I often leave home early to commute to work. It’s part of the reality of living in the metro-Chicago region. Sometimes I dress in the dark so as not to wake up my wife. Occasionally when I put a shirt on, I’ll get the top button wrong and later discover that my shirt is on cockeyed. If you get the first button wrong, the rest just doesn’t work.

The very first command God gave Israel at Sinai was of ultimate importance, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Deut. 5:7). If Israel got this “button” wrong, it would be impossible to follow the Lord faithfully in any other area of their lives.

Deuteronomy chapter 13 highlights the importance of the first commandment. Moses warned Israel that if anyone—a religious leader, family member, or town government—tried to lead people astray and worship other gods, they were to be harshly judged. Moses starkly commanded, “You must purge the evil from among you” (v. 5). There was too much at stake.

Imagine this in the context of a marriage relationship. No matter who might tell you not to be faithful to your spouse—whether co-worker, best friend, or parent—you should not listen to them because it would destroy your marriage covenant. In the same way, Israel’s primary calling was to their relationship with the Lord.

We also have been called into this exclusive relationship with God, made possible through the work of the Lord Jesus. We need to protect that relationship from false teaching and the idols that compete for our loyalty. As Paul reminded the church in Galatia, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Gal. 1:8).

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