The first of the Ten Commandments says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Some translations say, “besides Me.” This basically means that we are not to follow any god but God, which might seem easy, but it can be tricky sometimes. There are all sorts of religions in the world, and they all believe in different gods. Some believe that there are many gods; some believe that we’re all gods; some believe there’s only one god, but that he’s not our God. But there is only One True God, and that is the God found in the Bible, the Creator of everything.
There’s a true story from the Bible about a man named Elijah. He was a prophet of God, the last prophet of the One True God. All the Israelites, who were God’s chosen people, had turned away from Him and started to worship a false god named Baal. One day, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest to prove once and for all whose god was the One True God. He suggested that he and the prophets of Baal build altars for their respective gods (an altar is sort of like a table mixed with a firepit, and people would use altars to burn sacrifices for their god). Then they would put offerings on the altars, but not light them on fire. Then they would ask their gods to light them, and whoever’s god answered with fire would be proven to be the One True God. The hundreds of prophets of Baal accepted his challenge. They prepared their altar and began to scream and dance and cut themselves, trying to get the attention of their god, but he couldn’t hear them because he was not even real. After hours of trying to get their false god to light the fire, there was still no answer. When it was finally Elijah’s turn, he had the people pour water all over his altar, and dig a trench around it and fill that with water, too. Then Elijah prayed and asked God to show everyone that He was the One True God. At that moment, fire fell from heaven and burned up the offering, the altar, and even all the water. And God proved then and there that He is the One True God. There are people who will be offended if you don’t believe in their false god, and there are even places in the world where if you don’t believe in a false god, you could be killed. But the first of the Ten Commandments says that we are not to follow false gods. So let’s all follow the One True God.
Bible Verses About the First Commandment:
- Exodus 20:3 | The first commandment
- John 14:6 | No one comes to the Father except through Me
- Deuteronomy 4:34-35 | The Lord is God; besides Him there is no other
- Acts 4:12 | Salvation is found in no one else
- Psalm 135:15-18 | The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands
- 1 Kings 18:22-39 | Elijah and the prophets of Baal
- 1 Chronicles 16:26 | All the gods of the nations are idols
Family Time Questions About the First Commandment:
• What is the first of the Ten Commandments?
• Is there any god as powerful as our God?
• How many real Gods are there?
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for being the one true God. Help me to always follow you with my whole heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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