“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.”
— Exodus 20:2–3
In response to Moses’ taking the advice of Jethro in organizing the people, God spoke to Moses about two things: first, only He is God, and second, three times a year Israel was to hold a feast unto Him.
God told Moses, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exo. 20:2–3). His desire was not to give ordinances nor to organize the people, but to challenge them: How many gods do you have? Even today, this question is not easy to answer.
I know a dear Christian who loves the Lord very much. He asked how I felt about his staying a little longer at his job so he might receive a severance package before beginning to serve the Lord full-time. At the time I agreed to this, but afterward I regretted I had. Instead, I wish I told him to simply follow the Lord and forget about the severance package. This is what the Lord told those who desired to follow Him (Luke 9:57–62). That package was a God-replacement. I spent a lot of time repenting before the Lord for this. We should have no other gods besides the Lord.
We must be clear about one thing: besides the Lord, there is no god. When we become overly concerned for our security, we violate this first principle. In our lives there should be no other god besides the Lord.
Adapted from Joshua: A Life of Service, page 20.
Tomorrow: “No Other Source”