Exodus 20:3 (NKJV)
You shall have no other gods before Me.
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Bible Commentary
Exodus 20:3 is an important Bible verse in the Old Testament and the first of The Commandments given to us by God.
There is a reason God listed this as the first Commandment. It is the most crucial. If we get this one right, the others will fall right into place.
In Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus also cited Exodus 20:3 as the most important Commandment when someone asked Him:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
In this passage, Jesus describes the commandment in Exodus 20:3 as more than just a rule to follow. He invokes our emotion and desire, and makes it about our relationship with God.
It was because of Christ that the veil was torn in two, and we can enter the holy of holies to be with God the Father. Christ reconciled us back to God.
Rules vs. Relationship
Without Jesus Christ in our hearts, the Ten Commandments are only rules. We might respect them, but it is difficult to treasure them without being able to approach God the Father in confident peace.
Jesus Christ is the One Who resurrects peace between us and causes joyous harmony in our relationship with the Father. Jesus is the One Who transforms the rules from an obligation to an intense longing to obey.
We can live our lives with joy in the magnetic pull of love (grace) rather than the fear of punishment (law).
Jesus is the One Who stands in the gap between us and God, Who accomplished every rule and law put forth in the Bible with perfection, so we didn’t have to. Because of His blood that covers us, we can have confident assurance that God receives us with great joy and pleasure, the same way He receives Jesus.
Just as God loves His Son, so He loves you and me because we accepted His Son. When we accepted His Son, we accepted Him.
Hebrews 4:15-16 says: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Unlocking the Truth – How to Love God
The more confident we are in God’s overwhelming love for us, the more likely we are to seek Him first and give up anything He asks of us.
This is how we love Him.
Forsaking all other gods is a gradual process of stepping out in faith. Letting go of the empty and the vain for the real thing. The more we do it, the more of Him we receive.
There is no disappointment in Jesus Christ.
There is no emptiness in Christ.
Trust Him. Follow Him. He will show you the way out and the way to… Your hope and your future are in Christ.
Study the Bible verse of Exodus 20:3, and forsake all other gods but Him.
