First Commandment Of The Bible

The First Commandment of the Bible, what is it? The First Command of the Bible says “I Am Yahweh your Elohim…You shall have no other mighty ones before Me” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7). It identifies the Creator of the heavens and the earth and forbids worship of anyone or anything apart from, or in addition to, Him (Yahweh)! The expression “before Me” means not only “ahead of Me” but also “besides Me.” Israel was to worship only the one Elohim. This commandment identifies the true Elohim as the One who “brought you (Israel) out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” and separates Him (Yahweh) from the myriad of false gods worshiped. Yes, the same Elohim who delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage delivers people today from the spiritual bondage of sin and the false religions and philosophies of this world. Now, as then, this commandment has first place among the ten moral categories identified in the Ten Commandments of the Bible. Today, we will share with you the sacred First Commandment. Read also Matthew 4:10; John 4:24; Revelation 19:10 as it relates to the passages above. As always, we will let the Bible interpret itself and ask the Holy Spirit of Yahweh for help and guidance as we teach this topic to you. May you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear for this true and faithful heavenly message.

The Bible reveals plainly that there is only one true Elohim, the Author and Creator of the cosmos. This is a fact of the divine revelation. Anyone should be able to see that it makes no sense to worship anything that is not Elohim. But once we know Elohim exists, it makes no sense not to worship Him. Yahweh gives us life, breath, the ability to think, reason, plan—all that we have, our very existence—so we owe all to Him! Many who believe Elohim exists and who even say they believe the Bible is His inspired Word refuse to put Him first, which is what really the First Commandment demands. They believe Elohim exists, but they do not retain Yahweh in their knowledge. They put Him out of their minds as they go about the lusts of their flesh. Believing in Elohim is not the same as loving Elohim. And one who does not love Elohim does not put Yahweh first —does not “have no other gods before” the true Elohim. “You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5) captures the full intent of the First Commandment. Loving Yahweh is equated with keeping His commandments in Deuteronomy 20:6. John says “we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3), adding, “Whoever says “I know Him” but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps His Word, in him truly the love of Elohim is perfected” (verses 4-5).

Furthermore, breaking the Bible’s First Commandment will result in breaking all Yahweh’s commandments, a real abandonment of the moral law! We see this ugly phenomenon in today’s world. Atheistic philosophers speak of “moral atheism,” claiming that morality is not rooted in a belief in Elohim. But the “morality” they speak of is a “morality” of their own making! They decide whether abortion and homosexual practice are morally acceptable. They decide whether marriage is between one man and one woman or between persons of the same sex, or whether sex outside marriage is right or wrong. They decide what is right and wrong, good and evil. For them, morality is a relative term. In addition, the superstitious worship of the sun, moon and stars as well as “mother” earth and most of its natural forces, such as lightning, thunder, rain and fire, persists to this day in some parts of the world. Ironically, this underlying concept has also been adopted by modern-day religions that teach that Elohim is more or less the sum total of the natural powers of the universe. Many people place their confidence in astrology. Whether they realize it or not, in doing so they attribute divine powers to the creation—the stars—rather than to their Creator! Yes, all of them have one thing in common—they fail to distinguish the Creator from His creation! Yahweh warns us against these practices. The apostle Paul, describing the unfortunate legacy of sinful man, says that the ancients “exchanged the truth about Elohim for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator! (Romans 1:25). When they rejected Elohim, they plunged headlong into gross immorality. Soon, they were “filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossipers, slanderers, haters of Elohim, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless” (Romans 1:29-31).

Some 2,000 years ago the apostle Paul explained that the all-too-human tendency to attribute intelligence and life-giving powers to the physical creation has been a major source of superstition and religious blindness. “For although they knew Yahweh, they neither glorified Him as Elohim nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal Elohim for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore Almighty Yahweh gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of Yahweh for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised” (Romans 1:21-25). Exalting the creation is the cornerstone of today’s materialistic, secular view of the universe. The theory that life evolved from inert matter is an attempt to explain the creation—our amazing universe—without the intelligence of the Creator! Man’s worship of nature, or some aspect of nature, has been the basis of one idolatrous religion after another. Many people have no real concept of a single, all-powerful Creator! As such they accounted for the vagaries of climate, agricultural events and the geography of the world around them by means of a whole array of gods.

The First Commandment of the Bible is the most important Law in the Decalogue. When asked which of all the laws of Scripture is the greatest, Yahshua the Messiah responded with the command emphasizing the supreme importance of our personal relationship with Elohim: “You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:35-38). Establishing, developing and maintaining that personal relationship with the true and living Elohim is the most important commitment we can ever make. That is the primary focus of the first of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other mighty ones before Me” (Exodus 20:3). The First Commandment warns us not to accept a religion or philosophy that teaches that our life and well-being originate with or depend on anything other than the one true Elohim! There is no pantheon of deities. There is no other source of life or blessings but Yahweh. There is no other power that rules over the heavens and the earth. “Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to Yahweh your Elohim, also the earth with all that is in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14). Yahweh alone created and sustains the universe in which we exist. This is the First Commandment’s powerful message! We are to worship and serve our Creator—the miracle-working Elohim who led ancient Israel out of Egyptian bondage—and to credit our existence and blessings to no other source. As His people we are to love, respect and honor Almighty Yahweh—to have a genuine, personal relationship with Him!

In closing, the Bible affirms that our Maker is both living and real—the one and only true Elohim! “But Yahweh is the true Elohim; He is the living Elohim and the everlasting King” (Jeremiah 10:10). Believing in Elohim is not the same as loving Elohim. One who does not love Elohim does not put Yahweh first. And yes, merely believing in Yahweh is not enough. “Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 2:19). The belief that is acceptable to Yahweh is an active belief—a belief motivated by always putting Yahweh first in our life and in everything we do. Such faith begins with the First Commandment: “You shall have no other mighty ones before Me!” At the same time, our Father in heaven Yahweh wants us to fully understand that we must never direct our worship toward anything that He has created or regard it as the source of our life and blessings. Yes, only the Creator—not the creation—is to receive that honor! We hope you’re blessed reading and learning about the First Commandment of the Bible. Let’s spread love, faith, hope and truth and may the mercy and grace of Elohim come to us for doing so. We pray these things to Yahweh through Savior Yahshua our Master and our King, Amen. Halleluyah, Shalom!