DO NOT WORSHIP ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE LORD GOD

PROCLAMATION

“For thou shalt worship no other god; for The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  “Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.”  Exodus 34:14 and 34:17 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After The Lord God gave Moses specific instructions for the Israelites regarding the Sabbath Day, He gave him two tablets of stone on which were inscribed with the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 31:18)  However, because Moses stayed on the mountain of God for such a long time, the people made themselves a god, an idol cast in gold, in the shape of a calf, and worshiped it. (Exodus 32:1-8)  When Moses came down from the mountain of God and saw the golden calf and the people drinking and dancing, he threw the stone tablets at them and then he destroyed the golden calf. (Exodus 32:19-20)  Then he said, “Whoever is for The Lord, come to me.”  All those who did not come to him were killed. (Exodus 32:26-29)  Then Moses chiseled out two smooth stone tablets, like the one he had broken, and went back up to the mountain of God. (Exodus 34:1-5)  This time when Moses came down the mountain his face was radiant and the people feared him and they listened to him. (Exodus 34:29-35)  Then the Israelites gathered all of the materials as The Lord God had instructed and the built the tabernacle (Exodus 36:8-38), the Arc of The Covenant (Exodus 37:1-9), and all of the other things as He had instructed them. (Exodus 37:10 through 40:33)

 

APPLICATION

The first of the Ten Commandments is: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)  In His explanation of the second of the Ten Commandments He said, “… for I, The Lord your God, am a jealous God …” (Exodus 20:5)  Here in this text, He is reiterating that He is jealous, and that He wants nothing to be worshiped but Him.  Unfortunately, today some people worship other gods, and some people worship other people as their god.  Some people worship their spouse, their loved one, their children, or their grandchildren.  Some people even worship their cars, their homes, or some other material object which they possess.  Worship of anything other than The Lord God is a sin, and that offends His jealous nature.

 

DO NOT WORSHIP OTHER GODS

PROCLAMATION

“When The Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, He commanded them: ‘Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them.’”  2 Kings 17:35 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

When Ahaz son of Jotham was king of Judah and Hoshea son of Elah was king of Israel, and Judah had joined Israel in doing evil in the eyes of The Lord, He allowed Shalmaneser king of Assyria to attack and enslave the people of Israel and Judah. (2 Kings 17:5-6)  This happened because the Israelites had sinned against The Lord God. (2 Kings 17:7-17)  He had warned them through the prophets not to do this, and to turn from their evil ways but they would not listen. (2 Kings 17:12-14)  This was why The Lord rejected all of the people of Israel. (2 Kings 17:20)  He allowed them to be captured and taken away from their homes.  Then He let the king of Assyria bring in other people to live in the cities to replace the Israelites. (2 Kings 17:23-24)  The Lord God had commanded them not to worship, bow down to, serve, or offer sacrifices to any other god but they were stubborn and would not listen to Him.  They persisted in their sinful practices. (2 Kings 17:38-40)

APPLICATION

It is sad to admit that after all of the things that The Lord has brought us through, and the things that He has blessed us with, we still do not thank Him, praise Him, or obey Him as we should.  We only worship Him for a couple of hours, one day of the week.  The rest of the time we go on about our sinful, world-like, activities.  We put so many things ahead of Him.  While we do not call these things our gods, we “worship” them and give them the majority of our time, talent, and treasure.  If we count up the time that we spend giving The Lord God prayer, praise, and worship, and studying His Holy Word, we would be embarrassed by how little time we give Him.  Let us plan to give The Lord more of our time and let us stop worshiping the “gods” that we have placed before Him.  It is not possible to truly serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24)

DO NOT WORSHIP ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE LORD GOD

Proclamation:

“Do not worship any other god, for The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  Exodus 34:14  “Do not make any idols.”  Exodus 34:17 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  After The Lord God gave Moses specific instructions for the Israelites regarding the Sabbath Day, He gave him two tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments and His covenant law. (Exodus 31:18)  However, because Moses stayed on the mountain of God so long, the people made themselves a god, an idol cast in gold in the shape of a calf, and worshiped it. (Exodus 32:1-8)  When Moses came down from the mountain of God and saw the golden calf and the dancing, he threw the stone tablets at them and then he destroyed the golden calf. (Exodus 32:19-20)  Then he said, “Whoever is for The Lord, come to me.”  All those who did not come to him were killed. (Exodus 32:26-29)  The Moses then chiseled out two smooth stone tablets, like the one he had broken and went back up to the mountain of God. (Exodus 34:1-5)  This time when Moses came down from the mountain of God, his face was radiant and the people listened to him. (Exodus 34:29-35)  Then the Israelites gathered all of the materials as The Lord God had instructed and the built the tabernacle (Exodus 36:8-38), the Arc of The Covenant (Exodus 37:1-9), and all of the other things as He had instructed them. (Exodus 37:10 through 40:33)

Application:

The first of the Ten Commandments is: “You shall have not other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)  In His explanation of the second of the Ten Commandments He said, “… for I, The Lord your God, am a jealous God …” (Exodus 20:5)  Here in this text, He is reiterating that He is jealous, and that He wants nothing to be worshiped but Him.  Unfortunately, today some people worship other gods, and some people worship other people as their god.  Some people worship their spouse, their love one, or their children.  Some people even worship their cars, their homes, or some other material object which they possess.  Worship of anything other than The Lord God is a sin, and that offends His jealous nature.