Title: Ten Commandments: 1st and 2nd Commandments
Contents Ten Commandments: 1st and 2nd Commandments (Ex 20:1-6)
Knowing who God is and what He has done for us is the starting point of the Christian's life. Because God first loved us who died in our sins and trespasses, and gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay for our sins and trespasses, the life of the saints is an expression of gratitude for grace. appears as The expression of gratitude to God is to live a holy life separate from the world. However, it is God's law that teaches the holy life that the saints should live. The law is a grateful and precious gift from God that blocks the path of indulgence that follows misfortune and ruin, and opens wide the door to true freedom that follows happiness. The life of a believer is a life that learns and practices the law of God, a precious gift, and a life that enjoys the true freedom that the law gives. Among the Ten Commandments, which are the foundations of the Law, today we are going to talk about the 1st and 1st commandments.
1. Introduction to the Ten Commandments (verses 1 and 2)
(1) The uniqueness and importance of the Ten Commandments: The words written by God himself (verse 1).
The Ten Commandments are God's commands. The Ten Commandments are not recommendations or recommendations. If God cannot command us, then He is not our God. We must listen to the word of God. That is our relationship with God.
Many of our problems arise from breaking God-given rules. Therefore, in order to solve human problems, we must know what the commandments God has originally commanded us, go back, keep them, repent and forgive what we did not keep, and only then will human problems that cannot be solved in other ways can be solved by God. It can be solved through the Word.
(2) Jehovah is the ultimate manipulator of the historical process (v. 2).
In the preface to the Ten Commandments, Jehovah God emphasizes that he is the One who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Why should we keep the Ten Commandments? It is because of the grace of salvation that God first bestowed upon us. The law is a response to God's grace.
God saves Israel from slavery in Egypt and then gives the Law. The law was not given before the Exodus. Salvation does not come by observing the law. Salvation comes entirely by the grace of God. In this respect, the law is not a salvation law that suggests the way of salvation, but a holy people law that teaches people who are saved by God's grace to live as God's people, that is, to live as a holy people.
2. First Commandment: A Warning Against Syncretism and Religious Pluralism (verse 3)
(1) the most important command
Because there is no other god. Looking at the history of Israel, the Israelites were constantly interested in Jehovah foreign gods, especially Baal, who was considered the god of fertility in poverty, and in many cases served both Jehovah and Baal (see 1 Kings 18:21). As a result, the hearts of the Israelites begin to turn away from God. This was the darkest period in Israel's history.
Some people say they believe in God but hate the church. Why? Not because Christianity is exclusive, but because Christians are exclusive. But strictly speaking, if you really believe in the existence of God, you must believe what God says in the Bible. We must keep the first commandment of the Ten Commandments. A person of true faith must believe in “the only God.” How did Jesus tell his disciples the way to eternal life? (John 17:3) Breaking the 1st commandment means that you will not have eternal life.
(2) Before God
In the Korean version of the Bible, the translation of 'except for me' comes to life when the Hebrew word 'al-panai' is translated literally as 'before me'. This expression has to do with the presence of God when Israel worships God. So this means that there should be no other gods where God's presence is manifested, that is, in the whole realm of worship in Israel. If you have several gods in your worship service, who will receive the worship? In the presence of God, of course, we must serve only God. When Satan tempted Jesus, how did Jesus overcome the temptation? (Matthew 4:1-11) When he commanded, “Go away, Satan, as it is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (verse 10), the devil left Jesus (verse 11). The devil cannot worship before God. So, you should not put other gods before God.
3. Second Commandment: Forbidden imagery (vv. 4-6)
(1) Prohibition of shaping (Section 4)
Since the prohibition of idols in the image of foreign gods is already included in the first commandment, at least the second commandment in verse 4 forbids the image of the God of Israel (see Exod. 20:23). Because God is a spirit, it is wrong to even make an invisible God visible (Deuteronomy 4:15-16). Usually, when the object of faith is embodied, the gradually embodied god is naturally identified with the image itself. Then, he goes crazy with the idea that he can use that god's power to his advantage through the image. Ultimately, it leads to the idea that humans can manipulate God at will. So, Christianity should not be accepted as a religion. God is a person. He is the one who is formed in our relationship, not the one who is deified in the image.
Catholicism has many deities. However, all these gods are just tools to represent God, not God. But how much do Catholics worship the statue of Mary? Did you know that Catholicism was corrupted by such image worship? In the end, imagery reduces the Creator into a creature. Also, from the moment when Jehovah is imaged, Jehovah God is trapped in the image and is trapped in human experience. Jehovah God is not a God confined in man-made creations. Therefore, the core of the commandment prohibiting imagery is to fundamentally distinguish between God and the world.
(2) A jealous God (verse 5)
Jealousy is not a negative meaning of the word, but ‘passion/passion’. God is passionate about His people, Israel. Israel, too, must show a zeal worthy of God's passion for itself. Therefore, Jehovah's jealousy comes upon a person who promises to serve only Jehovah God when he breaks that promise.
He said, “Do not serve it.” It is ridiculous for a man to make an idol, but to serve it is a contradiction. Think of the potters and carpenters who made the gods! How contradictory would it be to bow down in front of a statue that you created yourself? Anything that replaces God is an idol. For those who worship such idols, God pays the third and fourth sins. Isn't it too unfair to suffer misfortunes for three or four generations because of a father's sins? Punishment should be given to the guilty, isn't it inconsistent with God's justice for children and grandchildren who have nothing to do with that sin? Here, retaliation for three or four generations has nothing to do with the often misunderstood “curse on the family line.” The idea of having to pay for the sins of our ancestors from generation to generation is in direct opposition to the idea of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 24:16, cf. Jeremiah 31:29-30, Ezekiel 18:1-4). It refers to a large family in which three or four generations live together. But more importantly, sin extends to three or four generations, and grace extends to thousands.
⑶ God's blessing extends to a thousand generations (verse 6).
So how should we live? We can live a life where we try to bless ourselves, or we can live a life that allows God to bless us. Which one is easier? Even if I try to get blessings, if I do not live the commandments, disaster will not leave. However, if we live by serving God with the belief that God will bless us, He is a God who gives grace to thousands of generations. I hope that you will abandon idolatry and serve only God, so that God's grace will be with you for thousands of generations.
Ministry: Let's intercede for ourselves, our families, and our country to avoid idolatry.