When my
fiancé and I stood before the pastor to say our wedding vows there was an
implied statement included: I am your
wife. You will have no other wives before
or after me. See, I’m not a polygamist
and though I think some things would be great (let the other wives cook, clean
and I’ll fix and teach) it would never work.
I don’t want his attention to be divided between a few of us. After all, if his heart is divided between a
few of us, it cannot be wholly mine.
1. I am Jehovah (the existing one, eternal) your God
(ruler, God), You shall have no other gods before (the presence or the
face of) Me. Ex. 20:3,4
I am Jehovah,
and there is none else, no God besides
Me… Is. 45:5
…Before Me no God was formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, I am Jehovah; and there
is none to save besides Me.
Is. 43:10,11
In beginning
the commandments, God starts with a most important statement. “I am Jehovah God.” So as you read it follows that those who
believe in this God will accept
these ‘rules’. “I am the eternal and
existing one,” He says, “We (elohim the plural of God) are your ruler” or one
that governs- as a king. Herein is the
most important of all decisions. Do we
believe in the very nature of Jehovah- who He is, and have we accepted His rule
over us and our lives?
There is to
be no other God but Him. Since the
second commandment speaks of having no idols, how does this one differ? There is the preliminary statement included,
but also this one is the core of our actions toward this One we believe
in. Do we make Him the sole aim of all
our actions, devote ourselves wholly to Him, and yield our hearts and
affections completely to Him? Do we have
ardent love or affection for Him that is manifest by constant attention and an
earnest eagerness to be with Him?
Or is God
just another ‘Joe Blo’ in our lives that we can forget about when we want to
but include Him if it appeals to us?
Once ‘married’ to Him, we’ve got to be all in (don’t we expect that of
our spouses?) Wholly, completely in, not
half hearted with the rest of us given over to lust of another- like the world,
our own selfish desires…
How well do we fulfill this first commandment to be whole
heartedly, completely devoted and surrendered to Him?
Commandment
# 1 – epic fail most days