"You shall not have other judges in My Place. You shall not make yourself a carved image nor any likeness of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water beneath the earth. You shall not prostrate yourself to them nor worship them, for I Am Hashem, your G-d--a Jealous G-d, Who Visits the sin of fathers upon children to the third and fourth generations, for My enemies; but Who Shows Kindness for thousands [of generations] to those who love Me and observe My Commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6)

Exodus 34:12-17 Be vigilant lest you seal a covenant with the inhabitant of the Land to which you come, lest it be a snare among you. Rather you shall break apart their altars, smash their pillars, and cut down its sacred trees. For you shall not prostrate yourselves to an alien god, for the very Name of Hashem is 'Jealous One,' He is a Jealous G-d. Lest you seal a covenant with the inhabitant of the Land and stray after their gods, slaughter to their gods, and he invite you and you eat from his slaughter. And you take their daughters for your sons, and their daughters stray after their gods and entice your sons to stray after their gods! You shall not make yourselves molten gods.

Deuteronomy 7:25-26 The carved images of their gods you shall burn in the fire; you shall not covet and take for yourself the silver and gold that is on them, lest you become ensnared by it, for it is an abomination of Hashem, Who Is your Judge. And you shall not bring an abomination into your home and become banned like it; you shall surely loathe it and you shall surely abominate it, for it is Banned.

Deuteronomy 12:2-3 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations that you are driving away worshipped their gods: on the high mountains and on the hills, and under every leafy tree. You shall break apart their altars; you shall smash their pillars; and their sacred trees shall you burn in the fire; their carved images shall you cut down; and you shall obliterate their names from that place.

Deuteronomy 13:7-19 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is like your own spirit, will entice you secretly, saying, "Let us go and worship the gods of others"--that you did not know, you or your forefathers, from the gods of the peoples that are all around you, those near to you or those far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth--you shall not accede to him and not hearken to him; your eye shall not take pity on him, you shall not be compassionate nor conceal him. Rather, you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be the first against him to kill him, and the hand of the entire people afterwards. You shall pelt him with stones and he shall die, for he sought to make you stray from near Hashem, your G-d, Who Takes you out of egypt, from the house of slavery. All Israel shall hear and fear, and they shall not again do such an evil thing in your midst.

If, in one of your cities that Hashem, your G-d, Gives you in which to dwell, you hear, saying, "Lawless men have emerged from your midst, and they have caused the dwellers of their city to go astray, saying, 'Let us go and worship the gods of others, that you have not known'"--you shall seek out and investigate, and inquire well, and behold! it is true, the word is correct, this abomination was committed in your midst. You shall surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword; lay it waste and everything that is in it, and its animals, with the edge of the sword. You shall gather together all its booty to the midst of its open square, and you shall burn in fire completely the city and all its booty to Hashem, your Judge, and it shall be an eternal heap, it shall not be rebuilt. No part of the banned property may adhere to your hand, so that Hashem will turn back from His burning wrath; and He Will Give you Mercy and Be Merciful to you and multiply you, as He Swore to your forefathers, when you hearken to the Voice of Hashem, your Judge, to observe His Commandments that I command you today, to do what is Right in the Eyes of Hashem, your Judge.

I see no difference between the religions of the past and the religions of this day. I see their people as pagans, who observe pagan customs, and prostrate themselves to gods. These people do not know G-d, therefore they follow gods. They are led by other judges--they are idolaters that fill the Land with corruption. These people, near and far, are the same people of the past, and their religions are only adaptations of the idolatrous ways of the past. Their laws are not the Laws of G-d and thus it is a sin to follow them, in place of G-d. It is a sin to worship and devote yourself to their inventions. Those who would do so, bring sin upon themselves. For such a thing will not happen in Israel, as Israel must be a nation of G-d.

Those who would dare bring the gods of foreigners into Israel, trying to lead Israel astray, will die for their actions, as they would enslave and ruin G-d's people--thus killing their spirits and corrupting their souls. The nations send many missionaries to Israel, to deceive the children of Israel and corrupt G-d's people, but this will not be tolerated. These foreigners will be expelled and all their property confiscated. Their houses of worship in Israel will be destroyed, as will all the places where the nations have worshipped their gods--they will be obliterated, that no sign should remain of these religions in Israel. Should a passerby from among the nations attempt to corrupt the people of Israel, this person will be expelled never to return again, unless he poses a threat, in which case he will be killed. But should a man of Israel turn to his brother in order to lead him and his people astray, this deceiver will be killed; he will not be spared for his traitorous act. Had he wanted to lead a life of corruption, he could have left Israel and cursed himself, but instead he sought to ruin his brother and curse his people--and he will die for that. To deceive and enslave your fellow, by leading him into death and corruption, is a "murderous" act, that will be punished by death.

The children of Israel belong to G-d, and G-d Will Rule Israel. Israel cannot have other judges, for G-d is the only Judge of Israel. Without G-d there would be no Israel, and an Israel that turns to gods is a betrayal of its name and of the Name of G-d. This matter is at the root of all things and will be treated most seriously. Such a betrayal of G-d cannot be tolerated, for it would lead Israel into Lawlessness.

The Third Commandment

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