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“No Other Gods”
Categories: Author: David Carrozza, Elder Articles
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:2-3
Jehovah got it out there first, clearly and without exception. This is WHO I AM, and this is WHAT I EXPECT. The first message, I am the Lord your God who brought you out…wasn’t theological, philosophical, or mystical speculation. Only a few months prior the entire nation of Israel had witnessed not only the power of God but that his power was used for the specific purpose of freeing them from Egyptian slavery. There was no denying it. It was a nationally shared firsthand experience. This was the epistemological basis for the Egyptians and for Israel to know who God was.
“And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”Exodus 7:5.
The second, “stake-in-the-ground” Jehovah planted firmly “You shall have no other gods before me!” Exodus 20:3
But why is this so important?
Because what you, what we worship changes us. What we consider god in any form changes not only a belief system, a set of values, it changes our behaviors.
A short version of this paradigm is to ask the question, “What does what we worship allow us to do and compel us to do?” The constraints and the permissions given and granted by what we idolize and worship. This makes all the difference for an individual and for a culture.
Later in the Exodus story as Moses is being drawn deeper into the leadership role for the nation of Israel, he asks to know who God is. “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight” Exodus 33:13 and “And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Exodus 33:18-20
God’s glory and power is His goodness. It is Right, Good and Beautiful. And it had just been manifested in His deliverance from Egypt. He had kept, delivered on the promise He made to Abraham.
What then does God, allow us [His people] to do and what does He compel us to do?
The first law, the one God gave after delivering His people contains the “shall” and the “shall nots” The “shalls” are further elaborated in the word and concepts of His “commands”. “Therefore, know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;”Deuteronomy 7:9
What God “allows” us to do is defined by His constraints not by global permissions. It is the “thou shalt nots”. These are the “unspotted”, “undefiled” and “blameless” commands and explanations.
What God “compels” us to do is defined by His “thou shall” commands, examples, and expectations. The examples of both, the limit of permissions and the expectations of compelled are found in teachings such as: The definition and limits of greatness:
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” Matthew 20:26
The Golden Rule “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Loving Your Neighbor‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Pure Religion. Before God…you know the “religion” that God accepts is this: “to visit the fatherless and the widow (the compelled part) and “to keep oneself unspotted from the world”. Caring for the fatherless is a perfect example of grace, goodness, and justice. Being moved with compassion.
The one that challenges me: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
There are two ways to find ourselves “spotted by the world” To do what we “SHALL NOT” and to not do what we “SHALL”.
I can’t help but come to the conclusion that God’s people (collectively in one way or another) are compelled to care for the fatherless. And to help when needed those who bring these children into their homes.
