The First Commandment

In the last post, we saw the Members of the Trinity -- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit -- appear to the Israelites on three different mountains during the giving of the law. The Israelites already knew about God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, for in Exodus 14:19 we read that Malek of [All] the Gods [haElohim] and the Pillar of Fire and Cloud [the Holy Spirit] were leading Israelites out of Egypt. I should add that the very famous golden calf story and its retelling in Nehemiah (read the LXX version) and Acts (Stephen’s account) also reveal that the Israelites understood that both Malek Yahveh and God the Holy Spirit is God (we'll discuss this further in a later post).

Now, what exactly did God the Father say when He gave the first commandment? The most common English translation is, “You shall not have other deities before Me.” This translation is the main source of confusion for many people who want to serve the One True God but reject the Trinity. The English translation is very clear: God the Father commands the Israelites not to worship any god (which may also include God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) other than Him. While this translation may lead one to believe that the first commandment is Unitarian, we should be clear that it is not. In fact, the original Hebrew translation tells a different story, making both a distinction (against false gods) and an allowance (for God the Son and Holy Spirit).

Let there be [singular verb] to you no Elohim [plural noun] Acharim [plural adjective] before My Presences [plural noun Panim] (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7).

By using the words Elohim Acharim (which literally means deities of others) and Panim (or "My Presences" – God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) God the Father makes both a distinction and an allowance. The inclusion of "deities of others" (human's or devil's) is interesting, because since there is only one true God, other so called “gods” are just human imaginations given “god”-like status (Isaiah 44:14-20). However, the deities of others clause makes an allowance for the Divine Beings whom God the Father calls God - i.e. His Presences. In the first commandment, God the Father clearly makes it known to Israelites that His Presences are co-equal to Him and worthy of worship. This view is reinforced in Psalm 45:6-7 (where God the Father calls God the Son God) and Acts 5:3-4 (where Peter calls God the Holy Spirit God), to name a few.