere (Is. 45:22)
Jesus Instructs a Scribe Concerning the First Two Commandments (Mark 12:28-34)
The Apostle Paul Reaffirms the Absolute Uniqueness of God (1 Cor. 8:4-6))
Setting of the Lesson
Time: On the second month (April-May) the Israelites reached the wilderness of Sin, and on the first day of the third month (May-June) they reached the wilderness of Sinai where the Ten Commandments were given.
Place: The Ten Commandments were given in the mountainous region of Sinai, between the two arms of the Red Sea; Mt. Sinai and its plains and valleys. The conversation of Jesus with the scribe took place in Jerusalem; the city of Corinth was located in northern Greece.
Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:2, 3
Jehovah the Only God for Israel to Worship
20:2 … “I am Jehovah thy God.” The Ten Commandments begin with a statement concerning God Himself. The most important and influential conception that a man can have is his conception of God. Our thought of God determines our ideas of duty. Our thought of God determines our outlook on the world. The world becomes a different place by the light in which we face God. There is no sadder creed than the creed of the atheist. It is a sad world in which we do not know whether God cares or is concerned with our affairs. It is easy to dismiss the whole matter, to say that all talk of God is speculation as is all discussion of everything that will not yield to the tests of physical science. Over against that there must always stand the word of Him who so revealed God to us: “this is life eternal, that they might know thee they only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” The word “Jehovah” means fundamentally, “I will be what I will be” (see Ex. 3:14); and therefore Jehovah is the self-existent One. In other words, the entire name can be expounded as meaning, “He that will be, He that is, He that was.” Jehovah is the name of God in His covenant relationship to Israel. Below is the personal name of God in Hebrew:
The pronoun “Thy” should be carefully noted here. While God is God and man is man, one omnipotent and the other weak, one a spirit and the other living in a body, one knowing all things and the other knowing very little, one holy and the other sinful, yet God and man are united in covenant relationship; at least, God and those who belong to Him are so united. He was the God of Israel as He is our God through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Father and we are His children; He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep of His pasture; in Him we move and have our being; He is our Redeemer, our Refuge, and our Rock. We are to know that He is all these things to us; we are to know Him as a person, as we are persons; and we are made in His image. He longs to have us know Him, love Him, and honor Him. The word “God” is the Hebrew word “Elohim,” meaning “the Everlasting,” “The Almighty,” the One who is before all creation. “Jehovah” is the particular name for the God of Israel; “Elohim” is the name of God as the God of all men. The Jehovah whom Israel knew in covenant relationship was none other than the God of the entire universe and the God of all men.
Spelling G-d with a hyphen
Many orthodox Jewish believers in the Messiah Yeshua adhere to the custom of traditional Judaism which forbids speaking or completely writing the proper name of G-d (sometimes translated as Jehovah in English) in order to ensure that it is not desecrated. We greatly respect those who honor Jehovah in this way, and it is certainly not our purpose or intention to offend by using the Father’s Holy Name without the hyphen. However, since StudyJesus.com is basically an academic website, we do not follow this practice.
Jesus as Yeshua
Yeshua is the original Hebrew form of the name Jesus. He was given this name by the archangel who appeared to Joseph in Nazareth (Matt. 1:21). The name Yeshua means “salvation.” While we refer to Yeshua as Jesus, we understand and deeply appreciate the fact that the New Testament has Jewish roots – that it is a Jewish text.
20:2 … “Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (See Ex. 13:3, 9, 14, 16; Deut. 5:15; 6:12; 8:14; 13:5, 10; Amos 2:10). By the house of bondage, of course, is meant the land of Egypt, in which the Israelites were slaves until the great deliverance. All men who have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ have been delivered from the bondage of sin (Rom. 6:16-20). Because God had so powerfully delivered these people out of their misery, He had a just claim on their gratitude and obedience. If it were not for Him, and His grace and mercy and power, they would have no freedom, they would know no God, they would have no hope of the future, and they would have no nation of their own.
20:3 … “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” If God is what He claims to be, then He must be the supreme object of worship. If it be true that He is Jehovah, then the Commandment is reasonable and it must be an unreasonable thing to “have no other gods before” Him. If the words spoken by God be true, then God is sufficient and God isGod. There cannot be two who fulfill that description of limitless life. That becomes an impertinence and a sham to a man who has had a vision of the true God. As G. Campbell Morgan often said, “Every man needs a God. There is no man who has not, somewhere in his heart, in his life, in the essentials of his being, a shrine in which there is a deity whom he worships.”
The first Commandment in its negative form refers to the unity of God. It is against polytheism (the worship of many gods). “Before me” literally means “upon my face.” It supposes those other gods to be set up before the true God as antagonists in the eye of God, casting a shade over His eternal being and glory in the eye of the worshiper. Israel had lived for centuries in Egypt, where a vast number of different gods were worshiped, consulted, honored, prayed to, sacrificed to, by the millions of people in that great, ancient civilization. Also, Israel was about to go into another land where other gods would be found as objects of worship among the Canaanites, whose idolatrous practices were characterized by the grossest sensuality. When man loses the true conception of one God, then somehow he immediately makes for himself many gods, out of wood and stone, gold and silver; and he sinks deeper and deeper into bondage and a depth of iniquity to which all records of pagan civilizations bear record (See especially Rom. 1:21-24).
To worship other gods is a most lamentable vanity; a pursuing of shadows, an embracing of clouds; building in air or mere vacuity, leaning on that which provides no substance or strength of support. It is a dreaming and doting on mere nothing; referred to in Scripture by the term vanities (Is. 44:9; Jer. 8:19; 10:15; 51:18; Zech. 10:2).
One might think that this admonition has no particular value for today, when seemingly the majority of the whole Western world is what may be called monotheistic, i.e., believing in one God. While theoretically, one may, in general, consider the Western world to be monotheistic, practically and actually this is an exaggeration. Why do we say this? Because millions of souls today do not believe in God at all. God is that which man puts first in his life, which he worships, for which he sacrifices everything, the ultimate of his being. As there were gods and goddesses in the ancient world symbolizing wealth, prosperity, fame, cruelty, sensuality, drunkenness, etc., so today many bow down before the god of gold, of self, of wine, of success, of fame, of pleasure, of licentiousness. A large and growing number of souls in America are today given to worshiping of vain, empty, false gods. When you find a person who does not truly worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will find that person worshiping, though probably not acknowledging it, some other God; and the end of that worship is degradation, disillusionment, deterioration of character. It is the following of a fantasy; its end is dead fruit, hopelessness, and despair. There is no god but God, and to yield our hearts to any other than Him is to be ultimately, absolutely, eternally doomed to wretched failure and everlasting loss.
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 45:22
Jehovah the Only Redeemer for All Men Everywhere
45:22 … “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” In the verse preceding the one assigned to our lesson from Isaiah, God is spoken of as “a just God and a Saviour,” i.e., a God who always does right, whose word is true, whose promises are fulfilled, and a God who is able to save His people from their sins, from wrath, from eternal death, from their enemies. Because God is such a God, He can extend the invitation that we find in our verse, “Look unto me and be ye saved.” The phrase “look unto me,” means to direct the attention to, and denotes a confession on our part of helplessness, as, when a man is drowning, he casts an imploring eye to one on the shore who can help him. What is easier than casting the eyes toward God, the Savior? What is more reasonable than Him requiring us to do so? There is a reason why we should look to God to be saved – because there is none else who can save the soul. No idol, no man, no angel, can save. That we might come, no matter our character, is abundantly proved by this passage. If properly understood and applied, this verse contains enough truth to save the world; and on the ground of this all men of all nations, of all ages, ranks and character might come and obtain eternal salvation. There is in this verse a testimony to God’s uniqueness, to God’s knowledge of man’s helplessness, to God’s love for man in his helplessness, and to God’s grace, and love, and His willingness and power to save all men if they will but look to Him.
Would you say that the character and attributes of God revealed in the two passages we have thus far studied are the result of man’s speculation about God, or are revelations of God concerning Himself? Can you conceive how any person could discover the actual truth about God by human speculation and reasoning? Why does God want us to know Him? What are the consequences in human life of absolute ignorance of God? What testimony to the need of man for God is borne by the fact that all nations on earth made their own gods when they would not have a true God to worship?
Scripture Reading: Mark 12:28-34
Jesus Instructs a Scribe Concerning the First Two Commandments
12:28 … “And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all?” This particular incident taken from the Gospel of Mark is also recorded in Matthew 12:28-34. This conversation took place on Tuesday of Passion Week, in the city of Jerusalem. The Pharisees, having heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, gathered around Him probably in the mood of opposition, when one of these, a lawyer, stepped forth from the crowd, determined to test once more, for Himself, the wisdom of the Lord Jesus who stood before Him, by asking Him a question that was keenly debated in all the rabbinical schools of Palestine of His day: “What is the first commandment?” The Jews divided the Pentateuch into six hundred and thirteen precepts, three hundred and sixty-five prohibitions, as many as there were days in the year, and two hundred and twenty-eight commandments, as many as there were parts in the body. They distinguished between greater and less, and had many disputes about the greatest. Among the greater commandments they reckoned Sabbath observance, circumcisions, rules of sacrifice and offerings, and rules about fringes and phylacteries.
12:29, 30, 31 … “Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” In reply to the scribe’s question, the Lord quoted Deuteronomy 6:4, 5 and Leviticus 19:18. Though Jesus does not directly quote from the Ten Commandments, He does quote a passage that summarizes the teaching of all the Commandments, and puts the emphasis first on the character and recognition of God, then upon our utter, absolute love for God, and, finally, upon our love for one another. If every living person simply obeyed these two commandments, to love the only true and living God with all one’s being, and then truly to love one’s neighbor, they would be living the fullest, richest, most satisfying life men can ever attain to. Of course, if we love God, we will love His Son, for His Son was sent to show men how much God loves us. If we love God, we shall keep His commandments, as the Lord Jesus often said (John 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 John 2:3-8; 5:2, 3). No matter how honest, truthful, pure, industrious, or successful we may be in life, if we do not truly love the Lord, and love His fellow men, then we are not only failing to live a life approved by God, but we are deliberately disobeying the commandments of God. Let us not forget that Jesus calls these commandments. To remain habitually away from the house of the Lord, to neglect communion with God, to refuse His gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ, to continue deliberately in sin against His will, all these are manifestations of one’s disobedience of this fundamental law, set forth by God in the Old Testament, and clearly re-emphasized by His only begotten Son in the New Testament.
12:32, 33, 34 … “And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.” There is a love of self that is estimable and necessary, as there is also a self-love that is mean and unworthy. The meaning here is that we should have the same solicitous regard and care for our neighbors that we have for ourselves; what we wish good for ourselves we should wish for them, and what we would wish others to do for us we should be willing to do for them. It is really another form of the Golden Rule. The passage is comprehensive, because we sustain no other relations than these, to ourselves, to our fellows, and to our God. The scribe apprehended and appreciated the truth, and frankly said so. He believed that devotion was more and better than ceremonial, and inward reality of more consequence than outward ritual. Religion must be very mechanical at the heart of which there is not love for God and men. Jesus, perceiving that he answered intelligently, said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” How near he was to it; and how far from it, too. It is clear that at that time he was not in it. It is terrible to think how near one can come to the kingdom of God without entering it. Harrison wrote:
So near you can hear the sounds that resound
From those who, believing, a pardon have found:
So near, yet unwilling to give up thy sin,
When Jesus is waiting to welcome you in.
The rich young ruler looked right in, and then went away. Did this scribe? Have you? The Master wants the maximum and not the minimum of devotion.
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:4-6
The Apostle Paul Reaffirms the Absolute Uniqueness of God
In the eighth chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul is facing the problem of food offered to idols. The food, after being presented to idols, was often taken away and sold in the marker-place, and, of course, served on the tables of the citizens of Corinth. The problem arose in the Corinthian church whether a Christian should eat any meat that he knew had previously been offered to idols, the supposition being on the part of some that to do so would be actually to participate in these idolatrous practices. This is the occasion for the words that are considered in our study.
8:4, 5 … “Concerning therefore the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; as there are gods many, and lords many.” Paul says that idols are “nothing,” i.e., they are empty, vain, and non-existent. There are no such beings in the universe as those who unbelievers who worship man’s gods. There was no Juno, Jupiter, or Mars. There is no God, no real Divine Being, but One. The objects of empty and vain worship of gods are neither what the unbeliever takes them to be, nor are they gods in the true sense of that term. The whole mythology is a fable, the work of the imagination. There are no complete gods in existence, though there are demons in abundance of various ranks and powers called gods. There are two things that the apostle means to deny: the existence of such beings as unbelievers conceived their gods to be, and that the supernatural beings who really exist and are called gods are really divine. Also, as in other places in the New Testament, Paul is not content with a negative denial, but now brings forth a positive affirmation – the gods of the unbeliever are non-existent, but there is a God who is God the Father, from whom all things comes, and in whom, through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are.
8:6 … “Yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him” (See John 1:3; Heb. 1:2, 3; Col. 1:16; Rom. 11:36). Note the contrast between the many gods of the unbelievers and the one God of the Christians. The whole passage is a clear acknowledgment on the part of the apostle Paul that the Lord Jesus Christ was eternal in His existence, and the Agent by whom the world was created. If we have Christ, we have the Father. If we have the Father and the Son, we need never wander into other religions, for they have nothing to offer us. There is only one God, and when we have found Him, or been found by Him, and are saved by Him, what else can the entire world offer to us? This is what gives Christianity its power in missionary enterprises. Our God is not a rival of any other gods. In Him is life, and without Him there is no life. He is the sovereign Ruler of the universe, and all others are pretenders to a throne which they will never ascend. God alone is holy, and God alone is able to save men from their sins through the Lord Jesus Christ. He that has God has all, and he that has not God has nothing that abides through eternity.
