The First Word

The First of the Ten Words (Commandments) is:

Exodus 20:2 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery.

The First Word says that God is not just some impersonal force. Yahweh is YOUR God. "Yahweh is your God" forms the basis for everything that follows in the Decalogue. Yahweh's claim upon you is both Law and Gospel. Because Yahweh is your God, you must be holy as He is holy. Because Yahweh is your God, He gets to make the rules. Because Yahweh is your God, you are worthy of Yahweh's temporal and eternal punishment for disobeying God's commandments. The Gospel is found in that because Yahweh is your God, He is also your deliverer who brought you out of the house of slavery through the Blood of the Lamb. The Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians. In the last plague, Yahweh delivered the Israelites from death through the blood of the Passover Lamb. Yahweh delivers you from death through the blood of Christ--your Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). Through the death of the firstborn Egyptians, the Israelites were released from slavery to the Egyptians. Through the death of the Firstborn from the dead you are released from slavery to sin and death. Through the baptism in the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10:2), God freed the Israelites from their bondage to the Egyptians. Through the waters of holy baptism God saved you from bondage to sin, death, and the devil (1 Peter 3:21, Titus 3:5).