Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.”
The first of the Ten Commandments is
that Israel was to worship the one true God. Worshiping false gods would
be setting up rivals to Him and thus overlooking His uniqueness. Unfortunately
Israel often disobeyed this very first command by worshiping the idols of other
nations. This eventually resulted in her being exiled to Assyria and Babylonia.[7]
The Israelites had just come from Egypt, a land of many
idols and many gods. Because each god
represented a different aspect of life, it was common to worship many gods in
order to get the maximum number of blessings.
When God told his people to worship and believe in him, that wasn’t so
bad for them he was just one more god to add to the list. But when he said, “Worship only me,” that was
difficult for the people to accept.
2. Assyria
2 Kings 17:6a & 7, In the ninth
year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the
Israelites to Assyria. All this took
place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from
under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods.[8]
The defeat and deportation of Israel took place
because the Israelites . . . sinned against God. In view of His miraculous
liberating redemption of the nation from Egyptian bondage, their sin was even
more serious. How ironic that the last king Hoshea had sought help from Egypt
when 724 years earlier Israel had finally escaped from Egypt.
Israel did not forsake the
Lord completely but worshiped
other gods. They compromised with their pagan neighbors and followed the
practices of the very nations God dispossessed because of their
wickedness.[9]
3. Babylon
2 Kings 24:20 & 25:1b, It was because
of the Lord’s anger that all this
happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his
presence. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and
built siege works all around it.[10]
Again the reason for Judah’s troubles is said to be the
Lord‘s anger with His people
for their had sin against God and worshipped other gods. Therefore He cast them out of his land.[11]
4. What does Jesus say?
Matthew 4:8-10, Again, the devil took
him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and
their splendor. “All this I
will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 10Jesus said to him, “Away from
me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” [12]
This was Satan’s final test of Jesus in
the desert. It related to God’s plan for
Jesus. It was and is God’s design that Jesus Christ rule the world. Satan showed
Jesus the kingdoms of the world with all their splendor. These
kingdoms presently are Satan’s, as he is “the god of this Age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). He had the power to give all these
kingdoms to Jesus at that time—if only Jesus would bow down and
worship him. Satan was saying, “I can accomplish the will of God for You
and You can have the kingdoms of this world right now.” This of course would
have meant Jesus would never have gone to the cross. He supposedly could have
been the King of kings without the cross. However, this would have thwarted God’s
plan for salvation and would have meant Jesus was worshiping an inferior false
god. His response, from Deuteronomy 6:13, was
that God alone should be worshiped and served. Jesus resisted this
temptation.
Interestingly
Satan’s temptations of Eve in the Garden of Eden correspond to those of Jesus
in the desert. Satan appealed to the physical appetite, the desire for personal
gain, and an easy path to power or glory.
“Man” failed God in the Garden of Eden and has continued to fail God by
worshipping other false gods. “Man”
accepted Satan’s temptations, but Jesus did not. Jesus turned away Satan and because of this
he was able to be the perfect sacrifice for sin.
5. Worshipping The Speakers?
A visiting minister was substituting for the
famed pastor Henry Ward Beecher. A large audience had assembled to hear the
popular pastor. At the appointed hour, the visiting minister entered the
pulpit. Learning that Beecher was not to preach, several began to move toward
the doors. The visiting minister stood and called out, “All who have come here
today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church! All who
have come to worship God, keep your seats!” No one then left.
6. Do you worship other gods?
All of mankind is engaged in worship…of one kind or
another. This question is what kind of
worship. Some of us choose to worship
God. The result is joy, peace, and
abundance, just to name a few. Others
distance themselves from God by foolishly worshiping things such as fame,
fortune, or personal gratification. We
worship ourselves as gods whenever we place our love for material possessions
or personal gain above our love for God, our families, or another person. When we yield to the temptations of this
world we find ourselves engaged in a struggle between good and evil. The greatest lie Satan ever got humans to
believe is that we can be gods.
Genesis 3:4, “You will not surely die,” the serpent said
to the woman. “For God knows that when
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good
and evil.” [14]
Also let me be clear that there is only one God that is
to be worshipped and that is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The God of the Old and New Testament is the
one true God. Those that worship Allah,
Buddha, or Cows are not worshipping the Lord.
Even Jews are no longer worshipping God, because they refuse His Son and
so they refuse Him.
John
14:6-17, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really
knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have
seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will
be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you
know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who
has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you
believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say
to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is
doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father
is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. [15]
7. How can we ensure we worship only God?
(1) Fellowship of
the Church: Colossians 3:16, Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with
all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in
your hearts to God.[16]
(2) Prayer to
God: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Be
joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s
will for you in Christ Jesus. [17]
(3) Reading His
Word: Deuteronomy 17:19, It is to be
with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to
revere the Lord his God and follow
carefully all the words of this law and these decrees[18]
(4) Communion with
Him: Acts 2:42, They devoted themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and
to prayer. [19]
(5) Service to
others: Galatians 6:10, Therefore, as we
have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong
to the family of believers.[20]
[4]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas
Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An
exposition of the scriptures. Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[5]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas
Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An
exposition of the scriptures. Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[6]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas
Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An
exposition of the scriptures. Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[7]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas
Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An
exposition of the scriptures. Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[9]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas
Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An
exposition of the scriptures. Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[11]
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas
Theological Seminary. 1983-c1985. The Bible knowledge commentary : An
exposition of the scriptures. Victor Books: Wheaton, IL
[13]
Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of
7700 illustrations : [a treasury of
illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and
Christian workers]. Bible Communications: Garland TX
