The great commandment
What is the first commandment of all? "
The question he asked Jesus was typical of a Jewish scribe. The rabbis had identified 613 commandments that they divided in different ways while having complicated discussions. Did they all have the same importance? Which of them was the most important?
But putting aside the endless debates that Jews might have on the subject, there is no doubt that the issue is important and remains relevant to us. Today many study the Word of God and put a lot of emphasis on topics such as the Sabbath, fasting, or tithing, as if these things were the most important of the Law of God. And on the other hand, there is the popular opinion held by those who normally do not study the Bible and who believe that if they have not killed, stolen or violated, they have already fulfilled the main commandments and God will not condemn them.
To know if these attitudes are correct, it is important that we listen again to the answer that Jesus gave the scribe.
"The Lord our God, the Lord, is one"
As was customary for Jesus, he again used the Scriptures to give his answer. On this occasion he quoted Moses' summary of the Law:
(Deut 6: 4-5) "Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God, Jehovah is one. And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."
Note that the first point of this summary consisted of a statement of the monotheism that characterized the revelation of God and that distinguished it for millennia from all other religions of antiquity.
The Word affirms that there is only one God who is identified with the name of Jehovah. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists and outside of him there is no other. Only he has intervened in the history of men to save them and has revealed himself through his Word:
(Is 44: 6-8) "Thus says the Lord King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God. And who will proclaim what is to come? , will declare it, and will put it in order before me, as I have done since I established the ancient people? Announce to them what is coming, and what is to come. Do not fear, nor be afraid; did I not make you hear it from antiquity, and did I tell you? Then you are my witnesses. There is no God but me. There is no Fort; I know none. "
But man has not wanted to serve the only true God and has constantly invented others. And the truth is that although many centuries have passed, man continues to worship the same pagan deities of the past. Today, one of the gods that society worships everywhere is sex, which the ancient Greeks called "Aphrodite." And the same happens with many other old pagan divinities, such as alcohol, to which many continue to give their lives as if it were a god, and to which the Greeks had already named "Dionysus" or "Bacchus". ; and the same could be said of the god of war, money, pleasure, fame, the State ... Every time the incredulous man is faced with circumstances in his life that are beyond his control, he attributes them to "Chance" , the same goddess whom the Greeks called "Tique". And many evolutionists of antiquity, and also modern ones, believe that this god of "Chance" is ultimately responsible for the appearance of human beings on earth.