The Seriousness of the First Commandment

In Exodus 20:3, we read the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me" - period. This commandment is first and we see in Deuteronomy 13: 6-11 how serious God takes the breaking of this commandment. Deuteronomy 13 deals specifically with individuals who seek to lead the people of God to "go after other gods" and serve them. It deals with the specific violation of the first commandment. In Deuteronomy 13:6-7, we read of those who are closest to us tempting us to follow other gods.

“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other . ."

Notice the description of some of these people. The wife "you embrace." The friend "who is as your own soul." You son and daughter and your brother. These are the closest friends and family members. These are the ones a person greatly love. But, these are the ones described as enticing the people "secretly" to go and serve other gods. How did God tell the people to respond to these closest to them when they tempt them to follow other gods? We have the answer in Deuteronomy 13:8-11:

"you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you."

The people are told not to yield to or listen to the one tempting them to go after other gods. They were not to pity him, spare him, or conceal him. But they were instructed to kill him. In fact, it says that the one being tempted by these close friends and family were to be the "first against him to put him to death." This is amazing. Imagine being the first one to throw the killing stone against the wife "you embrace" or "cherish" (NASB), your daughter or son, or friend "who is as your own soul!" Again, what we see is that God in the nation of Israel would not let anyone draw His people away from Him. The first commandment is serious and the nation of Israel was to treat it as so. God alone is God and there is no other. This was done so that "all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do such wickedness as this among you."

We do not practice this in the church today, but God still takes the breaking of the first commandment as serious. The church today practices discipline such as found in Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-5. We are still called to not listen to those false teachers who would lead us to other gods for they can do serious damage to the faith. We are called to "contend for the faith" (Jude 3), not to yield to them (Galatians 2:4-5), and even consider them as "accursed" (Galatians 1:8-9). "Vengeance" is the Lord's (Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30) and one day he will judge those who seek to lead His people toward seeking and serving false gods. Indeed, this is a serious commandment. May we pray that God would give us discernment and wisdom to see false teachers even when they may be our closest friends. God is our supreme love and deserving our full devotion and exclusive loyalty. May He also give us grace never to become one of these individuals that "secretly" leads others to serve false gods. Thank God that He is a merciful God always forgiving those who in Christ come, confess and ask (1 John 1:9).

The Heavens and God's Glory

King David writes in Psalms 19:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat. Psalms 19.1-6

Do you see the glory of God in the sky? Here are two tools that will allow you to see better than we ever have in history, but still less than is out there, the glory of God in the Universe.

WorldWide Telescope - This is brand new and I believe it requires one to download some free software. Check out the requirements before downloading.

Google Sky

When viewing these images, it should bring us to a state of awe concerning our Sovereign Almighty God. As with any modern day natural history education, there are many presuppositions in the comments presented.

Unlimited God

A few days ago, I was reading in Numbers 11 about when the Israelites began complaining about only having manna to eat. God told Moses that he would send them meat enough for a whole month to eat until it came out their noses and became loathsome to them! Then Moses ask God this question and heard this reply from God:

But Moses said, "The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, 'I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.' "Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?" The LORD said to Moses, "Is the LORD'S power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not" (Num. 11.21-23)

Even Moses had unbelief at times. It reminds me also of Jesus and His disciples when He fed the multitudes. God's answer is amazing. "Is the Lord's power limited" or literally it reads "Is the Lord's hand short?" He has unlimited power to do anything beyond what we can ask or think. Moses had seen the great Exodus and God's power through it, yet for a moment he doubted.

We too have seen the mighty work of God if we are a believer in the raising of our dead self to life - as much of a miracle as Jesus raising Lazarus. We really have no reason to ever doubt God. We should also be encouraged that since there is nothing too large for God to do, we can ask Him to do those things which we can't see how they will happen. This is especially true for those things which he tells us to do in His Word. If God makes us a promise in His Word, He has the unlimited power to keep it. We must remember, however, that God sometimes has a different purpose outside of our plans. The three Hebrew children when threatened to be thrown into the fiery furnace unless they bowed to the image of the king, professed,

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (Daniel 3.17-18)

They knew God had the power to save them from the furnace. They knew that God might not choose to save them. But these two thoughts did not deter them from doing what was right. Even if things don't go our way, let us still hold firm to our faith that God's power is not limited and He will do His holy purpose. Let us not yield to unbelief. We will trust Him and believe that He does all things for the good of His children. For that reason, "let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Heb. 10.23).