In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Gospel of John 1:1-5, NKJV
We now embark on a study of those most well-known and precious of God’s laws – those sacred words written by the very finger of God – the Ten Commandments.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
Exodus 24:9, NKJV
And when [God] had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exodus 31:14, NKJV
Let’s jump right into Commandment number one:
And God spoke all these words, saying:
“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.
Exodus 20:1-3, NKJV
In this first commandment, we see God first introducing Himself to His people. Has this ever struck you as odd? This was God, speaking with His servant Moses. Was there any real reason why He would need to say “I am the Lord your God”? Was it not obvious? Further, He presented one of His accomplishments. But notice the accomplishment that God chose to highlight: “[I] brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” I suspect that most of us, if we were to list a singular accomplishment, would have chosen the big things such as: “I created the world.” Or, “I am the giver of all life.” Or “All of creation is subject to me.” Wouldn’t these seem to be more important than “[I] brought you out of the land of Egypt”? And yet, as an introduction to this all-important document, what God chose to highlight was His act of freeing Israel out of bondage in Egypt. Let’s see if we can come up with some rationale behind this introduction.
Egypt is spoken of many times throughout scripture. Historically, Egypt has been both friend and foe to God’s holy people. Egypt was the land of the Nile – that life giving river that sustained a prosperous nation for many centuries. It was the land that sustained Abraham during a severe famine in Canaan. It was the land that sustained Jacob’s family during the seven year famine that his own son, Joseph had predicted through the Spirit of God. And it was also the land that brought Israel into bondage for 400 years. Later, during the times of the kings of Israel and Judah, we see Egypt as a weak and false ally of God’s people during their rebellion. When looked at as a type, we find that Egypt is typical of the world. It is a place that entices and sustains, only to ultimately capture and imprison. It is a place that God’s people often desire, but that same place that works to capture and destroy those same people. This is one reason why God says, through the Prophet Hosea:
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.
Hosea 11:1, NKJV
And it is probably why: “God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.’” Exodus 20:1,2. Why did God introduce Himself as the One that brought His people out of bondage in the land of Egypt? Because it is God’s most precious accomplishment – and the one that He continues to accomplish. He is the One that conquers the world and its sin, and the One that brings His people out of worldly bondage and into His Kingdom of Life! Is there any more meaningful accomplishment to God’s people than this? Rather than say “I created you,” in essence, God is saying, “I loved you enough to save you from the bondage of the world.” I am incredibly thankful that the Father chose to introduce Himself in this way!
With this as God’s personal introduction, He leads with this primary commandment:
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:3, NKJV
No other gods. By definition, God’s chosen people should never have any other gods other than the one true God. Why would God have to give this commandment? Let’s examine the word that God uses in this command: אלהים (‘elohim). Elohim is actually a plural word. It is the plural of אלוֹה (‘elowahh), meaning “deity”, and having a root of: אל ‘el, which is shortened from a word meaning strength (politically, militarily and in a supportive manner), especially of God. So the word elohim is specifically a plural form of any deity representing ultimate strength. Taken in context, this word would be very meaningful to the people of Moses’ time. Each of the nations and regions had their specific deities that they worshipped as their source of strength and life. The patriarch Abraham was called out of this lifestyle by God Himself – coming out of Ur of the Chaldeans. And even as God was giving His commands to Moses, His own people were giving their gold to Aaron in order to fashion a golden calf for them to worship. (We will examine this further in our next blog.) So it is not surprising that the TRUE God would command His holy people not to participate in these pagan practices. But what may indeed be surprising to my readers is this: the word that God uses in this command, elohim, is the very word that is used in Genesis 1:1 to introduce God Himself!
In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:1-10, NKJV
In the beginning ‘Elohim’ created the heavens and the earth… “You shall have no other ‘elohim’ before Me…” Do you see it? It is Elohim that is the source of creation – the prime mover of the universe. And He will not share the title with any other elohim! Did you catch the paradox? Elohim is plural! But scripture says that: “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth…” Does this mean that multiple Gods created heaven and earth? In the words of the Apostle Paul, “me genoito!” – that is, may it never be! Throughout the holy scriptures, it is clearly written that there is only one God:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, NKJV
Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?Malachi 2:10, NKJV
Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skillful men.
But the Lord is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.
Thus you shall say to them: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”Jeremiah 10:9-11, NKJV
There is only one God. That is very clear. And yet Elohim created the heavens and the earth. How can we find clarity in this apparent contradiction? It only comes through beginning to glimpse the Three-in-One nature of our God. And God wastes no time in introducing the concept to us:
…And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2b, NKJV
The Spirit of God – וּרוח לאיהם; (v’ Ruach Elohim). Literally, the “breath of God”, or the third person in the triune God. In the second verse of the scripture, we see the Holy Spirit participating in the creation of our universe. The Father God is the primary focus in the creation story, and He is joined in creation by the Spirit. But where is the Second person of the Godhead?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Gospel of John 1:1-5, NKJV
Here, we are introduced to the Word. The Greek word used here is λογος (logos). Let’s examine a definition of Logos:
λογος, (log’-os); something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specifically (with the article in John) the Divine Expression…
(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
So using this definition of the Word, we can see that God’s thought, or reasoning – His “Divine Expression” was with God in the beginning, and was effectively equivalent to God. And not only was this “Divine Expression” with God, the Word was credited with the actual act of creation. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (Notice that the scripture makes the Word personal by calling Him “He”. We will expand on this thought a little later.)
Not only was the Word credited with creation, but this passage implicates the Word as being the source of life, and that life being the light of men. The Word, God’s “Divine Expression” is a very important being. Philosophically, if the theme stopped here, we could simply use this passage to discuss the creative metaphors used in scripture to describe the source and act of creation. But the theme goes on! Let’s see how God expands on the concept of His Word…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14, NKJV
The Word (God’s “Divine Expression”) created all things. He is the source of life – the light of men. And then He became flesh and dwelt on the earth among His own creation. Suddenly, the Word has become much more than a metaphor. He has become flesh and bone. But if this is true, who was He?
John bore witness of Him (the Word) and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'” …
John answered [the messengers of the Pharisees], saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.
The Gospel of John 1:15, 26-27, NKJV
John bore witness of this Word. As John was in the wilderness baptizing, he was preparing the way for the Word to make His appearance. And it was not long before that appearance occurred…
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
John 1:29-34, NKJV
The Word was with God. The Word was God. The Word created all that has been created. The Word is the source of life and the light of men. The Word became flesh and dwelt among men. The Word came to John to be baptized, and the Spirit of God (the third member of the triune God) descended and rested upon Him. He was the Son of God. Did you see it?
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”
The Word is Jesus. Jesus is the “Divine Expression” of God – the second member of the triune God. So now we return back to our question: where was the second member of the Godhead during creation? He was the One creating! And His name is Jesus. Selah.
Now, all of this is extremely important as a small glimpse of the three-in-one nature of God, but what does it have to do with our primary subject – the first commandment, “You shall have no other elohim before Me.”? Simply this: Jesus is not only the fulfillment of this law, He is its focus! As a member of the divine Elohim, Jesus is the subject of the first commandment. We shall never have any elohim before God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
We have covered some amazing ground in this session – an introduction to the triune nature of our God, a study of creation, and the Christ-focus of the first commandment. What a wonderful treasure that we have uncovered!
Here is my challenge to my readers… Don’t stop here in your understanding of the Godhead and creation! Read the following passages, and ask God to open your mind and heart to the depth of their messages: John 1:16-18, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Ephesians 4:4-6, 1 Timothy 2:5-7, James 2:19-20, John 8:48-59 and Colossians 1:3-18. Selah.
In our next blog, we will explore the second commandment,
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Until then, may God richly bless your study of His Word – Jesus!
YouJi