(Related: The True Meaning of the First Commandment (Podcast))
The first of the Ten Commandments is bizarre:
“I am Jehovah, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of slaves.” (Exodus 20:2).
This “Commandment” is bizarre on two counts.
First, The Bible starts with God as creator:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1).
Why, then, God introduces Himself as God of History (“Who took you”), and not as God of creation (“In the beginning God created”)?
Secondly, unlike the rest of the Ten Commandments, articulated as commands, this commandment is articulated differently, not as a command but as a statement of fact (“I am Jehovah…” God of history). Why is this bizarre way of “commanding”?
To answer these two puzzles, it is instructive to learn that in the original Hebrew there are no “Commandments”. Only Devarim (from the Hebrew verb “to speak”, namely, Divine communication in the form of a dialogue). In Genesis 1 God does not “Speak”. God “says”!! And this implies a monologue, namely, a Divine command. God command is obligatory. It is always fulfilled, to the letter (Genesis 1). Conversely, the Ten Commandments are Divine utterances, out of a dialogue (“speaking”). And in this dialogue, human beings preserve their most basic condition of existence, Free Will. We, human beings, are free to decide whether we wish to pursue the Ten Commandments, or otherwise. The Ten Commandments are for us to decide, out of the precious free-will, bestowed on us by our Creator.
Once the dependence on free-will in pursuing the “Ten Commandments” is properly grasped, the First Commandment is bizarre no more.
Regarding the first puzzlement (“Why God of History and not God of Creation”), the First Commandment requires of us to accept, out of free will, that God rules history. Therefore, there is purpose to life on Earth, both for the collective (in the form of nations and other forms of societies), and for our own personal existence on planet Earth (“Divine Providence”). God of Creation is easy to adopt as fact. It seems logical (to many, not all…). Not so with God of History. This requires a high level of faith. It is not nearly self-evident (as God of Creation is). God of history hides Himself. Prophet Isaiah recognizes the difficulty, and states this in no ambiguous terms:
“Indeed, You are a God Who conceals Himself, the God of Israel, Savior.” (Isaiah 45:15).
Therefore, addressing the second puzzlement (“why the First Commandment is articulated as statement of fact”), this commandment is indeed a command. It requires of us to accept as fact an invisible, unprovable fact. The unobservable reality that Jehovah is indeed also God of History, looking out for what transpires in His world, and leading it towards its Ultimate Goal:
“And I will reveal Myself in My greatness and in My holiness and will be recognized in the eyes of many nations, and they will know that I am Jehovah.” (Ezekeil 38:23).
“For then I will convert the peoples to a pure language that all of them call in the name of Jehovah, to worship Him of one accord.” (Zephaniah 3:9).
Haim Shore Blog 