You shall have no other gods before me. The first commandment is a statement of exclusive loyalty. Before me — literally before my face, in my presence — means in any context where God is present, which is everywhere. The prohibition is not a denial of the existence of other divine beings but a covenant requirement of exclusive devotion. Deuteronomy 6:5 says love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength — the totality of love and the exclusivity of the first commandment are the same principle. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 as the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37. The first commandment is the foundation of all that follows: everything else in the Decalogue is an expression of what it means to have no other gods before the Lord.

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