“And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me’” (Exodus 20:1-3, NIV).
WHAT AN INTERESTING DETAIL is mentioned in today’s verse! Before God even mentions the Ten Commandments, He tells His people who have just been delivered from Egyptian slavery, «I am your God.»
What had Israel done to be granted such a tremendous privilege? Nothing in particular, as far as we know. They were not the most numerous or most powerful people. On the contrary, they were «the fewest of all peoples» (Deuteronomy 7:7, NIV). Nevertheless, the Supreme Being tells them: «I am your God, and you are My people.»
On what basis would that relationship be maintained? It would be maintained as long as He, the God who delivered them from Egyptian slavery, was their only true God. During the many years they had been slaves in Egypt, the Israelites had grown accustomed to worshiping a whole variety of gods. Therefore, in order to point out that He would not be one more among a list of gods, He clearly and emphatically tells them: «You shall have no other gods before me.»
Do we truly understand the deep meaning of this first commandment? What the Lord is saying to His people here is that only He would have the right to hold first place in their lives. If the Lord was not the exclusive recipient of their worship, then there would simply be no relationship whatsoever, Why? Because, as Loron Wade says, first place is the only place we can give God in our lives if He is truly God: «That is why this commandment comes first,» says Wade, «All the others are simply moral rules that have no more power than thousands of other good ideas if we have not given God His place.»
What that implies is simply very clear: if God is truly God, then only He can hold first place in my life; only He «is alone entitled to supreme reverence and worship;» and only He deserves to hold first place in my affections and my service (Patriarchs and Prophets, ch. 27, p. 305).
And now comes the obvious question: Is God all that in my life? In your life?
It is true that, unlike the Egyptians, we do not worship handmade idols. But let us remember that an idol is anything that takes the place of God in our lives; be it fame, riches, beauty or pleasure.
God the Father, Creator and Redeemer, take from me any affection or idea that does not acknowledge You as Lord of my life, because I want to give You first place in my affections and my service, and acknowledge You as my only God.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Collaborators: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
