Devotional - September 13, 2023
Scripture: Exodus 2: 3 “You shall have no other gods before/besides me.
So, what is a god to you? The word god is translated from the word "el". It is a reference to one who is all powerful, and because of that, their will is uncontested. This command addresses the problem the Israelites faced when contrasting their theology of having one God to the many gods found in the Egyptian religion and others. But you say, why was there a problem? The Israelites had their own faith, who cared what the Egyptians believed. Well, ...theoretically that should have been true. The problem was, the longer they lived with the Egyptians, the more they started to accept some of their ways and ideologies while losing their own. We say, how could they do such a thing? Well, ...why do we? Why do we turn from the realities of God to our own imagination? Why do we allow things to supersede our allegiance to God and the ways of God experienced through Jesus Christ? It is because they, like ourselves, had a propensity to allow something other than God, or maybe even the desire to be like God, to call to them (Gen 3:5). Maybe, the Ten Commandments do more than guide us in the ways of God. Maybe, they also reveal propensities alive in our own soul. They warn us of things we are susceptible to, vulnerabilities that we need to be aware of and control. Think about God's warning to Cain (Genesis 4: 6-7). In this command, God is telling the Israelites that they will be tempted to follow other gods, resist the temptation. But why, why does God prohibit such activity? Is it because God is a narcissist, not wanting any others to have their attention? Or is God like a concerned parent Who knows what happens when people make other things their god, or make them equal to God. We know it is the latter. So why do we do it? One answer is, for some, it makes life easier. A person does not have to go through the process of building a relationship with God if they can settle for a substitute ideology or pseudo god. Especially, if that substitute thinks and acts the way they do. When God gave Moses the name LORD (YHWH) it meant, I AM. Meaning, among other things, if you want to know who I AM, you will have to seek Me with your whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13 and Hebrews 11:6). The blessing found in this command is that we serve a God who knows, from time to time, we will struggle in this way. When we do, rather than running from God (Gen 3:8). We need to do the opposite. We do not want to end up like Adam and Eve who ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (aka, to be like god) and ended up east of Eden. Let us instead run to God and confess what happened (1 John 1: 9-10 and Hebrews 4:16) and in doing so learn a little more about ourselves and where we are vulnerable. Because when we do, it becomes a growing process which will make our relationship with God stronger in the end.
Let us pray, Gracious God, You know us. You know we can be lured away from You by many things. We give thanks that You are our Redeemer. You do not abandon or forsake us, but instead You save us, even from ourselves. Hear the prayers of our hearts. Our prayers for our loved ones, bless them Lord in accordance with their needs. Hear as we pray for our church, continue to guide us, that we may be Your people, in Jesus name, Amen.
God's peace,
Pastor Brian
