Wednesday, July 1
Remember and Respond
You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3
As we learned yesterday, the Sinai Covenant began with what God had done. The response to the covenant is what Israel would do. At Mount Sinai God stated how He acted in grace: “I am the Lord (Yahweh) your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Then God declared how Israel was to respond (this was their part of the covenant). Israel was to have no other gods. Nothing was to come between them and the LORD (Yahweh). This is more than just the first commandment. It is ultimately the ONE commandment. The other commandments support and define this ONE.
As the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness they were tempted with many other “gods.
”
These were idols that the various local tribes worshiped. The gods/idols of the 21st-century look different, but they still come between believers and God. Today the other “gods” are those things to which people look for fulfillment, before they look to God. The “gods” which tempt today might be summarized as follows: “persons, possessions, power, position, profit, or pleasure.” Jesus warned against these things when he said:
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God
above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Matthew 6:31-33
As we journey through the wilderness of the pandemic, we are tempted to forget God. When we forget, we begin to put other “gods” before the Lord. By God’s grace, His Spirit continues to work through the Word to remind us: we are children of the triune Lord who created us, rescued us and lives in us.
Let us pray: Lord thank you that you’ve done everything for me. Help me seek you first and you only. During these days of uncertainty, let nothing come between you and me. Amen.
