Why we should know the first three commandments and care about following them.

The 10 Commandments are not just a list of rules. They are a way for us to be made righteous with God. Even knowing these laws, we cannot do this on our own, but only with Jesus, who covers us with His blood and goes to God on our behalf for Him to forgive us when we do not follow His commands and His ways. Simply following these rules does not earn us a relationship with God or a ticket to heaven. Our salvation is only found in Jesus.

Then God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 

Do not have other gods besides me.

Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.

Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.”

Exodus 20:1-7 CSB

Commandment Connection

All ten of the commandments have a theme of love woven throughout. They provide a lens or a worldview in which we can see how to love God and love others. The first four specifically are about loving God. In this post, we will focus on the first three. These three set up a basis for how we must love God. 

We also should not take these three commandments out of context or at face value. Understanding them in light of the rest of Scripture and the Gospel is important. Understanding that when God says to not have any other gods, He is not referring to only believing in God the Father and not recognizing Jesus or the Holy Spirit. God is assuming we already have a basic understanding of the Trinity (God is three in one). Jesus himself references these commandments during His teaching on the mountainside (which we can find in Matthew). If Jesus mentions and takes the time to teach on and expound upon these commandments, we should probably devote time to learning their importance, too!

As you read to understand the first three of the ten commandments, do you read it with the Gospel in mind? Do you read it with the question in mind: “how does this help me love God and love others?”

Commandment #1

The first commandment is found in verse 3. 

Do not have other gods besides me. 

God is the only God. He is triune (three in one), He is the One and only One that is due our devotion and praise. Our God is exclusive, superior, creator, and worthy of all glory and praise.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit were present during the creation of the world, during the flood destruction of Noah’s time, during the time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), during the Egyptian slavery and the exodus, during the wandering in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses, during the time of the judges and kings of Israel, most definitely during the time of Roman occupation, AND during the craziness of 2023. Who else in the world can make this same claim??? Absolutely nobody!! Why would we want to give honor, glory, and praise to someone other than God, the One who has always been and always will be.

(Be on the lookout for more discussion on the Trinity… COMING SOON!)

Commandment #2

The second commandment is found in verses 4 through 6. 

Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.

An idol is anything created (hint: everything in the universe is created EXCEPT God) that we may worship or serve instead of devoting all things to God. Examples include: money, food, family, alcohol or drugs, jobs, and even ourselves. Let’s be honest, in our world today how many things are constantly vying for our attention? What about all the unrealistic expectations put on us with our jobs? Or the demanding family schedules? 

So I have recently stopped teaching. Growing up the only career I ever dreamed of was being an elementary teacher. I have given seven years of my life to this “dream” job. When you are a teacher, the expectations put on you are never ending and constantly changing. You feel shame and frustration with yourself if you cannot “perform” the expected way or do “all of the things”. It’s almost expected that you will devote every waking moment of your life and every ounce of emotional and mental energy to planning and executing what goes on in the classroom. Most days (until my last year) I was at school by 7:15 and didn’t leave to go home until 5:00, taking things home to do. Then I would be in bed by 8:00 because I was so exhausted. Weekends weren’t much better as I would spend most of my day Saturday and afternoon on Sunday planning or grading. My entire identity was “TEACHER” and for the most part, I enjoyed it and willingly devoted the time necessary.  I woke up in the morning thinking about school. I went to bed at night thinking about school. I searched social media looking for ideas and activities to try in my classroom. I worried about my “kids” constantly and analyzed how I could reach them. Yet, no matter how much of myself I gave to this job, I never felt it was good enough. I definitely wasn’t appreciated. My administration had a job they expected me to do and ways they expected it to be done and meeting those expectations were expected, not encouraged, not appreciated, not acknowledged, not respected. I had made my job as a teacher an idol. And I felt so discouraged, neglected, rejected, abandoned. The more I tried, the less it mattered and the less joy I felt doing the job I had always dreamed of. 

This was not healthy. This was not what God wanted for me. I was giving to something that cannot give back. I was trying to fully know and fully love something that simply cannot give love in return. Only God can fully know us and fully love us. 

My last year of teaching (this past school year) I was coming to realize this, although I haven’t been able to put it into words before today. The reason I had to leave the classroom was because I tried to place it before God, which ultimately made me realize the only source for my joy and encouragement is God. He has to be first in my life because He IS first. My identity cannot be found in being a teacher because I am a servant of His before anything else. (PS-I feel such immense joy and relief since I left the classroom and am able to devote my time and energy to God. Because He is so worthy and due all glory and praise.)

God is uncreated and Creator of all. And He created us with a desire to worship. Why worship and appreciate the made instead of the maker? Here’s an example of what I mean: When a child, whom you love, draws some hideous drawing that looks like it belongs in the dumpster, do you love and appreciate the drawing because of its merit? Do you frame it and have conversions and turn your affects over to this drawing? Or do you love and appreciate the creator of the drawing for thinking of you so much that they made it especially for you?

Verse 5 says that God is jealous and will punish those participating in idol worship. This righteous jealousy makes sense because we aren’t giving God the Creator His due respect. We are putting more emphasis on the ugly drawing rather than the beloved child who created that drawing. 

Commandment #3

The third commandment is found in verse 7.

Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name. 

This commandment goes along with the former two. We should honor and respect God enough to only use His name in ways that glorify Him. Knowing God’s name is a gift to us that He has given because of His great love and desire for a relationship with us. 

There are several ways we can break this commandment. We can enter into an oath or promise we know we won’t keep. We can act on false worship. Another way we misuse God’s name is by using His name in false ways. This is like when we use God as the reason behind our actions. Using phrases such as “God told me to…” or “God is punishing you for…” or “I know God has called me to…” or even “I know it is God’s will that…” are dangerously close to breaking this commandment as it can be hard to discern these things. More times than not when these phrases are used, we are saying them out of selfish ambition or selfish desire for wanting God to see things from our perspective and this is misusing His name. We cannot attribute feelings, desires, and actions to God that are not His. 

I’m sure you’ve heard many examples of this in your daily life. As a former elementary teacher, I often heard my students misuse God’s name in various ways but mostly out of a habit of disrespect. (Ask me later how I responded to students when I heard them speak this way.) 

The Lord’s name has become just like other words or phrases we may begin to use inappropriately out of frustration or shock. However, it is even more consequential to flippantly say the name of our Holy and Glorious God because we are expressing to Him our disdain for or careless attitude for Him. 

Jesus recognized the worthiness and value of God’s name. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus said “God, your name is Holy.” By misusing His name, we are emptying it of His glory. 

As believers, we represent God to the world. We must remember this and reflect our belief in Him as the One True God by not misusing His name. This is also how we show our love to Him. 

We show our love for God by recognizing Him as the One True God. We show our love for God by placing nothing equal to Him. We show our love for God by honoring His name and only using it in respectful ways.

Challenge: Write out these three commandments and why you see them as valuable. Thank God for being the only God and ask for His guidance and assistance in ridding your life of idols and inappropriate speech.

Make sure you check out the post on Commandment #4: Resting in Christ… COMING SOON

Check out the cutest 10 Commandments coloring sheet by filling out the form below! You can color it and add it to your Bible for some added flair. Because why not!