The Ten Commandments/I am the Lord your God

A careful reading of the First Commandment might cause one to wonder, why did the Jews need to be told that "the Lord" was their "God"? First of all, it must be noted that where many Bible translations use the title "the Lord", especially when that title is in all caps (i.e. "the LORD"), it means that the original Hebrew text contained the Tetragrammaton, representing the particular name of the Hebrew God, יהוה the exact pronunciation of which no one knows. So the First Commandment really says:

I am יהוה your God.

Therefore, the First Commandment signifies יהוה's claiming of the Israelite nation as a people chosen to serve him. It leaves no doubt as to the name of the God they were to worship (as indeed, there were many other gods in Egypt, the land which they had left, and Canaan, the land to which they were going, each with their own particular names). It further leaves no doubt as to the identity of the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt.

I am the Lord your God, or I am Yahweh your God, is the opening phrase of the Ten Commandments, which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars.

The text of the Ten Commandments according to the Book of Exodus begins:

According to the Hebrew bible, Yahweh is the personal (proper) name of the God of Israel. that was revealed to Moses in the account of the bush. Many English translations render the Hebrew YHWH as “LORD” or “Jehovah” but modern scholarship suggests that “Yahweh” is a more reasonable English rendering. The introduction to the Ten Commandments establishes the identity of God by both his personal name and his historical act of delivering Israel from Egypt. The language and pattern reflects that of ancient royal treaties in which a great king identified himself and his previous gracious acts toward a subject king or people. Establishing his identity through the use of the proper name, Yahweh, and his mighty acts in history distinguishes Yahweh from the gods of Egypt which were judged in the killing of Egypt’s firstborn, and from the gods of Canaan, the gods of the gentile nations, and the gods that are worshipped as idols, starry hosts, or things found in nature, and the gods known by other proper names. So distinguished, Yahweh demands exclusive allegiance. “I am the LORD your God” occurs a number of other times in the Bible also.

Meaning
By saying, “I am the LORD (Yahweh) your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery,” God introduces himself by name to establish his authority behind the stipulations that follow. The implicit imperative is to believe that God exists and that his proper name is “Yahweh.” This verse also serves as the motive clause for the following imperatives. Since Yahweh alone freed Israel from Egypt, he is Israel’s King, hence its legislator. Yahweh alone is also Israel’s God, and the worship of other gods is prohibited as the central doctrine of Biblical religion.

The text follows an ancient royal treaty pattern where Yahweh is formally acknowledged as Israel’s king. Israel is the subject people who are expected to render complete submission, allegiance, and obedience to him out of gratitude for his past mercies, respect for his sovereignty, and trust in his ongoing care. The covenant logic establishes an exclusive relationship in which the subject population may have only one sovereign. Ancient oaths and treaties prohibit subjects and vassals from accepting alternative sovereigns or protectors. In the ancient near east, a suzerain’s (or sovereign’s) prior benefactions to a vassal (such as deliverance from an enemy) are a primary motive to accept an offer of covenant, thus the deliverance from Egypt motivates Israel’s acceptance of the covenant stipulations described in the following imperatives.

Traditional Jewish interpretation
"I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me..." Maimonides interpreted this as a command requiring belief in God. Ibn Ezra interpreted this as a command to believe that Yahweh alone is God. This command prohibits belief in or worship of any additional deities:

"Do not make an image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above..." This prohibits the construction or fashioning of "idols" in the likeness of created things (beasts, fish, birds, people) and worshipping them.

New Testament view
Since the New Testament is predominantly of Jewish origin, the traditional Jewish view of the need for the individual to adhere to God alone and avoid idolatry is found throughout the New Testament. For example, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy when tempted to worship Satan in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world.

Jesus repeats the Shema as the most important commandment.

Those who eat food sacrificed to idols are rebuked. Just as in the Old Testament, where sacrificing to other gods is portrayed as sacrificing to demons, idolatry is connected with the worship of demons in the New Testament, and God is described as jealous regarding idolatry.

The New Testament asserts that God brings consequences to those who worship other gods. It suggests that during the Old Testament age, God winked at the idolatry of nations other than Israel, but that in the New Testament age, God commands “all people everywhere to repent.”   Idols are described as “worthless things” and people are exhorted to turn away from them to the living God. The teaching of Moses and the experience of Israel when they departed from it are used to support the insistence that believers abstain from idolatry and sexual immorality.

Interpretation in Roman Catholicism
The Roman Catholic Catechism teaches that “The first commandment summons man to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him above all else.” It cites the requirement of the Shema, that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength” and Jesus answer when tempted by Satan.

In their explanation of the first commandment, the Roman Catholic Catechism quotes Justin Martyr’s dialogue to support their teaching that Christians and Jews have trusted the same God.

The Catholic Catechism describes the phrase “I am the LORD” at the beginning of the Ten Commendments as an expression of God’s existence and his authority.

It goes on to explain how the Christian virtue of faith is central to obedience to the first commandment. The first commandment is also concerned with despair and presumption as sins against hope. Love and charity are viewed as essential elements of obedience to the first commandment. Prayer, sacrifice, promises, and vows are also seen as essential duties required by observance of the first commandment. However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that individuals maintain a liberty of conscience under the first commandment, not that any kind of worship is morally acceptable, but that each person should follow his convictions with free will without the threat of force from an outside agent. According to Catholic teaching, the first commandment condemns superstition, idolatry, divination, magic, irreligion, atheism and agnosticism. Catholic teaching also asserts that divination (seeking guidance regarding the future through horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, etc.) are prohibited by the first commandment, because these forbidden practices contradict the honor we owe to God. Likewise, magic and sorcery and similar sources of supernatural power over others are prohibited, even if for the sake of restoring health. Catholic teaching also regards the first commandment as a prohibition of atheism and agnosticism.

Reformation and Post-Reformation Views
John Calvin viewed “I am the LORD thy God” as a preface to the Decalogue and “have no other gods” as the first commandment. However, he also allowed for viewing “I am the LORD they God” as the first commandment, provided one also allows it to serve as a preface to the whole Decalogue. In his commentary on the first commandment, Calvin describes superstition as akin to a wife committing adultery in front of her husband.

Martin Luther describes the first commandment as prohibiting both the literal honoring of other gods as well as trusting in idols of the heart: money, good works, superstition, etc.

Like Calvin, Matthew Henry considers “I am the LORD thy God” to be a preface. Henry explains the preface and the first commandment from a covenant viewpoint: God delivered Israel from Egypt, and they belong to him by mutual agreement, so they are bound to obey his covenant stipulations.

John Wesley makes the common observation that Israel is obligated to obey God’s commandments because he delivered them from Egypt, and he adds the observation that Christians are likewise obligated to serve Christ, having been rescued out of bondage to sin.

John Wesley uses the first commandment in Deuteronomy 5 as a motivation to pose a list of introspective questions.

In his exposition of Exodus 20 on the “Thru The Bible” radio program, J. Vernon McGee, quotes Romans 1:21-25 and Colossians 3:5 to support his assertion that the idolatry forbidden by the first commandment includes not only the worship of idols and foreign gods, but also idols of the heart such as greed, alcohol, and sexual immorality.

Other Occurrences
In addition to the best known occurrences at the beginning of the Decalogue, “I am the LORD your God” appears a number of other times in the Bible. A search at www.biblegateway.com reveals 39 occurrences in the NASB. The phrase is often used to establish God’s authority while giving commands concerned with holiness.

For example, Leviticus 18 gives a number of commands prohibiting sexual perversions and the sacrifice of children. It demands that God’s people behave differently from the nations around them, lest they be destroyed in the same manner.

In a similar manner, Leviticus 19 gives additional commands regarding separation from mediums and spiritists, the honoring of the aged, and kindness to foreigners.

The prophet Isaiah asserts that failure to obey the commandments is the reason for Israel’s captivity and had the nation obeyed the commandments, they would have had peace like a river.

The prophet Joel looks forward to future blessing through which God’s people will know that Yahweh is their God through his wondrous deeds on their behalf.