Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:3 Wall Art

Moses on the mountain

The prophet is painted full length, standing on a pile of weathered boulders with sparse desert shrubs at his feet. He has long gray-brown hair, a white beard and leather sandals. A white tunic hangs to his ankles, with a slate-blue cloak and a rust-colored mantle thrown over one shoulder and falling in heavy folds.

He holds the two tablets against his chest, rounded at the top in the traditional shape, and looks down at them rather than at us. Their faces are left blank, pale gray stone, so the only words in the picture are the lettered ones above: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”, Exodus 20:3. Behind him, lavender peaks and soft ochre clouds fade into the cream paper.

Why the first commandment comes first

Exodus 20 does not start with a rule. It starts with a reminder: “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Only after naming what he has already done does God ask for anything. The commandments are presented as the response of a freed people, not as the price of their freedom.

“No other gods before me” was a sharp demand in the ancient Near East, where every city and harvest had its own deity and it seemed wise to honor several at once. Israel was asked for undivided loyalty. Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed and Orthodox traditions number the Ten Commandments slightly differently, but all of them set this demand at or near the top of the list.

Jesus sums up the same idea when asked which commandment is greatest: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. In that light the first commandment is less a prohibition than an invitation to put first things first, and to let money, success or fear take a lower place. The tablets themselves were famously broken and made again after the golden calf, a story about second chances as much as about law.

For pastors, classrooms and Bible story lovers

A clear, dignified image of Moses and the Law suits a pastor's study, a church office or a Sunday school room where children are learning the Ten Commandments by heart. It gives a teacher something to point to when telling the Exodus story.

At home it hangs well in a hallway or den with wood furniture, thanks to its terracotta, blue and sandstone palette. It is also a thoughtful present for someone being ordained, a Bible study leader, or a grandfather who taught the commandments at his own table.