Exodus 20:3 - The One and Only God

October 20

Exodus 20:3 - “You shall have no other gods before Me."

Message: The One and Only God

Time: Most likely this book was penned by Moses. The book covers a period of approximately eighty years, from shortly before Moses’s birth (c. 1526 BC) to the events that occurred at Mount Sinai in 1446 BC. The Bible's message of redemption appears in Exodus as well: though the children of Israel were enslaved in a foreign land, God miraculously and dramatically delivered them to freedom, provided the Law, established the system of sacrifice, and gave instructions on building of His tabernacle. God began to fulfill His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What the Lord is Saying: 

The idea of no other gods could be thought of that there are rival gods to our Lord God and God simply rises above them all. However, I think it is more apt to say that since God is omnipresent there are no other gods that are truly God. What we have is pretenders. What we have are people or things that we sometimes think are gods. 

Jeremiah 23:24

“Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

Thus, we are directed throughout scripture to worship only God. And we see that God disciplined Israel when they worshipped other Gods. 

Judges 2:11-15

11 Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, 12 and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 So they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

I was speaking to a friend that lives in Kenya and had asked her about her daughter who is 15 and she mentioned that her daughter is not working hard in school and is instead spending much time watching movies and then remarked that because of this she now has ulcers. It was interesting how she so clearly connected these ulcers with her behavior. I have another friend that remarks about this at times when he experiences pain in his life. 

I wonder why in our culture we distant ourselves sometimes from this sort of thinking. But Scripture does paint this picture. And that is that bad things can be the result of His anger against us? 

October 21

So we must focus and look forward to the day when our minds and lives are completely focused on God and loving Him. 

Revelation 7:9-12

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Wayne Watson has a song called "No Other Gods" in which he talks about other gods in his life that he is giving air time to and getting him off track and he can't sleep. Daily I need to renew my mind. 

Summary: It is good to me and my family and life when God is the only that I worship. 

Promise: Tabletalk states -- "We break the first commandment every time we seek our ultimate satisfaction in a source other than God. We keep it whenever we seek to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength."

Prayer: O Father God, you are holy. I am not. But you have transformed me by saving me and making me your Child forever. Each day I have a choice of where I give my allegiance. Lately, stress has been at the forefront. I've been letting my work commitments get the best of me. I still want you to be number one in my life but Lord I need to act like it every moment of every day. Give me your peace. Thank you for good friends and times of fellowship. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to you God forever and ever. Help me God to not get distracted and to keep You at the forefront of my life. I want to have the strength to do things after my work hours. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God. 

Bringing me to Christ

The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects. The Law and Our Powerlessness - We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. The Law our Guardian - The law is not a tool of justifying me, but rather it is an instrument to bring me to Christ and show me my need for Him. 

Guiding our Lives

The Guidance of the Law - The Law is a guide in our lives for what pleases God and what it looks like to walk in holiness. The Antinomian Error - We were slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to obedience and righteousness. Judaizing Legalism - The error of Judaizing Legalism is the idea that obedience brings about God's acceptance of us for salvation. The Deadliest Form of Legalism - This legalism is that one would get too focused on external practices instead of focusing on the heart.

The Law is our Guide

The Centrality of Love - Love and the law go hand in hand. We do not belong to God unless we love our neighbor, and we cannot love our neighbor without knowing and doing God‘s law and loving him. Finding Guidance in the Law - God's Word, all if it, is a guide to my life and I am to meditate on it continually.