No other gods (Exod 20:1-3)

Most of us have met people who do not wish to be associated with the Church yet maintain that they are trying to be good and keep the Ten Commandments as a baseline. What they have in mind, however, are only the commands relating to human interactions (murder, adultery, stealing, etc.), while the ones relating to God (e.g. no other gods, no idolatry) are missing. Neither does such an objective, well-intentioned as it may be, take into consideration that the Ten Commandments are not a free-floating ethical framework. Although it is true that these commands are formulated in a very general way and aim for the widest possible application, they are placed within the context of a relationship with the God of the Bible.

The ‘ten words’, the literal translation of the Hebrew for the Ten Commandments (Exod 34:28), are spoken directly by God and are introduced by His self-revelation as the God who brought Israel out of slavery. Israel is committing to a covenant relationship with the God who saved them from endless hard labour and enslavement, a God who is committed to them and their wellbeing. He cares for them not for the profit He can get out of them or for their greatness and achievements but simply because He loves them (Deut 4:37; 7:7). The basic principles for Israel’s life are given within this relationship and are meant to be motivated by that love and grace that they have received. Trying to keep the Ten Commandments without this context is like marrying oneself (sologamy), apparently a concept now recognised by dictionaries.

The first injunction not to have ‘another god before Me’ (v.3) makes sense within this exclusive relationship, which is most often compared to marriage in the Bible. Such exclusivity is unheard of in the ancient world, where the gods are part of a pantheon, an assembly of divine beings. There may be a hierarchy among them, and some have more powers than others or special gifts in certain directions, but they all exist together, often with consorts. When a nation conquers another, their victory is secured by their national god. Thus, the idols of the subjugated people are put in the temple of the victorious deity who receives the homage of these other gods. They are in his or her presence. However, Israel’s God will not allow that because it gives other gods legitimacy and creates an opportunity for their worship. Thus, this command focuses on the relational aspect of exclusive loyalty to one God rather than on the theoretical belief that only one God exists, though that is true as well.

In secular Western contexts we do not worship gods in the form the ancients did, so it is hard to apply this principle today. The NT, however, helps us with some re-interpretations of the concept. Thus, Jesus contrasts the service of God with that of mammon (Matt 6:24) almost as if the latter were another deity. Likewise, Colossians 3:5 describes ‘greed’ as idolatry.[1] Things then can become the object of our worship and service, so the questions to ask are: What endangers our allegiance to God? What do we set our hearts on for fulfilment more than on God? What or whom do we trust and pin our hopes on above all to help us achieve what matters most to us?

Perhaps the hardest question of all is how we can stop our loyalties to people or things compete and rival our loyalty to God? Happily married couples are less likely to be tempted by an extramarital affair because their lives are fulfilled in that exclusive love relationship in marriage. Thus, the answer, I believe, is in a return to God’s initial statement about Himself. It is only as we encounter and immerse ourselves in that loving relationship with the true God that the hold of other ‘gods’ loosens.

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[1] I am indebted to Walter Moberly’s use of these NT examples and his discussion on idolatry that helped my thinking as reflected in this paragraph. Old Testament Theology: Reading the Hebrew Bible as Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 35-40 (38-39).

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