by Gary L. Evans
The First Commandment — Part 1
Exo 20:1-3 And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The word “God” is from the Hebrew “el-o-heem'” and is plural but with the article here so it means “The Most High God with His angels.”
The word “LORD” is from “yeh-ho-vaw'” which means “(the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.”
Our Father identifies Himself as “The Eternal” Who had just freed the children of Israel from their four hundred years of slavery in Egypt. Four hundred years, that’s quite a while for a tribe of now perhaps a million people to live in abject slavery.
The words “before me” are from “al” which means “above, over, upon” and from “paw-neem'” which means “the face.” So this literally means “above My face.”
Our Lord, The Eternal, forbids us to regard any of the other “elohim” to be above His face, in other words, not to regard any of the angels in heaven or on earth as being a higher power over us. And we must never regard any man or woman as being our master higher than God. So we must only submit our hearts and minds to The Most High God.
We call this The First Commandment, but actually every time that our Lord commands us, that is a Commandment. So let’s consider our Lord’s Commandment to The Man Adam.
Gen 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Our Father forbid Adam to bow in reverence to That Old Serpent, represented by The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The notions of “good and evil” clearly signify mental thoughts and precepts, higher reasoning regarding physical, social situations, relationships, and potential dangers in this world.
The Lord warned Adam that if he ever did transgress this Commandment, that he would certainly die. Implied here is that Adam had Eternal Life until he transgressed God’s Commandment. But when he transgressed, he lost it.
That Old Serpent is none other than Satan, The Devil, alias Lucifer from The First Earth Age. He is an angel, a son of God, in fact he is a cherub which is higher in power than most other angels. Lucifer was the wisest and most beautiful of God’s sons. So we can conclude that our Father was forbidding Adam to bow down mentally to Satan, because doing so would cause his ultimate death in the flesh.
What would Adam’s transgression in effect do? It would be the act of believing what Satan said, which was a contradiction of what The Lord had said, thus would be the very act of Adam submitting his heart and mind to Satan rather than to The Most High God. So in its simplicity, we can see that this Commandment given to Adam was the same in effect as The First Commandment The Lord gave to Moses to give to Israel.
Our Father does everything by contract, so there is a benefit to obedience and also a punishment or penalty for disobedience to any of His Commandments. The benefits of obeying His Ten Commandments are detailed in His blessings to Israel. Also the punishments for disobedience are detailed in His curses to Israel. We see what happened historically to The Man Adam for disobedience, so given his example we can expect similar repercussions for disobedience to The First Commandment given to Israel.
The First Commandment forbids us to revere anyone or anything more than God Almighty. This one is the generalization of the singular restriction placed on The Man Adam, which only forbid trusting That Old Serpent more than The Lord.
And recall that Jesus was tested by Satan similarly as Adam was tested.
Mat 4:8-10 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The First Commandment — Part 2
Our Father gave us other Laws that identified specific forbidden behaviors which would be transgressions of The First Commandment. In fact, God’s Laws in general teach us The Way, precept by precept, to enable us to fully obey The Ten Commandments. We must never seek a higher power, except for God Most High. But the Gentiles historically worshiped Satan and The Fallen Angels, seeking contracts with them in order to gain supernatural powers or benefits.
Deu 18:9-10 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
The phrase “to pass through the fire” refers to idolatrous Molech worship which required the sacrifice of children on an altar as a whole burnt offering.
The word “divination” is from “kaw-sam'” which means “to distribute, that is, determine by lot or magical scroll; by implication to divine.” A common example of divination is today’s Ouija Board which is used to invoke the spirit world to answer questions.
The phrase “observer of times” is from “aw-nan'” which means “to cover; to cloud over; figuratively to act covertly, that is, practise magic.”
The word “enchanter” is from “naw-khash'” which means “to hiss, that is, whisper a (magic) spell; generally to prognosticate.” This word is also translated to “serpent” such as in The Garden of Eden, because the serpent gets its name from the sound of its hiss.
And the word “witch” is from “kaw-shaf'” which means “to whisper a spell, that is, to inchant or practise magic.”
Deu 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
The word “charmer” is from “khaw-bar'” which means “to join (literally or figuratively); specifically (by means of spells) to fascinate,” and also from “kheh’-ber” which means “a society; also a spell.”
The word “consulter” is from “shaw-al'” which means “to inquire; by implication to request; by extension to demand.”
The phrase “familiar spirits” is from “obe” which means “(apparently through the idea of prattling a father’s name); properly a mumble, that is, a water skin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar).”
The word “wizard” is from “yid-deh-o-nee'” which means “a knowing one; specifically a conjurer; (by implication) a ghost.”
And the word “necromancer” is from “daw-rash'” which means “to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication to seek or ask; specifically to worship,” and from “mooth” which means “to die (literally or figuratively); causatively to kill.”
So a necromancer is someone who seeks the council of the dead. A seance held by a medium is an example of this behavior today.
Deu 18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
The word “abomination” is from “to-ay-baw'” and means “properly something disgusting (morally), that is, (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol.”
These are among the things that literally make The Lord want to vomit because they are so disgusting, to put it bluntly.
Our Father caused the destruction of those people dwelling in The Promised Land, which He had promised to give to the descendants of Israel, because they were practicing such wickedness. It wasn’t because Israel was perfectly righteous, but it was because those people there had degenerated beyond any potential for their societies to even continue in existence for any length of time. Given their wicked blood thirsty perversions, they obviously were on the verge of complete self-destruction at the time these Laws were given to Israel.
We call some people psychopaths today who literally worship death, sacrifice their children, and practice the other such things as they were doing. So we can see how this Law applies to The First Commandment in that it forbids seeking familiar spirits or devils as was commonly practiced by the Gentiles.
To willfully disobey The Lord IS THE OPPOSITE of worshiping Him.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The First Commandment — Part 3
The Lord was King over Israel, and appeared to The High Priest every year in The Holy of Holies within The Tabernacle, and there was a system of judges to decide any complex matters of The Law among the people. But the people were envious of the Gentiles and wanted to have a man-king like each of the Gentile nations did.
So Israel rejected having God Most High as their King and insisted on having a man take His place. And The Lord sent Samuel to anoint Saul as king of Israel.
1Sa 9:26-27 And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.
Samuel taught pertinent aspects of God’s Law to Saul in preparation for his anointing as king over Israel.
1Sa 10:1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
Then Samuel anointed Saul with olive oil, which symbolizes The Truth of God’s Word, to make him king of Israel.
Saul reigned for one year and then sinned terribly. The Law did not authorize any future king of Israel to take the place of the Levitical Priesthood. Only a priest could prepare and make sacrifices to God. But Saul became arrogant and decided he could offer a sacrifice directly, which caused The Lord to become angry against Israel.
Thus the result of the people having a man-king ruling over them was that they suffered from the sins committed by that man, because Saul represented all of Israel.
1Sa 13:11-14 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
Saul had not obeyed God’s Will to the letter, but had insisted on trusting his own ideas about how to do things. Acting according to our own imaginations is not wise, especially when they are disobedience to what The Lord has already instructed us about. Obedience to God’s Will is how we obey The First Commandment, and there is no other way.
We must never seek any higher power for help more than God, and we also must never lean to our own imagination on how to do things when doing so would be in disobedience to God. Consider how Saul lost his kingship for that very reason.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
Saul kept disobeying The Lord’s instructions about how to rule. And He sent Samuel to rebuke Saul again. Obedience is better than making sacrifices, and listening carefully to every word of God’s Instructions is better than offering the choicest rams. God loves us and desires our love and devotion in return.
Mat 22:36-38 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
Jesus taught that to love God with all our hearts is obedience to The First Commandment.
1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Rebellion against God’s Will is the same as witchcraft, and being stubborn to obey is the same as lawlessness and idolatry. So we see how disobedience to any part of God’s Will is in fact the transgression of The First Commandment.
Our Father had rejected Saul as king, and so sent Samuel to anoint another man more suitable to be king in his stead.
1Sa 16:11-13 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
Samuel anointed David as king of Israel. And David was given The Holy Spirit with which he was to rule the people. Saul was still in power as the king, but The Lord had declared that his kingdom would not continue. David would become king instead.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The First Commandment — Part 4
1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
Saul had been anointed and had received The Holy Spirit in order to rule, but he had been stubborn and rebellious, choosing to do things his own way. So the kingdom had been taken from him, The Holy Spirit left him, and another spirit, “an evil spirit,” took control of him.
The word “evil” is from “raw-aw'” which means “bad or (as noun) evil (naturally or morally).” And the word “spirit” is from “roo’-akh” which means “wind; by resemblance breath, that is, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions).” So this combination means “the mind of an evil rational being.”
This fact does not mean that God sends Evil Minds to possess anyone of us dwelling in the flesh. We know that all of God’s children dwell in Heaven with Him, except for those dwelling on earth in the flesh for a short time. But in Heaven there is a gulf that separates the over comers of Satan’s deception from those who fail.
Satan and The Fallen Angels manifest their power over man by influencing the minds of people, and they do so out of rebellion against God Most High. So just because mental influences on the negative side can come from The Lord’s dwelling place in Heaven, does not mean that The Lord has anything to do with it. Saul’s open rebellion invited this “evil spirit” to come to him for an extended visit, since he had rejected God’s Word.
It would seem that Saul would have been much better off had he not been anointed as king in the first place, rather than to show himself as arrogant and self-willed and to end up in this sad condition. Saul was demon possessed, and he will now go from bad to worse, eventually to an untimely death. But Saul was always free to reject this “evil mind” taking control of him, and to choose to obey God’s Will as written in His Word, but he chose to continue doing things his way instead.
1Sa 16:22-23 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
David, who had been anointed as the future king, came to serve king Saul by playing the harp to comfort and strengthen him. And David was the young lad who had killed Goliath the giant of the Philistines who had been cursing Israel and The God of Israel.
1Sa 18:10-11 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
Note that Saul said, “I will smite David even to the wall with it.” Those words came out of Saul’s mouth. David had not done any wrong, but revered Saul as king of Israel. Clearly there was an evil minded influence over Saul.
1Sa 18:12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
The Holy Spirit had left Saul but was in David ever since he had been anointed.
The “evil spirit” in Saul was showing itself to be murderous, because Saul was trying to kill David right there in the palace even while David was playing the harp for him. David had just defeated a giant giving the victory to the armies of Israel over the Philistines and now was playing beautiful music to comfort Saul, and this was the thanks he gave him.
1Sa 19:9-10 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
David remained loyal and faithful to king Saul because he was The Lord’s Anointed. But Saul was obsessed with the desire to kill David and became murderous to the extreme. David had patiently tried to continue serving the king, even though he kept trying to kill him, but finally was forced to run away from Saul to save his own life.
1Sa 22:17-18 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
Edom is Esau, therefore Doeg was a descendant of Esau. He was willing to murder eighty-five Levitical Priests in obedience to king Saul’s command. Saul’s disobedience to God’s Law and his arrogant rebellion is going from bad to worse in a very big way.
After Samuel died, Saul went to a witch to conjure up the spirit of Samuel for advice. Such behavior is forbidden in The Law, but Saul did it anyway. Finally Saul committed suicide.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
The First Commandment — Part 5
Mark 12:28-30 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Our Lord quoted from The Law to teach The First Commandment, which is the greatest of all of the commandments.
Deu 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
The statement that “The Lord our God is one Lord” teaches that we do not have many gods or higher powers over us, only One. The Lord of The Old Testament is also The Lord of The New Testament. Whereas the Gentiles worshiped many different gods and goddesses. They had a different god for just about everything. And their relationship with their gods was by contract, to make an offering of some kind in order to receive some benefit.
The command that we must “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart” makes our relationship with The Most High very personal, as a child loves his father or mother, and even more so. We obey His Will and make offerings to The Lord because we love Him, not as though we are paying the price to receive some benefit as the pagans did.
Joh 14:8-10 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Jesus taught His disciples that they only had ONE LORD, because He and The Father were one and the same, and that The Father dwelt in His body. This statement agrees with what the angel had said, “Call his name Emmanuel, which means, God with us.” Our God and Father literally came into the flesh and dwelt among His own people that He had chosen.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” That includes all of The Lord’s commandments, laws, and statutes.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
It is only those people who obey our Lord’s Commandments who truly love Him, and who are loved by Him. The Lord will also reveal Himself to those who love Him.
Joh 14:22-24 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Anyone who does not obey God’s Word, which includes His Commandments, laws, and statutes, does not love God.
That was king Saul’s problem, because he thought he had better ideas about how to do things. Obviously he did not love The Lord, because he disobeyed.
Joh 14:25-26 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Our Lord promised to send The Holy Spirit into us after He ascended. This was previously only available to kings and priests upon being anointed for their office. But in Christ Jesus, we all become a Heavenly Kingdom of kings and priests through the anointing of The Word of God and the receiving of The Holy Mind.
The First Commandment is The Greatest of The Commandments, and leads us into a loving relationship with our God and Father, which will continue throughout The Eternity.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.