COMMANDMENT #1 EXODUS 20: 1-3

COMMANDMENT # 1    EXODUS 20: 1-3

And God spoke all these words:

  "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

   You shall have no other gods before me...."  (NIV)

COMMENTARY FROM LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE

      The Israelites had just come from Egypt, a land of many idols and many gods.  Because each god represented a different aspect of life, it was common to worship many gods in order to get the maximum number of blessings.  When God told His people to worship and believe in Him, that wasn't so hard for them---He was just one more god to add to the list.  But when He said, "You shall have no other gods before me,"  that was difficult for the people to accept.  But if they didn't learn that the God who led them out of Egypt was the only true god, they could not be His people--no matter how faithfully they kept the other nine commandments.  Thus, God made this His first commandment and emphasized it more than the others.  Today we can allow many things to become gods to us.  Money, fame, work, or pleasure can become gods when we concentrate too much on them for personal identity, meaning, and security.  No one sets out with the intention of worshipping these things.  But by the amount of time we devote to them, they can grow into gods that ultimately control our thoughts and energies.  Letting God hold the central place in our lives keeps these things from turning into gods.

   The Israelites had been in bondage to the Egyptians and God had led them out of that bondage in a major way.  I imagine how long the trek out of Egypt was after being mistreated by the captors.  I imagine working long hours with very little food or water.  I imagine they may have looked about like the children in the third world countries; severely malnourished, with the protruding bellies and big eyes.  But God remembered them.  When they  came up against the river and saw Pharaoh's army galloping toward them to slay them right there, God parted the waters and they walked across ON DRY LAND.  Then God took care of Pharaoh.  Why would we have any other God? 

   God will do nothing less for us today.  He is our God.  If His people, who are called by His Name will humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear from Heaven and will forgive our sins and heal our land.  (paraphrase of 2 Chronicles 7:14)

   I go about trying to identify gods in my life....the government is not one of them for me, but not everyone can say that, obviously.  I don't want to have ANY god before the Great I Am.  One day, I will stand before God as a Judge.  I want Him to say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."    I love my Lord and I like it when He is on the throne of my life.

   What about you?  Can you identify gods in your life?  Do you care?  For more information on how to become a child of The Most High God, click here:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html

You are also invited to visit Oma at http://omaslife.blogspot.com, http://omaspolitics.blogspot.com, and http://tbcspeaks.blogspot.com.  Leave a comment.