Nougat 2

When giving instructions, what we say first is usually very important. I would argue that this holds true for God’s commandments. As such, the instructions that accompany the first commandment invites more than a moment’s pause. With that, I invite you to consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Exodus 20:4-5 NLT

[4] “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. [5] You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

No Other Gods part 2

As implied in the intro to our Nougat, this first commandment seems to be of greatest import to YHWH. It provides the foundation for all else that follows. God does not leave understanding of this most critical commandment to chance. It is all spelt out. It provides background, command, instructions, and consequences. We looked at the background to our relationship with God yesterday.

Having explained the ‘why’ we should have no other gods, YHWH further qualifies what that means. The Children of Israel are told, “Do not even think you’re going to create your own gods with carvings or any other medium. Make nothing (or no-one) else the subject or object of your worship. [We don’t play like that] I YHWH, am the source of worship and nought else.

Why would God be ‘dogmatic’ about singularity of worship and take offence to other gods being worshipped?

Self-Check

Do we consciously or tacitly worship other gods? How about carved/ graven images?

Application

The Children of Israel were leaving a land that worshipped a plethora of different gods. In addition to worship of the sun and moon, they had carvings (statues) with images to represent the deities associated with the concepts. Many of those deities seem to have had human or para-human counterparts.

From the days of ancient emperors and kings, evidence suggests that worship of humans in power was a way of life. I suspect that this derived from the premise that if a leader is a god, s/he is perfect and above punishment – promoting lots of abuse with impunity.

Sounds familiar in our time?

Can you imagine if our leaders today were idolised?

It also begs our examination of the almost ‘careless’ use of the terms ‘fan’ (as in fanatic) and ‘idol’.

Do we, as believers, feel comfortable using either term or encourage others to use them lightly?

In trivialising those terms, are we possibly trivialising God’s role in our lives?

Although we live under Grace, could it be that the onslaught of violence and trauma faced by our children and youth represents the impact of idolatry on the 3rd and 4th generations?

I’m not trying to present YHWH as a vengeful, constantly punitive deity. But I dare to suggest that in giving the nod to idols, i.e., worshipping other gods, we remove YHWH’s covering protection from over our lives and subsequent generations.

Why the subsequent generations, you ask. I propose that the next generation is with us when we’re promoting our YHWH-less lifestyle. If they follow suit, by the time of the 3rd generation, there are few who would seek to worship YHWH … With the coverage being removed, spiritual anarchy and bondages flourish. Our children are prime targets. Then what currently ensues is normative.

Assignment

As we identify idols that have become part of our lives:

a) Let’s repent of idolatry, and worship God in Spirit and Truth

b) Let’s invite God’s Spirit to flush out any remaining desire for other gods

c) Let’s invite Y’shua to reign supreme, allowing us access to worship YHWH alone.

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May all we seek be found in Christ