In our study of Exodus, we are spending a couple of weeks on the Ten Commandments. These ancient laws have captured my attention and interest. I’m curious how the commandments are discussed in the new covenant and how they apply to our lives today. In today’s post, I look at just the first two commandments – serving Him only!
#1
Then God gave the people all these instructions: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me.“
Exodus 20:1-3 NLT
While in the wilderness, Satan enticed Jesus to worship him. Jesus responded with this first commandment, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Notice how the commandment was given in the negative to the Israelites and stated positively to Satan.
The Apostle John records Jesus’ high priestly prayer where Jesus begins His prayer with, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Jesus affirms there is only one true God.
Last, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus teaches about our hearts’ attitudes towards treasure. In that passage, He reminds us we can serve only one master – we will either love the one and hate the other or vice versa. Jesus points us to serving only the one true God. We cannot worship God and … money, wealth, financial stability, family, children, position, or status.
#2
“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
Exodus 20:4-6 NLT
We know the ancient world was polytheistic – worshiping many gods. They represented those many gods with images and carvings. The Apostle Paul tells the story of the church at Thessaloniki, how they turned from their idols toward God and realigned their lives to serve the one true living God—leaving their idols to crumble in the dust. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
Luke reports in Acts that one stipulation the Christians Jews had for Gentiles who were coming to Jesus was that they would no longer eat the food sacrificed to idols. This was symbolic that they were giving up their idol worship.
In her teaching on this commandment, Jen Wilkin raises a good question. How could we even capture the appropriate facial expression of our one true God? How could we whittle an image representing the extent of His characteristics, mercy, grace, justice, that God is love and light?
But we do have a tendency to limit our limitless God. We want to box Him in so we can explain or at least feel comfortable with His attributes that resonate more clearly with us. His sovereignty and permissive will are mysterious! Holding the tension of the mystery of God that is beyond our understanding is challenging.
The Apostle John ends his first letter with the simple sentence, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols – meaning any box we might create to explain our God.
Summary
These first two commandments go hand in hand. There is only one true God, and we worship Him only. We don’t let lesser gods have any place in our hearts and minds. As we contemplate our allegiance to the one true God, we allow ourselves to rest in Him, even in the mystery of all that He is.
Prayer
Father, you who spoke the command
To worship You only, who warned of the trickery
Of idols, create in us a single-minded spirit —
One that is rightly ordered, with a clear focus
Knowing that You alone are our Creator,
Redeemer, and Friend. Create in us pure
Hearts that sing with the choirs of Heaven,
You alone are worthy of honor and praise. Amen.
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