First Commandment (1 Of 12)

Before we preach on the commandments themselves we need to consider why God gave Israel these commandments. It has been stated by many that of all the documents that have ever been written not one has been more important than the TEN COMMANDMENTS.

The commandments were not imposed on Israel by some evil dictator, but instead were given by a loving God Who intended to make them the constitution of the universe.

Make no mistake about it, the TEN COMMANDMENTS are commandments from almighty God Himself.

Many folks have the attitude about obeying the commandments like they do about a multiple choice test. They select the ones they think best suits them and disregard all the rest. It would seem that humans have a natural resistance when it comes to obeying commands.

Illus: When the law was passed that everyone had to wear seat belts, people complained. Why? Was it because they thought it was a bad law? No. It was because people do not like being told “Thou must buckle up” every time they get into their cars. We humans have always had a tendency to rebel against commandments, even when we knew they were for our good.

Any time there is a commandment, or a law, there is the implication that you have a choice, to obey or disobey. If there was no choice in the matter there would be no need for a commandment. We humans can disobey the commandments of God, but we have to always remember, this action will always have a negative outcome. For example, God set up laws in the physical world that must be obeyed or else we pay dearly.

Illus: The scientist understands that there are certain chemicals that you do not mix in the laboratory. If the law is broken about these chemicals that scientist may just go flying through the ceiling of his lab.

A person may object to the law of gravity and say to himself, “No one is going to tell me what to do,” and decide he is going to prove his point by jumping off the state capitol. He has that choice, but he has no choice when he meets the concrete below.

When God gave the ten commandments He was leading the children of Israel into the promised land. God, like our forefathers, recognized that a country cannot exist without moral laws to guide the people. These laws were given to Israel by the true and living God Who had delivered them from slavery. Then, as they began to form a new nation, He told them how He wanted the new nation to be governed. Those laws were given to show mankind what God expects of any society.

Notice the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." If we are going to be talking about God, we need to ask ourselves just what or who God is.

To different people God is different things. Some people think God:

• Is like medicine: you don't need Him when you are feeling well.

• Some people think of God as a heavenly Father on Sunday, while they live like orphans the rest of the week.

• Some people think of God as an inadequate Creator - He is unable to run the universe so He created those people to be His consultants. People like this are always trying to make amendments to His commandments.

First, we must establish the fact that God is not the product of a man. In fact the opposite is true.

Illus: Alan F. Johnson said, 'He is the infinite person who is responsible for the creation, operation, and the principles of the universe in which we live. “

WHY DID GOD GIVE THIS COMMANDMENT? “Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

I. GOD HAS AWESOME POWER.

Ephesians 3:20 says of God that He is, ".,.able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think... "

God delivered the Nation of Israel from one of the most powerful armies in the world at that time, but Pharaoh was no match for the powerful God that Israel served. Israel had been in bondage in Egypt four hundred and thirty years. During that time the people were greatly abused and they cried out to the God of Abraham deliverance.

Illus: If you will use your imagination you can picture a little of how it must have been. After being worked like oxen, and beaten like animal from before dawn until after dusk every day, each day when they finally collapsed at home to rest they cried out to God. They prayed that soon would deliver them from their evil taskmaster and make them a nation.

They were asking no easy favor. In fact, to get what they wanted was almost impossible. Pharaoh was the most powerful man o earth. He had at his disposal the most powerful army in world. Israel was praying that God would deliver them from bondage of the Egyptians. Can God answer such a prayer? There were some there who were weak in faith and felt they were asking the impossible, but there were others who felt like God almighty was the only hope they had.