The Big Ten #1

 

I hope you enjoyed and were encouraged by the 21 Days of Worship.

Sometimes we get so used to a section of scripture due to repeated recitation - like the Lord's Prayer - that we can grow numb to it's deep meaning. The same is true of the Ten Commandments. Let's take a fresh look: Exodus 20 begins:

And God spoke all these words, saying,

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

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

First, notice that God does not just dump His commandments; He gives us a reason to live by them. He had delivered the people of Israel out of bondage, out of a pagan culture with many false gods and idols. That should have caused them, and should cause us, to take His instructions seriously: He has saved us.

Second, we often get the wrong picture of this word "before" in verse 3, as if God is simply telling us that we should always put Him first in our order of priorities. But it's more than that. The idea of "before" is "in His presence", and since God is everywhere we can go, there is no place for other gods - not second, third, twenty-seventh, or ten thousandth place. God alone is worthy of our worship, love, and obedience. What is there today that you need to remove from His presence, and yours?