Day 1171: A call to faithfulness - Exodus 20 vs 1 - 6

1-3 And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. 4-6 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:1-6 English Standard Version

We come to what is commonly called 'The Ten Commandments'. The very words God spoke to Moses and which were written ‘with the finger of God upon tablets of stone’. (Exodus 31:18) While given to Israel, they are words that’ve shaped many nations and formed the basis of morality. In Mark's gospel we read how a scribe asked Jesus: “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’” Mark 12:28-30

He quoted Deuteronomy 6:4, which followed the second time God gave Israel the commandments, and gives the fundamental reason for keeping God's law as a wholehearted love and devotion. The mere outward keeping of the Law was never God's intention. Jesus is the only man who ever lived who loved God with all His heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. He said “He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” (John 8:29) No other person could ever say that.

It's important to notice to whom God spoke these commandments. (vs 1-3)

They were given to a people He had already rescued and called to Himself! The commands were not going to 'enslave' them as He had already saved them out of bondage. They were given so that they might enjoy the new life He called them to. The opening words show that God chose them much as a man would choose a wife. So in Deuteronomy He said: “Don’t follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the land.” (Deuteronomy 6:14-15) With that in mind, why are vs 4-6 so important?

Because the making of an idol is the greatest insult anyone can ever pay God. In future years the prophet Hoshea would compare it to prostitution. “My people consult a wooden idol, and a diviner’s rod speaks to them. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.” (Hoshea 4:12) The apostle Paul brought this as the great charge against the world when he said: “Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:21-23)

The Western world appears to have dispensed with idols like these, though they still exist in many Eastern countries. I say 'appears', because statues of Jesus and Mary are still idolized by some. And what of football, money, and celebrity status? The seriousness of idolatry is seen in God saying He would visit the iniquity of people even to the third and fourth generation!

So what an amazing blessing then the gospel is! It caused a riot in Ephesus when Paul proclaimed that “gods made by human hands are no gods at all.” (Acts 19:26) Many of them who'd practised sorcery burned their scrolls publicly. And to the Christians he wrote “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 6:25-27) The gospel wipes away all our sin, and makes us fit to be Christ's bride.