New City Catechism IX
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Q: I wonder what you love the most?
Have a think about it, search your hearts and see what you come up with...
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
When God gave the ten commandments to His people, they had only just experienced His saving power.
Just 3 months earlier, God had saved them from Egypt, parted the waters of the Red Sea, destroyed the Egyptians who were chasing them and brought His people to Mount Sinai.
God had provided them meat in the form of Quail and a bread like substance called Manna, so they wouldn’t go hungry.
He had brought water from a rock so they wouldn’t go thirsty.
He delivered them from the Amalekites who came up against them.
And now they have gathered at the foot of the Mountain and witnessed through various sounds and sights the Lord descending upon the top of the mountain - the bible says smoke covered the mountain, like smoke from a furnace.
The mountain trembled violently.
The sound of a trumpet grew louder and louder.
Having gone up to the Mountain to talk with God, Moses came back and told all the Israelites what he had been given by God - His laws and decrees and the people replied:
3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”
By this time, the people of Israel knew they had been rescued by God, chosen by God as His special possession, called by God to be His people and loved by God.
They knew He was real and that He could be trusted.
Why do you think God gave them the first three commandments?
No other Gods
No idols
Don’t misues the name of the Lord
Because they already had!
They had come out of the land of Egypt - they had been surrounded by false Gods and had worshipped them, followed after idols.
They had forgotten that they God was the God that brought Joseph to Egypt and had saved them from the famine that happened in Joseph’s day.
Joseph’s father Jacob had been given the name Israel by God and yet the people had forgotten who they were and to whom they belonged.
You see, God as their Creator and the one who had rescued them, longed for His people to know, love and worship Him alone.
Why? Because He wants the best for His people and He knows that following after false gods is a road to no-where.
We know one of the most influencial false gods of the Old Testament times was
Baal - Golden Calf
Today there are other gods that people follow after:
Shiva - One of the principal gods in Hinduism
Shango - Yoruba Religion, which originated in Nigeria and Benin and taken to countries like Haiti and Brazil through the slave trade
Notice God didn’t just say not to worship other gods, He also told them HOW they should worship Him:
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Why do you think God didn’t want us to make an image of Him or any other false god?
Because if left to us, we will come up with our own version of God.
We might leave things out or add things that aren’t correct.
However, hard we try we cannot make an accurate image of God.
Our worship of God must flow from who God has revealed himself to be. And teh only accurate representation of God that we have is found in His word, the bible and in the person of Jesus - and what we know of Jesus is also found in God’s word.
And did you notice in verse 5 God is recorded as saying He is a jealous God. What did you think of that. Why is God a jealous God - is that a good thing?
We often see words associated with God and we apply how we use those words. We get jealous about a lot of things - we want what others have, we wish our lives were going well because we think others lives are going well - we wish we could be like so and so.
But God’s jealousy is not like ours - it is pure and holy.
The best way to think of God’s jealousy is like the jealousy a Husband might have for his Wife, or a wofe for her husband. Not a jealousy that makes us act badly, but that pulls on our hearts if we think that the love we have for one person, that we have cemented through promises or vows was to then be shared with someone else.
Of course there are good things that we are called to do - but when we make them an idol, they reduce or diminish our love for God.
Do you have your hearts ready?
Why not put God at the centre...
Religion - Buddhist Altar
Power
Shopping
Family
What other things do you love, but that can sometimes squeeze out your love and time for God?
Finally, God said in our worship of God - we shouldn’t misue his name.
Can you think of some ways in which we might do that?
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
What is God talking about here?
Could be swearing - but what about prayer? We are told to pray - to pray in Jesus name.
Do we pray in a way that is in line with the God who has revealed Himself in His word?
You see, God is concerned to protect His name and His reputation - when you think about it His name and reputation is what draws other people to God and to put their trust in Him for their lives now and into the future.
So it goes to reason, those who already love and worship God are also showing people what God is like.
If we aren’t worshipping Him and loving for Him in a way that is true to who He is - how will others come to see the God of the bible for who He is?
And really - our relationship with someone does impact how we relate to them, live for them and speak to and about them.
If we know God, love Him above all other things, worship Him and Him alone and find our joy and purpose in Him - we won’t follow after other gods, we won’t try to make God in our image and we won’y misues His name.
It seems to me that the big take home point from today is that God longs for us to put our trust in Him and He alone.
We all put our trust in someone or something - may we consider who we put our trsut in today and if necessary re-commit to trusting God and He alone from this day forward.