Ten Commandments: Number 1

Ten Commandments: Commandment Number 1

What is the meaning of civilization? Those who live in so called civilized countries seem to take pride when comparing themselves to countries known to be uncivilized. A civilized society expects to live together in some measurable sense of community. From a Christian perspective, this idea of living in community is in complete harmony with not only the New Testament ideals but also the revelation of God in the Old Testament. One would be hard pressed to find a greater example of God's desire for civilized community than in the Ten Commandments. Moses received these commandments in direct conversation with God. These commandments are first recorded as a group in the twentieth chapter of Exodus. The setting is ninety days after the Israelites had left the control of the Egyptian government and began a journey toward a land God had given them. At the advice of Jethro, Moses had organized the people and placed leaders into authority. The next step in maintaining order among one and one half million people was to establish a law code, or a standard of behavior.
God gave Moses a standard of behavior designed to bring allegiance to himself and order among the people. The first four of the commandments, or laws, that God gave to Moses deal with their relationship to himself. The following six deal with relationships to others. The first of these laws establish the premise of who is to be their god. God says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The word for gods here is elohim, which in its basic from means power. The word before is not a word denoting sequence or priority but presence. Literally, you shall not give allegiance to other power in my presence. God was teaching Moses and the Israelites that they were to trust Him as the power that would provide for all their needs.
Although the word “before” does not suggest priority, the placing of this as the first commandment does. This commandment was placed at the top of the list because this is the commandment that flows to all others. If this commandment is not observed, the others are practically useless. That statement could arouse some argument. However, upon reflection and examination, you will find that if the first commandment is ignored, the validity of those that follow will soon be questioned. In the words of Ravi Zaccharias, this is because “if there is a moral law, there must also be a moral law giver.” God stands as the righteous judge completely observing this law that is given. When there is not allegiance and respect to God, mankind naturally does what is right in his own eyes. The result is not civilization but the absence of civilization, or chaos.
Someone has suggested that in our current society, we are really not threatened by the strong beliefs in named deities as were common in the days of Moses. The assertion is, rather, that the deities served by modern man are without names or recognition as gods. The suggestion includes the deities of public opinion, personal pleasure, and success. This suggestion has merit if we trust any of these as a power to grant us abundant life. Could it be that the age in which we live has turned into that previous description of an uncivilized generation, they lived as if there was not god and did what was right in their own eyes.