No Other gods
#1 Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before [a] me. (NIV)
When we read the first commandment what does it mean to us? Do we only think of worshiping; angels, demons and Satan? Do we immediately limit “other gods” to supernatural things? God is talking about worship and is making it clear that the object of our worship is Him. God is our creator and deserves worship and praise. If there isn’t anything on earth that should ever receive more worship than God. Really, we should not worship anything but God. What’s interesting is that before the first commandment, God tells them “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” God makes a point to show them, that He was the one who delivered them, that He is the LORD who answered their prayers. Now compare that to any other god or gods and even people in our lives; can any one of them make that claim. If we are to leave out God being the creator, who else can at least save us? no one!
To better understand lets define the word worship:
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed to one or more deities. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something.[1]
An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, or by a designated leader. In a broader social sense, worship may on occasion refer to an attitude towards someone of greatly elevated social status, such as a lord or monarch, or, more colloquially, towards a hero or lover.
—Synonyms
3. honor, homage, adoration, idolatry. 7. honor, venerate, revere, adore, glorify, idolize, adulate.
Of course we would say that we never worship anyone other than God (those that are of the faith). But the commandment of putting them before God or if I go even as far as putting them on the same level as with God. There have and will be times when people, places and things will ask you to choose between them and God, who will you pick? Will pleasing them come between worshiping God? Will you give the love that is meant for God to them? Do you honor a person more that God? Are you willing to do anything for some other object and yet will not think twice about short changing GOD? Are you more concerned about the feelings of family members more than what God has to say? Have you elevated other objects over the Creator? Do you seek to be like other people more than seeking to be like Christ, just as God the Father has planned (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 5:1, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 2:14)
Anointed Place Ministries 
Great analogy. That commandment was the first commandment I learned as a child, and then I went to a church, and I saw people bowing to statues. Even then I asked my mom, what that was all about? So, I guess what I got out of that, was “religion” will do that….(rules made by people) but Relationship gives honor. (relationship with God)
Thanks for your thoughts on this….It is much needed.
Blessings,
Elena http://elenasjustmythoughts.wordpress.com
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This commandment comes from a time when the various Semitic tribes worshiped a pantheon of gods, including the “Baals and Ashearas” mentioned in the Old Testament. Different tribes would have their favored god, like you see with the Greek or Sumerian cities. The Caananite city Ugarit favored the Semitic god Dagon, and the Israelites favored YWEH, the Semitic creator god. This relationship – that YWEH was most important – was formalized in this commandment.
When Israel was in political conflict with her Semitic neighbors, their neighbors’ favored gods were quite literally demonized and eventually disregarded or dropped from the Israelite pantheon or referred to as Satan, “The Enemy”. The original political message of the commandment is important for context, but the Moabites and Ammorites are long gone by now.
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Thank you, for the further in depth understanding…..
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Since God is the creator of the universe and before the foundation of the world the lamb was slain for sin(Rev 13:8); then its safe to say that God’s Law existed long before the written commandments. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
Romans 1
20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Mankind has a funny way of looking at things, man thinks that things never existed until he discovered it. But really things are revealed to mankind. The tables didn’t make God’s law any more real.
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