No God Before Me
Here are several opinions of many different scholars and
religious commentators from other beliefs about the most
important words in the Bible — “before me”. Literally, it is
“before my face”. The meaning is that no God should be
worshipped in addition to Yahweh (God).
“‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me — אחרים אלהים
elohim acherim, no strange Gods — none that thou art not
acquainted with, none who has not given thee such proofs of His
power and godhead as I have done in delivering thee from the
Egyptians, dividing the Red Sea, bringing water out of the rock,
quails into the desert, manna from heaven to feed thee, and the
pillar of cloud to direct, enlighten, and shield thee.’ By these
miracles God had rendered Himself familiar to them, they were
intimately acquainted with the operation of His hands; and
therefore with great propriety He says, ‘Thou shalt have no strange
gods before Me (Exodus 20:3) ; פני על al panai, before or in the
place of those manifestations which I have made of Myself.’”
This commandment prohibits every species from mental
adultery, as well as all inordinate attachments to earthly things and
the worship of false gods. The true God is the Fountain of
Happiness, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through
Him. Whoever seeks happiness in another creature is necessarily
an idolater, as he or she puts the creature in the place of the
Creator, expecting gratification of passions in the use or abuse of
earthly things, when such gratification should be found in God
alone. The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely
calculated to prevent man’s misery and promote his happiness by
taking him away from all false dependence and leading him to
God Himself, the Fountain of all good.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” This is the first
commandment, and it is opposed to the polytheism of the Gentiles,
the Egyptians, from whom Israel had just come and whose gods
some of them might have had a favorable opinion of and liking to
or had committed adultery with. It was the Canaanites into whose
land they were going, and to prevent their joining with them in the
worship of other gods, this law was given, and it was to stand for
all generations, for there is but only one living and true God, the
Former and Maker of all things, who alone is to be had, owned,
acknowledged, served, and worshipped as such. All others have
only the name and are not by nature gods; they are other gods than
the true God. They are not real but rather are fictitious deities.
They are other or strange gods to the worshippers of them and
those who cry unto them, for they do not answer them. Also,
Jarchi, a well-known Jewish commentator, observed that now
Israel knew the true God who had appeared unto them and made
himself known to them by his name “Jehovah,” both by his word
and works. He had talked of spiritual adultery with other gods and
with strange gods that are no gods. The true God had taken them
by the hand when He brought them out of Egypt and had been a
husband to them. Such spiritual adultery must be a shocking
impiety, a monstrous ingratitude, and extremely displeasing to
God. Such an action would be resented by Him, just as if a woman
were to commit adultery in the presence of her husband. The
phrase denotes the audaciousness of the action, as well as the
wickedness of it. Though, as Ben Melech and others observe, if it
was done in secret, it would be before the Lord, who is the
omniscient God, and nothing can be hidden from Him.
Several Jewish commentators, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Aben
Ezra interpret the phrase “before me” as “All the time I endure,
while I have a being, or am the living God, no others are to be
had.” That is, they are never to be had, since the true God will
always exist. The Septuagint “Greek/Hebrew” version is “besides
me” no others were to be worshipped. God will have no rivals or
competitors. If others were worshipped with Him, if others were
set before Him and worshipped along with Him, or if it was
pretended He was worshipped in them, this would be an inferior
kind of worship. Yet this was what He could by no means admit
of; the phrase may be rendered “against me,” with other gods in
opposition to Him, against His will, and contrary to obedience due
to Him and His precepts.
Two of the most well-known commentators, Kiel and
Delitzcch, proved that God is One through the Bible. This explains
to us that the born-again Christian and the Trinity have no merit
or any foundations in the entire Bible, Old or New Testament. In
the First Words, in Isaiah 43:11 Ye are my witnesses, saith the
LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know
and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was
no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ,and in
Deuteronomy 5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. or
in addition to Me as in the Deuteronomy 19:9), equivalent to πλὴν
ἐμοῦ (lxx), or “by the side of Me” (Luther). “Before Me,” coram
me (Vulg., etc.), is incorrect and also against Me, in opposition to
Me (on פּני see Exodus 33:14). The singular יהיה does not require
that we should regard Elohim as an abstract noun in the sense of
Deity; and the plural אחרים would not suit this rendering (see
Genesis 1:14). The sentence is quite a general one and not only
prohibits polytheism and idolatry, the worship of idols in thought,
word, and deed (cf. Deuteronomy 8:11, Deuteronomy 8:17,
Deuteronomy 8:19), but also commands the fear, love, and
worship of God the Lord (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4,5, Deuteronomy
6:13, Deuteronomy 6:17; Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy
10:20).
And here is the most reliable source in biblical studies by
Christian theologies. The Geneva Study Bible says, “Thou shalt
have no other gods before me,” to whose eyes all things are open.
John Wesley, the famous Christian commentator, shows the
following in the Bible. In Exodus 20:3, the first commandment is
concerning the object of our worship, Jehovah, and Him only.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The sin against this
commandment, which we are most in danger of, is giving that
glory to any creature that is due to God only. There is a reason
intimated in the last words “before me”. It intimates that we
cannot have any other God; He will know it if we do. It is a sin
that dares Him to His face, which He cannot, will not, overlook or
forgive.
The second commandment concerns the ordinances of
worship or the way in which God will be worshipped, which He
Himself should appoint. The prohibition is that we are forbidden
to worship even the true God by images (Ex 20:4,5). First, the
Jews (at least after the captivity) thought themselves forbidden by
this to make any image or picture whatsoever. It is certain it
forbids making any image of God, for to whom can we liken Him
(Isa 40:18, 25)? It also forbids us from making images of God in
our fancy, as if He were a man as we are. Our religious worship
must be governed by the power of faith, not by the power of
imagination.
Secondly, they must not bow down to the idols or show any
sign of honor to them, much less serve them by sacrifice or any
other act of religious worship. When they paid their devotion to
the true God, they must not have any image before them for
directing, exciting, or assisting their devotion. Though the
worship was designed to terminate in God, it would not please
Him if it came to Him through an image. The best and most
ancient lawgivers among the heathen forbade the setting up of
images in their temples. It was forbidden in Rome by Numa
Pompilious, a pagan prince, yet commanded in Rome by the pope,
a Catholic bishop. The use of images in the church of Rome, at
this day, is so plainly contrary to the letter of this command that,
in all their catechisms and religious instructions, which they put
into the hands of the people, they leave out this commandment,
joining the reason of it to the first. And so the third commandment
they call the second and the fourth the third. Only to make the
number ten do they divide the tenth into two: “For I the Lord
Jehovah, thy God, am a jealous God, especially in things of this
nature.” It intimates the care He has of His own institutions, His
displeasure against idolaters, and that He resents everything in His
worship that looks like, or leads to, adultery.
In Exodus 20:1-3, Commandment #1 states: “You shall have
no other gods before me.” In Psalms 115, it is affirmed that God
is the Creator of Heaven only to be worshipped. It’s amazing to
me how many false gods are in this world and what they can do to
people who help them. If we just look where we live today, we
find that America was founded on the belief in the Oneness of
God. The Pledge of Allegiance contains a great phrase — “one
nation under God”. Also in the U.S., the printed money features
the phrase, “In God We Trust”. According to these statements,
God is One, not three or three in one. That means the belief of
born-again Christians is against the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. Or
is the Pledge of Allegiance not correct anymore?
Here are several opinions of many different scholars and
religious commentators from other beliefs about the most
important words in the Bible — “before me”. Literally, it is
“before my face”. The meaning is that no God should be
worshipped in addition to Yahweh (God).
“‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me — אחרים אלהים
elohim acherim, no strange Gods — none that thou art not
acquainted with, none who has not given thee such proofs of His
power and godhead as I have done in delivering thee from the
Egyptians, dividing the Red Sea, bringing water out of the rock,
quails into the desert, manna from heaven to feed thee, and the
pillar of cloud to direct, enlighten, and shield thee.’ By these
miracles God had rendered Himself familiar to them, they were
intimately acquainted with the operation of His hands; and
therefore with great propriety He says, ‘Thou shalt have no strange
gods before Me (Exodus 20:3) ; פני על al panai, before or in the
place of those manifestations which I have made of Myself.’”
This commandment prohibits every species from mental
adultery, as well as all inordinate attachments to earthly things and
the worship of false gods. The true God is the Fountain of
Happiness, and no intelligent creature can be happy but through
Him. Whoever seeks happiness in another creature is necessarily
an idolater, as he or she puts the creature in the place of the
Creator, expecting gratification of passions in the use or abuse of
earthly things, when such gratification should be found in God
alone. The very first commandment of the whole series is divinely
calculated to prevent man’s misery and promote his happiness by
taking him away from all false dependence and leading him to
God Himself, the Fountain of all good.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” This is the first
commandment, and it is opposed to the polytheism of the Gentiles,
the Egyptians, from whom Israel had just come and whose gods
some of them might have had a favorable opinion of and liking to
or had committed adultery with. It was the Canaanites into whose
land they were going, and to prevent their joining with them in the
worship of other gods, this law was given, and it was to stand for
all generations, for there is but only one living and true God, the
Former and Maker of all things, who alone is to be had, owned,
acknowledged, served, and worshipped as such. All others have
only the name and are not by nature gods; they are other gods than
the true God. They are not real but rather are fictitious deities.
They are other or strange gods to the worshippers of them and
those who cry unto them, for they do not answer them. Also,
Jarchi, a well-known Jewish commentator, observed that now
Israel knew the true God who had appeared unto them and made
himself known to them by his name “Jehovah,” both by his word
and works. He had talked of spiritual adultery with other gods and
with strange gods that are no gods. The true God had taken them
by the hand when He brought them out of Egypt and had been a
husband to them. Such spiritual adultery must be a shocking
impiety, a monstrous ingratitude, and extremely displeasing to
God. Such an action would be resented by Him, just as if a woman
were to commit adultery in the presence of her husband. The
phrase denotes the audaciousness of the action, as well as the
wickedness of it. Though, as Ben Melech and others observe, if it
was done in secret, it would be before the Lord, who is the
omniscient God, and nothing can be hidden from Him.
Several Jewish commentators, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Aben
Ezra interpret the phrase “before me” as “All the time I endure,
while I have a being, or am the living God, no others are to be
had.” That is, they are never to be had, since the true God will
always exist. The Septuagint “Greek/Hebrew” version is “besides
me” no others were to be worshipped. God will have no rivals or
competitors. If others were worshipped with Him, if others were
set before Him and worshipped along with Him, or if it was
pretended He was worshipped in them, this would be an inferior
kind of worship. Yet this was what He could by no means admit
of; the phrase may be rendered “against me,” with other gods in
opposition to Him, against His will, and contrary to obedience due
to Him and His precepts.
Two of the most well-known commentators, Kiel and
Delitzcch, proved that God is One through the Bible. This explains
to us that the born-again Christian and the Trinity have no merit
or any foundations in the entire Bible, Old or New Testament. In
the First Words, in Isaiah 43:11 Ye are my witnesses, saith the
LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know
and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was
no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ,and in
Deuteronomy 5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. or
in addition to Me as in the Deuteronomy 19:9), equivalent to πλὴν
ἐμοῦ (lxx), or “by the side of Me” (Luther). “Before Me,” coram
me (Vulg., etc.), is incorrect and also against Me, in opposition to
Me (on פּני see Exodus 33:14). The singular יהיה does not require
that we should regard Elohim as an abstract noun in the sense of
Deity; and the plural אחרים would not suit this rendering (see
Genesis 1:14). The sentence is quite a general one and not only
prohibits polytheism and idolatry, the worship of idols in thought,
word, and deed (cf. Deuteronomy 8:11, Deuteronomy 8:17,
Deuteronomy 8:19), but also commands the fear, love, and
worship of God the Lord (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4,5, Deuteronomy
6:13, Deuteronomy 6:17; Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy
10:20).
And here is the most reliable source in biblical studies by
Christian theologies. The Geneva Study Bible says, “Thou shalt
have no other gods before me,” to whose eyes all things are open.
John Wesley, the famous Christian commentator, shows the
following in the Bible. In Exodus 20:3, the first commandment is
concerning the object of our worship, Jehovah, and Him only.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” The sin against this
commandment, which we are most in danger of, is giving that
glory to any creature that is due to God only. There is a reason
intimated in the last words “before me”. It intimates that we
cannot have any other God; He will know it if we do. It is a sin
that dares Him to His face, which He cannot, will not, overlook or
forgive.
The second commandment concerns the ordinances of
worship or the way in which God will be worshipped, which He
Himself should appoint. The prohibition is that we are forbidden
to worship even the true God by images (Ex 20:4,5). First, the
Jews (at least after the captivity) thought themselves forbidden by
this to make any image or picture whatsoever. It is certain it
forbids making any image of God, for to whom can we liken Him
(Isa 40:18, 25)? It also forbids us from making images of God in
our fancy, as if He were a man as we are. Our religious worship
must be governed by the power of faith, not by the power of
imagination.
Secondly, they must not bow down to the idols or show any
sign of honor to them, much less serve them by sacrifice or any
other act of religious worship. When they paid their devotion to
the true God, they must not have any image before them for
directing, exciting, or assisting their devotion. Though the
worship was designed to terminate in God, it would not please
Him if it came to Him through an image. The best and most
ancient lawgivers among the heathen forbade the setting up of
images in their temples. It was forbidden in Rome by Numa
Pompilious, a pagan prince, yet commanded in Rome by the pope,
a Catholic bishop. The use of images in the church of Rome, at
this day, is so plainly contrary to the letter of this command that,
in all their catechisms and religious instructions, which they put
into the hands of the people, they leave out this commandment,
joining the reason of it to the first. And so the third commandment
they call the second and the fourth the third. Only to make the
number ten do they divide the tenth into two: “For I the Lord
Jehovah, thy God, am a jealous God, especially in things of this
nature.” It intimates the care He has of His own institutions, His
displeasure against idolaters, and that He resents everything in His
worship that looks like, or leads to, adultery.
In Exodus 20:1-3, Commandment #1 states: “You shall have
no other gods before me.” In Psalms 115, it is affirmed that God
is the Creator of Heaven only to be worshipped. It’s amazing to
me how many false gods are in this world and what they can do to
people who help them. If we just look where we live today, we
find that America was founded on the belief in the Oneness of
God. The Pledge of Allegiance contains a great phrase — “one
nation under God”. Also in the U.S., the printed money features
the phrase, “In God We Trust”. According to these statements,
God is One, not three or three in one. That means the belief of
born-again Christians is against the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. Or
is the Pledge of Allegiance not correct anymore?
