The Love of God and the First Commandment

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Scripture Reading — Hebrews 12:22-24
• Call to Worship — Psalm 113
• Hymn — King Forever
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Westminster Shorter Catechism
• Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 8
• Pastoral Prayer
• Hymn — Don't Let Me Lose My Wonder
• Sermon
• Hymn — Lord Speak to Me
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Love of God and the First Commandment

Scripture: Exodus 20:1-3; Matthew 22:36-40

I. Introduction: The Ten Commandments and Love

A. Most people do not associate the Ten Commandments with love, yet Jesus summarizes the law as love in Matthew 22:36-40 B. Love in Scripture is not primarily feelings-oriented but obedience-oriented

1. John 14:15 — "If you love me, you will keep my commandments"
2. Obedient love to God is not cold or abstract, but flows from knowing God as Redeemer C. The preface to the commandments establishes the motive for obedience: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery"
3. God heard Israel's groaning and acted in love — Exodus 2:24-25
4. The Hebrew word yada (to know) carries the sense of intimate, loving knowledge
5. Old Testament images of God's tender love: father to orphans (Psalm 68), one who pities children (Psalm 103), nursing mother (Isaiah 49), teaching a child to walk (Hosea 11)

II. The First Commandment Teaches Us to Love God Monotheistically

A. Monotheism was unique in the ancient Near East; surrounding nations were polytheistic

1. Some ancient religions practiced henotheism — worship of one god while acknowledging others
2. Higher critics claim the first commandment reflects henotheism, but Scripture refutes this B. The fourth commandment (Exodus 20:11) establishes Yahweh as creator of all things — not merely a tribal deity
3. The divine name Yahweh (LORD in small caps) is the covenantal name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14 — "I AM WHO I AM"
4. This name points to God's aseity — he is utterly self-existent and independent, being itself
5. The covenant name of Israel's God simultaneously declares him to be the only God over heaven and earth C. The uniqueness of the biblical creation narrative
6. Pagan creation myths involve either a war between gods or divine procreation
7. Genesis 1:1 — Yahweh alone creates; he shares creative power with no one D. Exodus 19:5 — all the earth belongs to God; Israel is his treasured possession among all peoples E. Idolatry defined: taking something real in creation and elevating it to god-like status
8. Romans 1:25 — exchanging the truth about God for a lie, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator
9. Baal worship as example: a personification of the fertility and storm cycles of nature
10. Matthew 6:24 — money is not inherently evil, but becomes an idol when elevated to lordship over life F. Application: Our culture is just as polytheistic as the ancient Near East
11. Modern false gods include sex, beauty, power, money, politics, entertainment, and family
12. Henotheism is alive today in the sentiment "that god works for you; this one works for me"
13. The first commandment is just as countercultural and jolting for 21st-century believers as it was for Israel
14. God's call: "You shall have no other gods before my face" — spoken by the omniscient God who knows the inclinations of every heart

III. The First Commandment Teaches Us to Love God Covenantally

A. Background: Ancient Near Eastern covenant treaties

1. A great king would rescue an enslaved people, then enter into a covenant demanding exclusive loyalty
2. The preamble of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-2) follows this pattern exactly — Yahweh identifies himself as Redeemer King
3. Seeking another king was covenant treason — illustrated in 1 Samuel 8:7: Israel's demand for a king was a rejection of Yahweh as King B. David understood himself as a vice-regent, not the ultimate king
4. 2 Samuel 6:21 — David calls himself a prince over "Yahweh's people," not his own
5. No mere earthly king could fulfill the kingly promises of God; only Yahweh is Israel's true King C. Jesus Christ is the great I AM come in the flesh
6. John 8:58 — "Before Abraham was, I AM"
7. John 14:9 — "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father"
8. As new covenant Christians, we obey the first commandment by giving exclusive allegiance to the Father and to Jesus Christ the King D. The corporate dimension of the first commandment
9. The "you" throughout the commandments is singular in Hebrew — addressed to Israel as one corporate covenant body
10. Exodus 4 — "Let my son go" — the covenant people as one son
11. Colossians 1:18-19 — Christ is the head of the body, the church, preeminent in all things
12. We are not to hear the first commandment merely as individuals but as one family redeemed by the King of kings, holding one another accountable to make Christ preeminent in all things