Exodus
20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Who brought them out of Egypt? God. Who destroyed the armies of the Egyptians and the Amalekites? God. Who spoke to them from heaven, making the earth to shake? God. It just makes good sense that God would command that they worship no one but Him. The Egyptian magicians were pretty good, but they were powerless before the Almighty, and in just a few months time, the Israelites had witnessed miracle after miracle from a living God. Why would God even have to include this command? It's a no brainer! Well God did include it, and it's easy to see why. The New Testament teaches us that the Law was given to reveal our sinful condition, and when we honestly compare ourselves to His Law, we see our great need for forgiveness and a Saviour. The Law says "thou shalt have no other god's before me", and yet our flesh craves everything but Him. In our selfishness we put money, possessions, sports, people, and even religion before our Creator. Even our good works are often done with the wrong intentions, and show that we have lifted ourselves up on a pedestal above Him. Is all hope lost? If we have failed by breaking even a "no brainer" command of God, what will become of us? We can all be comforted to know that Jesus, God's own Son, became flesh, and lived according to every single command of the Father. He didn't miss a one! And now He has become our Great High Priest, and will freely give us His righteous standing before the Father if we will believe on Him. Now that's a "no brainer"!
Who brought them out of Egypt? God. Who destroyed the armies of the Egyptians and the Amalekites? God. Who spoke to them from heaven, making the earth to shake? God. It just makes good sense that God would command that they worship no one but Him. The Egyptian magicians were pretty good, but they were powerless before the Almighty, and in just a few months time, the Israelites had witnessed miracle after miracle from a living God. Why would God even have to include this command? It's a no brainer! Well God did include it, and it's easy to see why. The New Testament teaches us that the Law was given to reveal our sinful condition, and when we honestly compare ourselves to His Law, we see our great need for forgiveness and a Saviour. The Law says "thou shalt have no other god's before me", and yet our flesh craves everything but Him. In our selfishness we put money, possessions, sports, people, and even religion before our Creator. Even our good works are often done with the wrong intentions, and show that we have lifted ourselves up on a pedestal above Him. Is all hope lost? If we have failed by breaking even a "no brainer" command of God, what will become of us? We can all be comforted to know that Jesus, God's own Son, became flesh, and lived according to every single command of the Father. He didn't miss a one! And now He has become our Great High Priest, and will freely give us His righteous standing before the Father if we will believe on Him. Now that's a "no brainer"!
This reminds me of the time in the Gospel of John chapter 6. Jesus was teaching and the content was difficult to understand or recieve and many of his followers left Him. Jesus then asked the 12 disciples if they were going to leave also and Peter being the voice of the group answered saying, "where else would we go, You alone have the words of eternal life." Peter was also in essence saying to stay with Jesus is a "no brainier".
ReplyDeleteIt's a no brainer because God is undertsood by the heart not the brain. Most of the time my mind cannot understand but my heart knows exactly what's up. Actually, our mind is at enmity against God or at war. But when we receive the sacrifice that Jesus made we have freedom to come to God with our sin's and recieve forgiveness and cleansing. What are we waiting on?
ReplyDeleteI love how incredibly simple it is for us to live how God wants us to. He lays it out on the table, a 'no brainer', and only wants what He asks of us. Sadly, we complicate far too often. I tried to get closer to God over the past year, but only fairly recently did I realize I had an idol in my life. No, I didn't worship it, but it consumed most of my thoughts. Thankfully God is merciful and shared some of His wisdom with me and has helped me through my hard time. I can't wait to see what happens next!
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