This commandment is the most important and virtually contains all of the other commandments; in other words, to break any other commandment is to break this one, because to sin is to stop having God for your God. That notion — or better, that practice — of having God for your God — is the core of Biblical religion and the substance of this commandment. As with all the commandments, we are going to spend a week on what is required in this commandment and another week on what is forbidden. We might spend a couple of extra weeks on the fourth commandment; we will see when we get there. But undoubtedly, this commandment, the first in order and first in importance, is crucial for the Christian life. For a people who don't understand holiness, who don't yet know Yahweh as He really is, this command is an eye-opener. It shows that the thing God values most in our lives is our relationship with Him. The number-one thing we need to be doing is having Him for our God and living before His face. That's what this commandment says. So let's dive into it.