ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Sapate ‘Aokosi 1, 2021

Ko au ko Sihova ko ho ‘Otua

I am the Lord your God

Teutalōnome 5 (Deuteronomy 5)

(v. 6-7) Ko au ko Sihova ko ho ‘Otua, ‘a ia na‘a ku ‘omi koe mei ‘Isipite, mei he fale pōpula. ‘Oua na‘a ai hao ‘Otua kehe, ‘o ua ‘aki au.

(v. 6-7) “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

 

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

Continuing the introductory part of the great discourse, Moses called on all Israel to attend to "statutes and judgments." In addition to these words, he later employed the word "testimonies." The three words occur together later ( Deu 6:20 ). "Testimonies" are the actual words of the law given. "Statutes" are the provisions for worship and the conduct that harmonizes therewith. "Judgments" deal with the arrangements for the administration of justice.

Moses first repeated the ten words of the Decalogue. In doing this it is arresting to observe that concerning the Sabbath the ground of the appeal is no longer God's resting during creation but the people's position as redeemed from Egypt's bondage.

The discourse proceeded in solemn and stately language to recall to the memory of the people the occasion and the method of the giving of the Law. One brief declaration in this connection marked the sufficiency of the Law as given, "He added no more." On the basis of all this he urged them to "observe to do, not turn aside"; but "walk in all the way . . . that it may be well. . . ."

 

David Guzik :: Study Guide for Deuteronomy 5

(Deu 5:6-7) The first commandment: no other gods before Me.

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

I am the LORD your God: Before God commanded anything of man, He declared who He was and what He did for Israel (who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage). The foundation was clear: because of whom God was and what He did for His people, He has the right to tell us what to do - and we have the obligation to obey Him.

You shall have no other gods before Me: The first commandment logically flows from understanding who God is and what He has done for us. Nothing is to come before God and He is the only God we worship and serve.

In the days of ancient Israel, there was great temptation to worship the gods of materialism (Baal, the god of weather and financial success) and sex (Ashtoreth, the goddess of sex, romance, and reproduction), or any number of other local deities. We are tempted to worship the same gods, but without the old-fashioned names and images.

No other gods before Me: This did not imply that it was permissible to have other gods, as long as they lined up behind the true God. Instead the idea is that there are to be no other gods before the sight of the true God in our life. Before Me is literally, "to My face."

This means God demands to be more than "added" to our lives. We don't just add Jesus to the life we already have. We must give Him all our lives.

Failure to obey this commandment is called idolatry. We are to flee idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14). Those lives marked by habitual idolatry will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Ephesians 5:5, Revelation 21:8, 22:15). Idolatry is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-20), which marks our old life instead of the new (1 Peter 4:3), and we are not to associate with those who call themselves Christians who are idolaters (1 Corinthians 5:11).