Research the first commandment of the Bible. Discuss its theological, sociological, psychological, and historical functions. Report in sermon format.
The First and Greatest Command: The Foundation of Everything
Introduction: The Voice from the Mountain - What is the First Commandment?
My friends, let us travel back in time, not merely in our imagination, but in the deep memory of our faith. Let us stand with that "mixed multitude" of freed slaves at the foot of a mountain shrouded in smoke and fire, a mountain that trembled at the very presence of God.1 The sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, and the people, struck with a holy terror, drew back. They were afraid to hear more, to come too close to the consuming fire of the divine presence.2 It is in this moment of awe and fear, a moment that would define a people and shape the spiritual landscape of the world, that God speaks. And the text tells us something remarkable: God spoke all these words.3
The Jewish Midrash teaches that this was a single, unified divine utterance, containing within it the seed of all future revelation, a word so powerful that the universe itself fell silent to hear it.4 And this word was not a distant, impersonal decree. The grammar is intimate, direct, and inescapable. God speaks in the second person singular: "I am the LORD
your God".4 This is not a law for a committee or a nation in the abstract; it is a personal address to every soul, then and now, standing before the mountain.
Yet, from this moment of singular clarity emerges a history of profound complexity. What, precisely, is the First Commandment? The biblical texts themselves, in Exodus chapter 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5, do not number the "ten words," the aseret ha-dibrot.2 They present a series of more than ten imperatives, leaving the task of division to later generations. This has resulted in different numbering systems across the great traditions of Judaism and Christianity, differences that are not mere trivialities but reflect deep theological choices about what is most fundamental.3
Let us briefly survey this sacred landscape:
In the Jewish tradition, the first commandment is the foundational declaration of sovereignty itself: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2).7 This is understood as the primary command to
know and accept the reality and authority of God. The prohibitions against polytheism and idolatry then constitute the second commandment.3
In the Catholic and Lutheran traditions, following the thought of St. Augustine, the declaration and the prohibitions against both other gods and graven images are seen as a single, unified whole (Exodus 20:2-6).3 This formulation powerfully asserts that the primary way one has "other gods" is through the sin of idolatry. To arrive at ten commandments, the final prohibition against coveting is then divided into two: one against coveting a neighbor's wife, and another against coveting a neighbor's goods.3
In most Protestant and Eastern Orthodox traditions, the opening declaration is often considered a prologue. The first command is the direct prohibition: "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). The second command is then the distinct and separate prohibition against making and worshipping idols (Exodus 20:4-6).3 This division places a unique and emphatic stress on the sin of idolatry as a separate category of transgression, a point of significant historical debate, particularly during the Reformation.6
To clarify these ancient and enduring differences, consider the following comparison:
Table 1: Comparative Numbering of the Decalogue
3
For the purpose of our reflection today, let us treat this entire opening complex—the declaration of who God is, what God has done, and the subsequent demand for exclusive allegiance—as a single, unified theological reality. For it is only when we see it in its fullness that we can begin to grasp its revolutionary power. This is a word that functions historically to create a new world out of the old, theologically to define a new and intimate relationship with the divine, sociologically to forge a new and distinct people, and psychologically to provide a firm and unshakable anchor for the human soul.
Part I: The Historical Function - A Revolution in a World of Gods
To hear this command as it was first heard, we must strip away our modern assumptions and immerse ourselves in the world of the Ancient Near East. This was not a world of secularism debating religion; it was a world saturated with religion, a "melting pot of cultures" where polytheism was the air one breathed.11 The Israelites had just escaped Egypt, a civilization defined by a vast and complex pantheon of gods who governed every aspect of life and death.12
The land they were journeying toward, Canaan, was likewise filled with local deities—the Baals and Asherahs, gods of storm and fertility, whose worship was woven into the fabric of agriculture and survival.14 In this world, gods were territorial, and political power was inseparable from divine power. To form an alliance with another nation often meant acknowledging, or even incorporating, their gods into your own worship—a practice known as religious syncretism.12
Into this teeming marketplace of deities, the voice from Sinai thunders a statement of radical, world-altering exclusivity: "You shall have no other gods before me." This was not a suggestion to elevate Yahweh to the head of the pantheon. It was a command to clear the pantheon entirely.
Modern scholarship suggests this was not an instantaneous transformation but a long and arduous journey for Israel.16 The biblical text itself bears witness to a gradual evolution in understanding. Early poetic passages, like the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15, ask, "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?".16 This language, along with passages like Jephthah's negotiation with the worshippers of Chemosh in the book of Judges, suggests an initial stage of monolatry or henotheism: the belief in the existence of many gods, but the commitment to worship only one.17
The First Commandment, in this early context, could be understood as a demand for supreme loyalty, not necessarily a denial of the existence of other divine beings.17
It was the great prophets—Amos, Hosea, Isaiah—who relentlessly pushed the people toward a true and absolute monotheism, declaring that the "gods" of the nations were not merely lesser beings but utter non-entities, "idols," lifeless blocks of wood and stone.18 For many scholars, it was the national trauma of the Babylonian Exile that finally cemented this belief. The destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple was interpreted not as the defeat of Yahweh by the gods of Babylon, but as Yahweh's own profound judgment upon His people for the sin of idolatry. This theological masterstroke transformed a national catastrophe into the ultimate confirmation of Yahweh's unique and sovereign power, solidifying the "Yahweh-only" movement into the bedrock of post-exilic Judaism.20
Yet, the most profound historical insight into the function of this command comes from a remarkable parallel discovered by modern archaeology. The structure of the Ten Commandments closely mirrors the structure of ancient political treaties between a great king, or suzerain, and his vassal states.22 These Hittite and Assyrian treaties followed a precise formula:
A Preamble, where the great king identifies himself: "I am the LORD your God...".22
A Historical Prologue, recounting the king's past benevolent acts toward the vassal, thereby establishing a debt of gratitude and a basis for loyalty: "...who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.".22
The Stipulations, the list of laws and obligations the vassal must follow to remain in the king's favor. The chief among these was always a demand for absolute, exclusive loyalty. The vassal was forbidden from making treaties with or serving any other lord.18
This context is revolutionary. The covenant at Sinai is being framed not in the vague language of spirituality, but in the hard, binding language of international politics. The relationship between God and Israel is a sworn treaty of allegiance. This recognition reveals that the First Commandment is not merely a religious statement; it is a radical political declaration of independence. In the Ancient Near East, gods and kings were inextricably linked. To worship a nation's god was to submit to its king's authority. Therefore, when Israel is commanded to have "no other gods," it is simultaneously being commanded to have "no other kings," no other ultimate political sovereign besides Yahweh. This single law set Israel on a permanent collision course with the great empires of the age—Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome—all of which built their power on a demand for totalizing allegiance, often expressed through emperor worship or forced religious syncretism.11 Israel's tumultuous history of conflict and exile can be seen as the long, bloody, and faithful outworking of the radical political claim embedded in its very first law.
Part II: The Theological Function - The Heart of the Covenant
If the historical function of the First Commandment was to declare political independence, its theological function was to establish the nature of the relationship that made that independence possible. This is a theology born not of abstract speculation, but of historical experience. The command does not begin with a philosophical proposition like "There is one God." It begins with a historical testimony: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt".10 This is the unshakable foundation of biblical faith. The law is not a ladder to climb to earn God's favor; it is the joyful response of a people who have already been rescued by grace.23 Obedience flows from gratitude. Relationship precedes rules.
This very starting point became the subject of one of the most profound debates in Jewish thought, a debate that illuminates two essential ways of understanding God. The great 12th-century philosopher Moses Maimonides argued that the First Commandment is indeed a command to know God in a philosophical sense—to believe in the existence of a single, eternal, incorporeal First Being. For Maimonides, this was "the foundation of all foundations and pillar of the sciences," a truth accessible to reason and necessary for any coherent understanding of reality.22
But other towering figures, like the poet Judah Halevi and the mystic Nachmanides, argued differently. For them, the command was not about knowing God as a metaphysical principle, but about being loyal to the God of history—the specific, personal God who intervened to save this specific people from slavery.22 Nachmanides went so far as to say the opening line isn't a command at all, but the
reason for all the commands that follow. It is as if God says, "Here is who I am and what I have done for you. Therefore, you owe me your allegiance".22 This demand for allegiance is absolute. The language of the covenant is the language of an exclusive marriage vow.19 When the text later speaks of God as a "jealous God" (El Kana), this is not the petty, insecure envy of a human being. It is the righteous, passionate, and holy zeal of a loving husband for the fidelity of his bride.28 It is the expression of a God who loves His people so profoundly that He will brook no rival for their ultimate affection. In this light, idolatry is not merely a theological mistake; it is an act of cosmic betrayal, of spiritual adultery.25
It is, as the prophet Jeremiah so vividly put it, the act of forsaking the "fountain of living waters" and hewing out for oneself "broken cisterns that can hold no water".29
This foundational principle of God's oneness is the shared heritage of the three great Abrahamic faiths, yet each understands its implications in a unique way.
In Judaism, the ultimate expression of this truth is the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). This is a declaration of God's absolute, radical, and indivisible unity.7 Rabbinic thought further explores this by distinguishing between God's names—Hashem (or YHWH), the personal name of the God who enters into covenant with Israel, and Elokim, the more generic name for the transcendent Creator of the universe—and affirming that these are but two aspects of the one, indivisible God.22
In Islam, the principle of Tawhid—the absolute and uncompromising oneness of God—is the single most important doctrine, the foundation of the entire faith.32
Tawhid means "asserting oneness," and it is this principle that governs all Islamic law (Shariah), ethics, and civilization.32 From an Islamic perspective, any doctrine that implies partnership, multiplicity, or incarnation within the Godhead, such as the Christian Trinity, is seen as a violation of this core truth.36
In Christianity, the First Commandment is affirmed with equal vigor, but it is understood through the lens of the Trinity: the belief in one God who exists eternally in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.38 This is a key point of divergence. While Judaism and Islam tend to see God's oneness as a unity of simplicity, Christian theology understands it as a unity of communion. The First Commandment is interpreted Christologically: because Jesus the Son is fully God, He is worthy of the same worship, honor, and exclusive devotion as the Father.39 To worship the Triune God is to fulfill the First Commandment.
Beyond these specific theological frameworks, the First Commandment makes a profound claim about the nature of truth itself. The command is to have no other gods al panai—literally, "before My face" or "in My presence".19 This implies that all of life is lived coram Deo, before the face of God.25 To place another "god"—be it wealth, power, the state, pleasure, or the self—in that primary position is to make a statement about ultimate reality. It is to declare that this idol, and not the God of the Bible, is the true source of meaning, security, and value.10
the First Commandment is fundamentally a command about epistemology—it forces a choice about how we know what is real. To obey it is to accept that God is the ultimate source and measure of all truth and morality. To disobey it is to locate ultimate reality elsewhere. This single theological choice determines one's entire ethical and philosophical world.
Part III: The Sociological Function - Forging a People
From the theological heart of the covenant, we now turn to its social body. How does this command function not just for the individual soul, but for the community? Its sociological power is nothing short of nation-building. The people who stood at the foot of Sinai were not a homogenous ethnic group; the Bible itself calls them a "mixed multitude" who left Egypt together.42 They were a traumatized, disorganized collection of former slaves in desperate need of a new, unifying identity.
The First Commandment provided the central, non-negotiable axiom for that identity. Their peoplehood would not be defined primarily by shared bloodlines or even a shared geography, but by a shared covenant with a single, exclusive Deity.5 This is a radical redefinition of nationhood.
Sociologists from Émile Durkheim onward have recognized that religion is one of the most powerful glues for social cohesion. It provides a community with a shared set of beliefs, rituals, and moral norms that bind them together in solidarity.43 The First Commandment functions as the ultimate source of authority for Israel's entire legal and social order.10 By establishing one divine Lawgiver, it created a unified legal framework, preventing the moral and social chaos that would arise from competing divine authorities, a common feature of polytheistic societies.45
This shared allegiance to one God and one Law fostered the deep trust and sense of common purpose necessary for a stable and flourishing society.46
Furthermore, this command forged Israel's identity through the powerful mechanism of distinction. The demand to worship Yahweh alone, and to actively reject the gods and religious practices of their neighbors, created a sharp cultural demarcation.12 The myriad laws that seem strange to us today—prohibitions against imitating Canaanite customs, against intermarriage with those who worship other gods, against planting sacred trees at an altar—were all practical, sociological extensions of the First Commandment.47 They were boundary markers designed to preserve a unique identity and prevent assimilation into the surrounding polytheistic cultures. To be an Israelite was not primarily an ethnic or racial category; it was a theological one. It meant to be a member of the people in covenant with Yahweh.46
This covenantal identity had profound social justice implications. By establishing God as the ultimate sovereign, the First Commandment frames the people, the land, and all property as ultimately belonging to God. Israel is God's "peculiar treasure".1 This theological claim becomes the basis for some of the most progressive social laws in the ancient world: laws demanding care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger; laws of debt-release; and the radical laws of the Jubilee year, which called for the restoration of land to its original families. All are rooted in the principle that since God is the true owner, human beings are merely stewards, accountable to Him for how they treat His property and His people.5
This powerful sociological function, however, contains a deep and persistent tension. The very mechanism that creates strong in-group identity and cohesion—the demand for exclusive loyalty and separation from the practices of others—also necessarily creates a sharp distinction between the insider and the outsider, between "us" and "them".46
This can, and did, lead to political isolation, conflict, and a temptation toward xenophobia.12 The biblical narrative itself is a testament to this ongoing struggle. It contains shocking texts of exclusion, such as the command to utterly destroy the Canaanites.42 Yet it also contains texts of radical inclusion: the repeated command to "love the stranger, for you were strangers in Egypt," and stories that celebrate the incorporation of outsiders like Rahab the Canaanite and Ruth the Moabitess into the story of Israel.42
This internal biblical debate reveals that the sociological outworking of the First Commandment is not static. It creates a dynamic and perpetual challenge for the community: How do we maintain our distinct, cohesive identity, as the command demands, without succumbing to an unjust and violent exclusion of the other? This is a question that has echoed through the history of Judaism and its successor faiths, Christianity and Islam, down to this very day.
Part IV: The Psychological Function - The Anchor of the Soul
Having explored the historical, theological, and sociological dimensions of this command, we now turn inward, to the landscape of the human heart and mind. What is the psychological function of being commanded to have only one God?
First and foremost, it establishes an ultimate moral compass. The command posits God as the single, transcendent, and objective source of morality in a world filled with competing claims on our conscience.45 The "other gods" of the ancient world have their modern equivalents: the siren calls of materialism, nationalism, hedonism, and the deification of the self. The First Commandment provides a "true north," a stable point of reference by which all other values can be judged.12 It anchors ethics in theology; our relationships with one another are rightly ordered only when our relationship with God is rightly ordered. This is the deep psychology behind Jesus's summary of the entire law: first, love God; then, and only then, can you truly love your neighbor.10
Second, this singular allegiance is foundational for the formation of a coherent worldview and a stable moral identity. Psychologically, human beings are meaning-seeking creatures, striving to build a life story that makes sense.53 Monotheism offers a uniquely powerful framework for this, centering all of reality—all of science, history, and personal experience—on a single, sovereign, and purposeful divine Source.53
Committing one's ultimate loyalty to this one God is a decisive act in the formation of a mature moral identity.55 Studies in psychology show that when morality is central to a person's self-concept, they are far more likely to act with integrity, because to do otherwise would be to violate not just a rule, but their very sense of self.55 This singular loyalty provides a "stable direction and coherence to one's life," reducing the internal fragmentation and anxiety that comes from trying to serve multiple, conflicting masters—as Jesus warned, one cannot serve both God and mammon.10
This leads to a third psychological function: the end of a compartmentalized life. The command to have no other gods before God's face means that all of life, without exception, is lived in the divine presence.25 This demolishes the psychological wall we so often build between our "sacred" life (an hour of worship, a moment of prayer) and our "secular" life (our work, our finances, our politics, our relationships).52 The command calls for an integrated self, a life where every thought, every word, and every deed is oriented toward a single, ultimate purpose. It is the psychological foundation for what the Apostle Paul would later call "praying without ceasing"—not a command for non-stop verbal prayer, but for a continuous, God-ward orientation of the entire person.52
Here we arrive at the deepest psychological insight. The command begins by reminding the people of their liberation from physical slavery in Egypt.5 This is the prelude to an even more profound offer of freedom. The ancient world of polytheism, much like our modern world, presented a dizzying, and ultimately enslaving, array of potential "gods" demanding allegiance. To which god should I sacrifice for a good harvest? To which for success in battle? To which for a healthy family? In our day: What must I sacrifice for my career? For financial security? For social status? For political victory? For personal pleasure? To try and serve this pantheon of idols is to live in a state of perpetual anxiety, with a fragmented and diffused identity.55 It is a form of profound psychological bondage.
The First Commandment is not another chain; it is the key to freedom. By demanding "no other gods," it is not primarily adding a restriction but offering a release. It liberates the human soul from the exhausting, impossible, and enslaving task of pleasing a thousand petty tyrants. It invites us to anchor our identity, our meaning, and our love in one, and only one, stable, gracious, and life-giving Source. The primary psychological function of the First Commandment is not oppression, but liberation.
Conclusion: The Invitation in the Command
We have journeyed far this day, from the smoking peak of Sinai to the inner chambers of the human heart. We have seen how this single, ancient utterance—the First Commandment—is a word of immense and multifaceted power.
It is a historical word, a declaration of political and cultural revolution that carved out a unique space for a new kind of people in a world of empires and idols.
It is a theological word, a marriage vow that established a covenant of exclusive, passionate love between God and His people, a relationship founded not on law but on the grace of liberation.
It is a sociological word, the constitutional cornerstone that forged a "mixed multitude" of slaves into a unified nation, bound together by a shared allegiance to one Lawgiver and a shared, distinct identity.
And it is a psychological word, an anchor for the soul that provides an unwavering moral compass, a coherent worldview, and a path to an integrated self, free from the anxiety of divided loyalties.
In the end, we must see that this command, which begins with the grammar of prohibition, is in its heart of hearts a profound and gracious invitation. It is an invitation out of the slavery of historical determinism, theological infidelity, sociological fragmentation, and psychological anxiety. It is an invitation into the freedom of a singular, all-encompassing, life-giving devotion.
And so, this ancient word from the mountain is not a museum piece.
It is a living question posed to each of us, here and now. In the pantheon of modern life, with its endless demands for our time, our energy, our money, and our love, the voice from the fire still asks: Who, or what, sits on the throne of your heart? What is your ultimate reality? To what, or to whom, do you give your final, unqualified allegiance?
To answer that question with our whole lives is to fulfill the purpose for which we were made. It is to accept the invitation. It is to obey the first and greatest commandment, which Jesus himself taught us is simply this: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind.10 Amen.
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