The Ten Commandments: ONE

Martin Luther recommended daily meditation on the Ten Commandments, using each Command to Instruct, to provide inspiration for Thanksgiving, to reflect upon in Repentance, and to conclude with Praise to God.

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The First Commandment: 

You shall have no other gods.   What does this mean?  We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.

And God spoke all these words:  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.  Exodus 20: 1-6 

In the beginning God created the heaves and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said….  Genesis 1: 1-3a

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites:  “I AM has sent me to you.”  Exodus 3: 14

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him.  As smoke is blown away by the wind, may you blow them away; as wax melts before the fire may the wicked perish before God.  But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.  Sing to God, sing praises to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds—his name is the Lord—and rejoice before him.  A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in sun-scorched land. When you went out before your people, O God, when you marched through the wasteland, (Selah) the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.  Your people settled in it, and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor….Why gaze with envy, O rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the Lord himself will dwell forever?  The chariots of God are tens of thousands, and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.  When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious—that you, O Lord God, might dwell there. Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.  Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death….Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, to him who rides the ancient skies above, who thunders with a mighty voice.  Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies.  You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!  Psalm 68: 1-10, 16-20, 32-35

Praise the Lord.  Praise the name of the Lord; praise him, you servants of the Lord, you who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.  Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.  For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.  I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.  The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.  He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.  He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of men and animals.  He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.  He struck down many nations and killed many kings….Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, through all generations.  For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.  The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.  They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is their breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.  Psalm 135: 1-10, 13-18

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Revelation 1: 7,8

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The Lord demands exclusivity in His position as Lord and God, and His demand is based upon His authority as Creator as well as upon His activity as Savior of His people.  He is the only worthy One, the only true God.  All other gods are only created things, subject to the laws of nature which God Himself created.  Nothing else can save like our God has saved and will save His people; no earthly idol, not power nor wealth nor technology.  He did not abandon His Creation after the fall.  He did not abandon His people in slavery in Egypt.  He is a God Who saves, a God Who remains faithful; He demands faithfulness in return, worship that is deserved and earned by dint of His nature and His mighty works.

Lord God, I confess that I look to so many other gods and powers and principalities to save me, to give me security and salvation.  Wealth and weapons, power and technology, science and human knowledge, rank and position, an accumulation of goods to shelter, feed and protect me—all of these things tempt me to worship, to place them in higher regard than You and to place my trust in them rather than in Your love and Your might.  I acknowledge that all of these are false idols, gods without eyes to see nor ears to hear, gods without power because they have been fashioned by human hands, the very hands who reach out to them for salvation.  I recognized daily my reliance on things other than You and I know that this is a violation of Your holy demands, as well as disregard for the honor and glory which are Yours alone.

You alone are the God Who created the world by the breath of Your mouth, the Words of your lips and Your hovering Spirit; You have authority over all You created and are worthy of praise.  You alone are the God Who Saves, the One who redeemed His chosen people from slavery and death in Egypt and the One who redeemed His people through the death of Christ Jesus, the Lamb Who was slain for the sins of the world.  

Forgive my idolatry for Jesus’ sake.  Cover me in the blood of the Lamb and strengthen me with His body and blood to reject idolatry and live only for Your glory. 

You are a great and holy God, the King above all gods.  You are the Sovereign God, Alpha and Omega, the One who created and the One Who will return to judge this world.  I praise Your holy name and pray for the power of Your Spirit in me, to keep me in Your ways and strengthen me in righteousness for Your Name’s sake.  In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.