We are the people of the one true God. But what does that involve? What does that require of us?
In today’s society, one god can be as good as another. In Biblical times, they were a plurality of gods for every single need. Some were for crops as Baal and his wife Ashera, others were for traveling in the sea as Poseidon, and others were there to control the forces of nature, as your favourite Nordic god, Thor.
But in Israel, YHWH was the God in control of all creation. In Job 42:2 we read “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” It is the God of Israel that controls all.
This is the same God the Church has. We share in the same promises and blessings that Israel received, cf. Ephe. 2:11-22. But we also share Israel’s responsibilities, and I would like to point out 3 of them as found them in what is known as the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20:1-11 deal with how humans are to relate to the God of Israel. We will see only verses 1-6. Notice, that they are not called “commandments” rather than “words”. God is just not telling us what to do, but it is a relation that is being spelled out.
20:1-3. Usually vs. 2 is taken as part of the first commandment. Why is it that we should not have no other gods? Because YHWH has delivered us from the gods of Egypt. It would be quite ridiculous that after witnessing the defeat of those gods, Israel should worship them, but that is what they are warned about in our next word.
The Isralites were prone to follow other gods. After Moses and Joshua died, they turn to other gods, cf. Judges 2. Worship of Ashera was ripe, 2 Kings 21:7. King Josiah finally did away with such worship, 2 Kings 23:14. Before this Reform, there were worshipping other idols in God’s own temple, cf. Ezekiel 8.
Sometimes, even objects that YHWH had given the people of Israel as a sign of his deliverance had become idols, as in the case of the bronze serpent, Num. 21:4-9, it had to be destroyed, 2 Kings 18:1-4.
We could go on numbering the times that the Isralites were unfaithful to YHWH but let us come to our situation.
As the Isralites, we were saved from slavery from Egypt through our baptism, Romans 6:1-7; I Cor. 10:1-20. We will talk about demons and other beings in the next sermon, but let us notice that we are called into considering how Israel carried out, and fail, in their calling to worship only YHWH.
Which are our idols? Food, cars, work, children, internet, youtube, kpop, books, a church leader, church itself? We found out about how Ravi Zacharia kept a hidden life, and many have defended his abuse for being a man of God!!
Jesus is the only sanctioned idol (icon in greek) that we may have, cf. Col. 1:15.
Let’s not fall into the errors that Israel fell into. We are told that what happened to them is an example for us today so we may not fall. And if we have fallen and have idols in our hearts and mind, let us turn to Jesus, and ask for forgiveness, and trust in him, that we will receive it, 1 John. 2:1-2.
Let me finish by reading the last words of this same epistle.
1 John. 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
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