The Commandments of God: Let’s Examine Them One by One

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1. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Our God is a jealous God—and He has every right to be. He delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt with mighty signs and wonders. He delivered us from eternal death by sending His only begotten Son to die on a cross for our sins. After all that, would He quietly watch us bow to another?

Imagine this: You find a helpless orphan on the street—hungry, naked, abandoned. Out of the kindness of your heart you adopt the child. You feed him, clothe him, pay his school fees, build him a house, train him in a trade, and even help him get married. You pour your entire life into raising this child from nothing into a responsible adult.

Then one day, that same child stands in public and declares, “This stranger over here is the one who raised me, fed me, educated me, built my house, and gave me a family.” He completely forgets you—the one who was there when he had nobody.

How would you feel? Betrayed. Heartbroken. Angry. You would call that child ungrateful, wicked, and utterly foolish.

That is exactly what we do when we place anything or anyone above the living God. He created the heavens and the earth. He formed us in our mother’s womb. He redeemed us with the precious blood of Jesus. Yet many of us turn around and give our devotion, time, fear, and worship to created things instead of the Creator.

The commandment continues in verses 4–5: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…”

In Bible days, the punishment for idolatry was swift—stoning to death. God has not changed. He still hates idolatry with perfect hatred because it robs Him of the glory that belongs to Him alone.

So let’s ask ourselves honestly today:

  • What (or who) is sitting on the throne of your heart?
  • Is your spouse more important to you than God?
  • Are your children the center of your universe?
  • Do you fear your boss more than you fear God?
  • Is money the god you truly serve—chasing it morning, noon, and night?
  • Do you secretly honor the traditional deities of your forefathers?
  • Have you set up statues or images—whether of Mary, angels, apostles, or local gods—and you bow, pray, and burn candles before them?

If the answer to any of these is yes, you are breaking the very first commandment.

There is no Bible verse—neither in the Old Testament nor in the teachings of Jesus or the apostles—that commands us to worship images of Mary, Peter, or any saint. Jesus Himself said, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matthew 4:10). He also declared, “If you love Me, you love the Father, and if you love the Father, you love Me, for I and My Father are one.”

Every image, every statue, every shrine belongs to the creature—not the Creator. The Bible says in Romans 1:25 that idolaters “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.”

My dear reader, the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). The cattle on a thousand hills belong to Him. The gold and silver are His. Even the breath in your lungs is borrowed from Him. Will you now take what belongs to God and give it to wood, stone, or human beings?

There is blessing, protection, provision, and eternal life for everyone who will worship the Lord alone. But there is judgment—swift and terrible—for those who insist on provoking His jealousy.

Today is the day to repent. Destroy every idol in your heart and in your home. Tear down every altar that does not glorify the one true God. Return to Him with all your heart.

Serve no other. Love no other above Him. Worship no image. Fear no one but Him.

For He alone is God, and beside Him there is no other.

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