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Commandments 1-4 (How We Relate to God)

  • October 24, 2024
  • Written by ECC Writing Team
  • in Weekly Blog

Early in the Bible, in the book of Exodus, we are given the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20). They are often, and understandably, broken into two groups. The first group includes commandments one through four. These first four commandments are about our vertical relationship, the relationship we have with God. The second group includes commandments five through ten. These six commandments are about our horizontal relationships, the relationships we have with other people. In essence, commandments one through four teach about love for God while commandments five through ten teach about love for others. This breakdown parallels what Jesus summed up in Mark, to love God and love our neighbors (see Mark 12:28–31).

Over the next two weeks, we will focus on the commandments and consider them based on our relationship with God and our relationship with others. 

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Commandments one through four teach us to love God with everything we’ve got. Let’s take a closer look:

#1: “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” (Exodus 20:2–3, emphasis added).

  • This represents a commitment in our hearts to the belief that our God is the only true god. He is the only One Who created us and Who saved us from the penalty of sin through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, because He loves us.
  • He has all power, knows all things, is present everywhere, is eternal, and is not dependent on anything else for his existence—why have any other god? There is no one else.

#2: “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” (Exodus 20:4–5a, emphasis added).

  • An idol can be anything that we worship, revere, or put in a place of primary importance. In modern America this isn’t likely to be a hand-carved statue, but more likely to be affluence, popularity or relationships, and things earned by our own hands (houses, money, cars, etc.). 
  • God is telling us not to serve or worship anything, only Him.

#3: “Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name” (Exodus 20:7, emphasis added).

  • This is twofold. Obviously, we want our speech to be God-honoring, not dishonoring.
  • In addition, when we say we are a “Christian,” we have basically taken on a family name (like Smith or Jones) and we do not want to misuse or misrepresent that family name. We want our actions to represent and honor the family we are in.

#4: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:8–10a).

  • This is a reminder and a blessing for us. It reminds us of how God created us in six days and rested on the seventh day—a weekly reminder of our creation and Creator.
  • It blesses us by setting aside time for us to rest and remember that God is our ultimate provider, not our own abilities, and by setting aside dedicated time to honor God through worship.

These four commands can be summed up under the single most important command that Jesus gave us in Mark to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength (Mark 12:30). Check back next week as we explore commands 5–10 which teach about love for others.