No Other Gods

By: Jenifer Metzger

Then God spoke all these words:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of 

Egypt, out of the place of slavery. (#1) Do not have other gods besides me.

(#2) Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything

in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the

earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I,

the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the

fathers’ iniquity, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate

me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who

love me and keep my commands. (#3) Do not misuse the name of the

Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished

who misuses his name. (#4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: 

You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day

is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you,

your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock,

or the resident alien who is within your city gates. For the Lord made

the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days;

then he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath

day and declared it holy. (#5) Honor your father and your mother so that

you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

(#6) Do not murder. (#7) Do not commit adultery. (#8) Do not steal. (#9) Do not give false

testimony against your neighbor. (#10) Do not covet your neighbor’s house.

Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or

donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Exodus 20:1-17

The Ten Commandments. Our rules to live by. Our God given laws. Today I want to look at the very first commandment; "Do not have any other gods before Me." God was very clear on this commandment. I also believe He put it as the first for a very important reason.

When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the Israelites had just come from slavery. They had been captive for many, many years. Now, they were free, all thanks and glory to God alone. But they were not acting like it. They weren't acting like God did this huge thing for them. They were whiny and grouchy. They were complaining about every little thing. They acted like they couldn't trust in God, the God who did this massive thing for them and still had them in the very palm of His hands. Not only did they become a whiny group, but they were now worshiping a false god. An inanimate object. Something that wasn't living, that couldn't see or hear, and something that surely could not provide for them or save them.

God wanted them to get their focus back. He wanted them to remember Who He was, what He did, and what He was capable of. He wanted to give them a starting point for following Him. Have no other gods. Put God and God alone first.

When we put God and God alone first in our heart and life, I mean truly put God first and have absolutely no other god before Him, the other nine Commandments fall into place. Think about it. If you truly put God first in your life and have no other god before Him, you deeply desire to live for Him and honor Him in all you do, say, and think. When He is first, you don't want to make an idol, you don't want to misuse His name, you want to have a Sabbath day to honor Him, you want to honor your parents, you don't want to kill, you don't want to commit adultery, you don't want to steal, you don't want to lie, and you don't want to be jealous. You know that those things hurt the heart of our Creator and put a barrier between you and Him so you do your very best to avoid breaking those commands. If we struggle with any of those nine commands, we must go back to the first command and put God back as number one.

Are you struggling with any of the Ten Commandments? Maybe you have hate in your heart for someone, that is as good as murder. Maybe you are jealous of someone, that is coveting. Maybe you are gossiping, that is giving false testimony. Maybe you are having thoughts about someone who isn't your husband, that is adultery. Maybe your phone has become an idol in your life. If you are struggling with any commandments, go back to number one and put God first. Have no other gods.

It's time for Share A Link Wednesday! Each Wednesday we invite you to leave a link to your latest blog post in the comments. We still desire to connect women of God with one another and encourage each other in Christ. So grab a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea, sit back and visit a few blogs. Be encouraged and share your own stories.