"You shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3). This first commandment is often misunderstood.  There is confusion regarding what the first commandment actually is.  Some think that the first commandment is, "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex. 20:2).  This statement, however, is not a commandment, but an introduction.  God is simply reminding us who He is and what His law is.  He is the God who brought them "out of the land of Egypt."  This speaks of His mighty power and works to accomplish this task.  However, this is not all that we can glean from this statement.  He is also the God who brought them "out of the house of bondage."  This demonstrates the difference between man's law and the law God is going to give them.  They left the law in Egypt which was the law of bondage.  They joined God's law which is the "perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25, 2:12).  God's law is the law that brings liberty, which is why He brought them out of the bondage of Egypt.  To have this liberty you must keep the first commandment, which is "you shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex. 20:3).  This truly is  the first of the ten commandments and the only way to start your life of liberty.  We cannot have God's liberty unless He is the first and foremost god we have.  To understand this commandment we need to define some terms.  There are two critical words we must define before we can understand this commandment.  We need to define the term "before" and we need to define the term "god."

What does before mean?

          There are two Hebrew words that are translated as "before."  They are ‛al and pânı̂ym.  The word ‛al means, "above, over, upon, or against" (Strong's Dictionary H5921).  The word pânı̂ym means, "face, presence, person" (Brown-Driver-Briggs H6440).  These two words together always mean in front of or above something.  In Genesis 7:18 the scripture says, "And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters."  The words, "upon the face" are the same Hebrew words.  When these words are used together they always mean above or before.  In the context of the first commandment it represents putting something above or before YHVH.  This commandment is not saying we cannot have any other gods, but that the other gods we have cannot be above or before YHVH.  This begs the question, what is a god?

What is a god?

         The Hebrew word for god is 'ĕlôhı̂ym, which means, "rulers, judges, divine ones" (Brown-Driver-Briggs - H430).  This word is "specifically used of the supreme God" but "occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates or judges" (Strong's Dictionary - H430).  This word almost always refers to YHVH, but some times refers to rulers and judges.  For example, in Exodus 21:6 if a servant wanted to stay with his master they were instructed to "bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever."  The word for judges is 'ĕlôhı̂ym (H430), yet it refers to a man.  Right after this verse God said to Moses, "For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour."  Again, the word for judges is 'ĕlôhı̂ym (H430), yet it refers to a man.  Later in this same chapter God said, "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people" (Ex. 22:28).  The word for "gods" is 'ĕlôhı̂ym (H430) and should be translated as "judges."  The context is comparing the judges mentioned earlier in the verse with the rulers like kings or governors.

          The clear definition of god in the scripture is a ruler.  There were many rulers throughout the Bible.  These rulers are what the Bible calls gods.  This is confirmed in the New Testament as well.  Jesus told the Pharisees, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" (John 10:34).  He was quoting Psalms 82:6.  Jesus was calling the rulers of the Jews, gods.  In fact, throughout history the rulers of nations were referred to as gods.  The ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's were considered gods.  The ancient Chinese Emperors were considered gods.  The ancient Roman Emperors were considered gods.  In almost every ancient civilization considered the rulers of their nation as gods.  There are two things that all gods have in common.  First, all gods are sovereigns.  If we look at the example of leaders in the scripture this becomes obvious.  When laws were enacted they would send "letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof" (Esther 1:22).  Another example comes in Esther chapter three.   The king wrote another law ". . . to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof" (Esther 3:12).  The rulers and governors had a province.  They had a jurisdiction that they ruled over.  They are the sovereign over that jurisdiction.  The second thing all gods have in common is that they write laws.  When Nebuchadnezzar erected his image he "commanded, O people, nations, and languages" (Dan. 3:4).  The rulers of nations make commandments and statutes to govern the people.  All gods (rulers) are sovereigns who write laws.  This is true even to this day.  For example, the sovereign state of California has a legislature that writes laws.  This sovereign state is ruled by a governor, who is the god of the state.

          This is what the first commandment is dealing with.  It is dealing with the rulers of nations.  We can have other gods in our nation as long as they are not before YHVH.  Below is a video to help understand this.

Conclusion:

           The first commandment is often misunderstood.  We tend to interpret it in a religious manner and assume the scripture is speaking of immortal gods we cannot see.  The truth is that the scripture is speaking of how a nation is to govern itself.  The gods mentioned in the first commandment are the rulers of nations.  We should never allow our rulers (gods) to come before or above YHVH.  We should never allow rulers to rule our nation with a law different than God's law.  This truly is what the first commandment is all about.  We need to keep our focus on the gods/rulers of America and hold them accountable to keeping the commandments of YHVH. 

         The Messiah said, "You shall love the Lord thy God with all yuor heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbour as youself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40).  This is a statement teaching us how to organize God's commandments.  When we properly organize God's commandments they start to make sense.  Under the this "first and great commandment" are the first five of the ten commandments.  They all relate to our relationship with our heavenly Father.  Under the first commandment hang all the statutes and judgments concerning government and how our nation is to operate.  Only with this organization can we understand the laws of God.  The titles of law that fit under the first commandment are:

By Steve Siefken

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth

not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV