Exodus chapter 20, and our text for this morning is that first commandment we find there recorded in verse 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. As we have indicated last Lord's Day morning, with the Lord's help, we considered an introduction to the Ten Commandments. We considered to whom the commandments were directed. In each of the Ten Commandments, we notice the use of the second person, singular, namely, thou. Thou shalt or thou shalt not. So here, in this word, God makes it very personal, indicating that God is speaking to us, speaking directly to the men and the women of the children of Israel, speaking personally to them and to us today. We notice also in the Ten Commandments their division. The Ten Commandments may be divided into two groups or categories. The first four commandments speak of man's relationship with God. Then, Commandments 5 through to 10, speak of man's relationship with his fellow man. Now this division is in keeping with what God himself did. When the commandments were given to Moses on tables of stone, Exodus 34 verse 1, they were given on two tables of stone. And again, when you go over to Matthew chapter 22, the Lord Himself makes this same division. For in Matthew 22, we read there in verse 34, But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first great commandment. Then the Lord goes on to say, The second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. And these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Hang all the law and the prophets. And so you see, the Lord Himself gives that division. Again, the first four commandments deal primarily with our relationship with God. And then the second division deals primarily with our relationship with our fellow man. And there in those words, Christ himself emphasizes those two divisions. As well as taking note of to whom the commandments were directed and also the division, we looked how the commandments were delivered, how God gave the commandments. We see the Ten Commandments were proclaimed to Israel directly by the voice of God. Exodus 19, verse 9, And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak. So God was delivering the commandments audibly. to the children of Israel, Exodus 20, verse 22, Deuteronomy 5, verses 4 and 22. That in itself, and how the commandments were delivered audibly to Israel, ought to make it more personal, and pointed. God spoke audibly to the children of Israel when He gave them the commandments. Deuteronomy 5, verse 4, the Lord talked with you face to face in the mount, out of the midst of the fire. And so there, in Deuteronomy 5, verse 4, the reference is to the giving of the Ten Commandments, that God spoke to you face to face, out of the fire, there on Mount Sinai. But the commandments did not come to Israel by the spoken word only. We have already made reference to the tables of stone. Exodus 31, verse 18, and Exodus 32, verses 15 and 16. And so the commandments were given to Israel audibly, And the commandments were given to Israel written on tables of stone by the very finger of God. How very solemn this great event was when God spoke to Israel out of the mountain that burned with fire and smoke and lightning and the mountain shook as did the people. Israel heard the voice of God as the commandments were given to them. And Israel received the commandments of God written on tables of stone by the very finger of God. The tables of stone, which were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God, written with the finger of God. Interesting to note that all of the statutes and laws and commandments that were given to Israel were given to Israel through Moses. Moses delivered all of the statutes and laws and commands. Only the ten commandments were given directly to the people of Israel by God. That again emphasizes the importance of the Ten Commandments. All of God's laws, of course, are important, but this surely emphasizes the importance of the Ten Commandments when they were given directly by God there on Mount Sinai and written on tables of stone by the very finger of God. As well as the commandments being directed to the children of Israel. And we notice the division and how they were delivered. We notice something that was definite about the Ten Commandments. We look carefully at how each of the commandments begin. They begin with the exception of Commandment 4 and 5. They begin with the words, Thou shalt or Thou shalt not. And so that's definite. Is that not the reason why so many people today do not like the Ten Commandments? Because men have been told what to do and what they shouldn't do. Thou shalt and thou shalt not. And of course, man doesn't like to be told what to do. That's why the Ten Commandments are rejected by so many today. We notice then all these ways that the Word of God or the commandments were given and re-led to the children of Israel. I want then to go on from there. And looking at this first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Here we see that we must recognize who God is. Recognize who God is. In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 46 states, what is required in the first commandment? The answer? The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God, to be the only true God and our God, and to worship and glorify Him accordingly. The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God, to be the only true God and our God, and to worship and glorify Him accordingly. So, the first commandment calls upon us to recognize who God is and to worship Him accordingly. We then must recognize, first of all, His supremacy. God said, Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. So that means God is supreme, sovereign. He is above all. And we're not to have any other God before Him. He is the Lord Jehovah. He is above all. He is over all. And He is before all. Isaiah 45, verse 22. I am God and There is none else. That's it. I am God and there is none else. We say our amens to those words. I am God and there is none else. This is the constant testimony of God throughout the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 6 and verse 4, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. That's it. There's no room for debate or argument. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. And the prophet Isaiah repeatedly addressed the subject of the supremacy of the Lord God of heaven. Isaiah 37, verse 16, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone. Of all the kingdoms of the earth thou hast made heaven and earth. He is our Creator. He made heaven and earth. No one else. No one can lay claim to that but God alone. Isaiah 44, verse 6, Beside me there is no God. That's the testimony of the Old Testament. It's the testimony of the New as well. Paul said in Ephesians 4, verse 6, One God and Father of all. who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Again, it cannot be put any clearer or plainer than that. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4 and 6. And in his epistle to Timothy, Paul wrote, Unto the King Eternal, Immortal, invisible, the only wise God. 1 Timothy 2 and verse 5. And Jude in his epistle finishes off his epistle with the words, To the only wise God our Savior. Jude verse 25. So it is clearly stated in Scripture that there is but one God who is supreme over all. And since our God is God alone, He is supreme, and we are not to have any other gods before Him. Not to have any other gods before Him. And since we are not to have other gods in our life, we acknowledge Jehovah as God alone. We worship Him as God alone over all and over everything. We recognize His supremacy. For to recognize something else, for to recognize our surrender to Him, if He is over all and we're not of any other gods before Him, then we're to surrender to Him. He's to be the God of our lives. He is to be the God of our heart. The heart is the throne. And God is to occupy that throne. He is to be the God of our heart. We are to surrender to His supremacy. We are to surrender to His sovereignty. We are to surrender to His superiority. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, In verse 4, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. There's our surrender. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might. All thine heart, all thy soul, and with all thy might." If we are to love the Lord and our God in this way, that means we're surrendered to Him. God owns our heart. God sits upon the throne of our heart. He's to rule our lives, because we're not of any other gods before Him. In Deuteronomy chapter 11, There we read in Deuteronomy 11, verse 1, Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statute, and his judgment, and his commandments. So if we love the Lord, if we love Him, then what follows? What is the fruit of our love for our God? We will keep his charge, his statute, his judgment, and his commandments. And Moses put in the word, always. Not just now and again, but always we're surrendered to Him as our Supreme Head. Verse 22, Deuteronomy 11, For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him. And then God goes on to speak about how he will bless that people who will surrender their all to him, who will have no other gods. Thou shalt have no other god before me. God, the Lord God, Jehovah, must be first in our lives. So we recognize who God is. We must recognize who He is. The one who says, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. We've given various verses of Scripture there, which show to us, prove to us who God is. So as well as recognizing who God is, We then must look at the requirement. Because of who God is, what does God require of us? Well, He's told us in the command, I shall have no other gods before me. That's what He requires. Again, referring to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 47 asks, What is forbidden? in the first commandment? The answer? The first commandment forbiddeth and denying or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God. And our God and the giving of that worship and glory to any other which is due to him alone. In other words, the Catechism is saying not to give honour and glory to anyone else, but to the Lord Jehovah, God alone. God alone. We just looked at the verses of Scripture that set forth for us who God is, so we are to recognize who God is, and then we look at those requirements. Because of who God is, what does God require of us? When God said, Thou shalt have no other gods before me, He emphasizes that He is God alone. Not a God of man's imagination, or a man's invention, or a man's making. I've said before, many today look upon God as some kind of a grandfatherly figure that sits up in the heavens there, and really is powerless to do anything except whenever somebody's in trouble. They look upon Him as some kind of an old man, That's the way the world looks upon Him. God is God alone. There is none like Him. He has said in Isaiah 43, verse 10, Understand that I am He. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. He's the God of eternity, without beginning and without end. That's who He is. So when we come to understand who God is, the commandment teaches us what God requires of us. Thou shalt have no other God before me. And there you have, first of all, a personal requirement. We pointed out when God gave the commandments, it was as if He was speaking personally to each of the children of Israel, thou shalt or thou shalt not. And so it is our personal responsibility then to do what God commands us to do. So the requirement in each of the commandments are binding on each one of us personally. It's not how others abide by the commandments or break the commandments, no. It's what God tells us and what God commands us to do. So when God commanded, thou shalt have no other gods before me, that's mine and your responsibility. To make sure that no other God, that nothing else comes between us and God. Nothing. None of us to have any other God but the Lord God of heaven. That's the duty of every man. Every man, not just believers. Turn to Romans 1. There in Romans chapter 1, The Apostle Paul, of course, is speaking on how God has given His commandments to all mankind. Romans 1, verses 19 and 20, Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen. Man is only to look around him and behold creation. And if we have creation, we must have a Creator. And God demands that all of mankind acknowledge Him as Creator and worship Him as Creator and God alone. That's what Paul is saying. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. The fact that they have evidence of creation and God's work of creation all around them. Paul is saying they are without excuse. They see the work of God's creation. They see the work of a superior being. and they ought to be worshipping Him who is the Creator. No man can plead ignorance. The signs, the evidence of God, the Supreme Being, Creator and Maker are all around us. Paul says, so man is left with that excuse. God expects all men to acknowledge and to worship Him as the one and only true God. Because God claims worship from every man. He holds the entire world to the standard of His law. Of course, the world doesn't abide by God's law. They hate God's law. We noted that last week in Psalm 2. Man wants to throw off the restraints. Man wants to do whatever he wants. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And if God's law is not obeyed by man, then man is a transgressor and guilty before God. That means every man is a sinner. Every man is a transgressor of God's law. We are all transgressors of God's law. Do you notice also in these words here in Exodus 20, as we've already pointed out, God was speaking to a particular people. He gave the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, but He gave the Ten Commandments to a redeemed people, a delivered people. If you look there in the opening two verses, and God spake all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. In other words, I address you, the people have been delivered out of the house of bondage. How did that come about? It came about by the blood of the Lamb that was slain that night of the Passover. They were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. picturing for us the redeeming work of Christ. So what does that teach us? It teaches us that the commandments of the Lord, of God, are to be obeyed especially by God's redeemed people. That's us. If we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, God expects us then to obey His Word. thou shalt have no other gods before me. That's what he's saying to us as believers. Behold, it's us, especially since we are saved, been saved and delivered out of our house of bondage to obey God's command. We're to worship him because of who he is. He calls upon us. We're to worship him. John 17, verse 3. This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. The only true God and Jesus Christ. We are to worship God and God alone. We who know Christ, our Savior. Knowing Him, acknowledging God as our God, we then must obey His Word and His commandments. When we worship Him, what do we do? We adore Him. We are to adore the God of heaven. Isaiah 33, verse 13, Ye that are near. Acknowledge my might. That's what God says. You are to acknowledge my might. Acknowledge it. You go back there to Exodus 13. That's exactly what the Lord was expecting from the children of Israel. Exodus 13. In verse 3, Moses said unto the people, Remember this day. Acknowledge it. Remember this day, in which he came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out. You're to acknowledge it. We're to adore him for what he's done. Same thing in verse 9. It shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth for With a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. He said, Be adored because of what he's done for us. The same thing in verse 14. The same thing in verse 16. We are to adore him because of what he's done. As well as that, we're to love him. Already looked, at those words in Deuteronomy. But the Lord Jesus Himself said in Matthew 22 and verse 37, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. That's what God says. That's what Christ says. We're to love Him and adore Him. When we come to worship Him, we come to worship the One whom we love. We come and worship and adore the One who has done so much for us. We are to fear Him. We are to fear God. 1 Peter 2, verse 17, Honor all men, love the brotherhood, fear God. To fear God is to reverence Him. We are to behold reverent. We are to behave reverently towards our God. We are, of course, to pray to Him. Psalm 27, verse 8, When thou saidest, Seek ye my face, my heart said, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. We are to pray to Him. We are to fear Him. We are to love Him. We are to adore Him. We are to praise Him. Psalm 106, verse 1, Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever. And we are to obey Him. He's our God. We are to obey Him. 1 Samuel 15, verse 22, Obeying the voice of the Lord, behold, to obey. is better than sacrifice. Samuel spoke those words to Saul. When Saul was to slay all the Amalekites, he didn't do it. And he sacrificed unto the Lord. Samuel told him to obey is better than sacrifice. God requires that we obey Him. That's what He requires. We read in Micah 6, verse 8, He has showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. That's what God requires. It's not something that's made up of man. It's required of God. So we have considered the personal requirement. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. There's a prohibitive requirement. He prohibits us to have other gods before him. So as well as a positive in the commandment, there's a negative, thou shalt not. As God's redeemed people, the Lord's Jehovah is to be the only God in our lives. The flesh, we all know, We all do battle with the flesh, the world and the devil every day. But we all know how the flesh is always ready, always ready to raise up other gods in our lives and in our hearts. So anything that takes the place of God in man's heart, in his thoughts or in his life, has become a false god. We could suggest quite a number of false gods that are raised up in man's life. There's the god of money. How many have made that a god? How many have made money a god? A god that they would do anything for? We have pointed out that we are to do anything for our God, the Lord God Jehovah. But we know how many today will do anything for money. Turn please to 1 Timothy. And we're all familiar with these words in 1 Timothy, in the chapter 6. In 1 Timothy 6, And there in verse 6, we read, But godliness with contentment is great gain. There's the gain that we should be looking for and striving for. Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. and having food and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish, hurtful lusts, and drown men in destruction and perdition for, or because, because the love of money is the root of all evil. some covet after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Notice, it's not the money that's the root of all evil. It's not the money. Paul says it's the love of the money. It becomes a God. Paul said, but godliness and contentment is great gain. Paul tells us there in that verse 11 what we ought to pursue. In the verse 11, we ought to pursue O, but thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience. Meekness, yes. We are all to be hard workers. God demands that. That we are hard workers. We work by the sweat of our brow to supply the needs of our home and our family. But we're not to fall in love with the money. You think of Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot loved money. He was a thief. We're told that. And you remember how in Luke 22, verse 5, he met with the Pharisees and he asked them, How much will you give me? How much will you give me? And they covenanted to give him thirty pieces of silver. That's all the Lord was worth to him. Nothing more than thirty pieces of silver. Because he had a love of money. He would do anything for money, and you think of this world that we live in today. Man will do anything for money. He will steal. He will rob. We're all fighting against scams. Man will even murder for money. As I say, we can draw up a whole list. We live in a day in which man has fallen in love with Mother Earth. Talk about Mother Earth, they completely ignore the Earth was created by Jehovah. They talk about Mother Earth and they give it the name of Gia. And Gia is a Greek word for Earth. That was the name of the ancient Greek goddess. Worshipped as, listen, as the mother of all things living. That's what they're about today. Talk about Mother Earth. They look upon a Greek goddess as the mother of all things living. No, she's not. God alone is the giver of life. But no, they don't want to acknowledge God. They don't want to acknowledge there's a God in heaven. They don't want to acknowledge a Creator. And I suppose you could add in with that lot the global warming crowd. Complete ignorance of who God is. Man will not change the climate, I can tell you that. But God will. You turn to Job, chapter 37. There in Job 37, we read in verse 6, 37 and verse 6, For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth. He saith, not man. God says, Let the snow be on the earth. Likewise to the small rain and to the great rain of his strength. Verse 9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind, and cold out of the north. Verse 10 By the breath of God frost is given. Frost is given, and the breadth of the waters is straightened. Verse 12. And it is turned round about by his counsels that they may do whatsoever he commanded them upon the face of the whole world in the earth. Verse 17. How thy garments are warm when he quieteth the earth by the south wind. God's in control of the climate, not man. And what we have in this climate change nonsense is a religion. It's a religion. And they worship a false god. Psalm 48, verse 8. Fire and hail, snow and vapors, stormy wind fulfilling his word. Boy, isn't it good to know that? Isn't it good to know, isn't it good to be reminded God is in control? Our God is in control of all things, even the weather, even the climate. Fire and hail, snow and vapors, stormy wind fulfilling His word. Psalm 74, verse 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth. Thou hast made summer and winter. Genesis 8, verse 22. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. God's in control. And to say, isn't it good to know that we have God in control of all things, including the weather? Now when we pray, don't we pray to that end? When we have some special event, don't we pray, Lord, be pleased to grant us favourable weather? Because we know, we acknowledge, God's in control. He is in control of all things. We ought to tell this global warming crowd, that one day the earth will warm up, and man will not have anything to do with it except the judgment of God upon their sin. You only need to read that in 2 Peter 3, verses 7, 10, and 12. The elements will burn with a fervent heat, and God will send fire and judgment. A man will not be able to do anything about it. The one who has declared, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Another god of evolution. Have you seen the latest one? Last week, scientists claimed that they find an unusually shaped rock out in outer space somewhere. Araroth is the name. Araroth. Now listen to this. This Araroth rock, they claim, was formed more than four million years ago. Four billion years ago. 4 billion years ago and may have sparked life on earth. Complete ignorance of the God of heaven. I tell you there was no rock supposedly created or found or made or came into being 4 billion years ago We read in Genesis 2 verse 7, and the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils and the breath of life. God gave life. God brought life into the world and man became a living soul. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. We have listed just a few. If you want to look up more yourself, You look at Colossians 3 and verse 5. Philippians 3 verses 18 and 19. And there in Philippians 3 verses 18 and 19, Paul gives a list and he calls it idolatry. We're to have no other gods. It's just good to know our God is in control of all things. He's the Sovereign Lord. Praise His holy name. Why would we want to have another God? We come finally and very briefly to the last point. We have considered recognizing who God is. the requirement because of who God is and the response to who God is. Of course, the keeping of the law and commandments of God will not save a soul. Pharisees thought it did. Keeping all the law will not save one soul. No man has kept all the law of God. No man has fulfilled all the law and all the commandments of God. No man, but one, the God-Man Christ Jesus. He alone. No man can keep the law of God. Paul said in Romans 8 and verse 7, Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. and as a rebel, not subject to the law of God. When you think of Christ, think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. Matthew 5, verse 17. And since every man has broken God's law, man says, well, where can I go? I'm a transgressor, I'm a lawbreaker, I'm a sinner. How then can I be saved? Well, that's what the law does. We're told in Galatians 3, verse 24, wherefore the law was our schoolmaster. to bring us on to Christ. See, we've broken the law of God, we've been made to realize we're law breakers, and the law is our schoolmaster. You say, I've broken God's law, what am I to do now? Well, the fact we're brought to realize we've broken God's law, that then brings us to Christ, the One who's never broken the law. To bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. That's what happens when a sinner receives the Lord Jesus. Acknowledges he's broken God's law. Acknowledges he's a sinner. Acknowledges he's doomed. And he flees to Christ. And Christ saves him. The one who never broke the law. Who fulfilled the law. And when we receive Christ, we are then justified. We receive His righteousness. Imputed to us and received by faith. And we are declared as those who have never broken the law. Because we're enrolled in the righteousness of Christ. And God the Father sees us in Christ. We're in Him. The schoolmaster. The law. points us to Christ. The law is not our Savior, but Christ is. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind. And by the grace of God, we endeavor to do that. May the Lord bless His Word. Let's bow in prayer. O dear Lord and Eternal Father, we thank Thee for the Word of God. We thank Thee, Lord, for the commandments of our God. And we thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast shown us that our God is in control of all things. How He controlled the fish in the sea, the birds in the air to feed Elijah, the great fish to swallow up Jonah. He brought the fish into the net for Peter. He divided the Red Sea with a mighty east wind. He stilled the tempest on Galilee. He controls all things. Praise the Lord. Well, thank you, Lord, for bringing us to a knowledge of thyself, for seeing thee and coming to know that thou art God alone. And how glad we're able to say he's our God, our Father, which art in heaven. May we ever hallow thy name. Dear Lord, write thy word upon our hearts today. Be with us now, O Lord, as we part the one from the other. Keep thy hand upon us for good. Grant us all travelling mercy. And in thy will, dear Lord, return us to thy house this evening. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Abide and remain with us now and forevermore. Amen.