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Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-10
Listen: Deuteronomy 5

“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. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Deuteronomy 5:6-8

The Israelites stand on the edge of the promised land when Moses reminds them of their history with God and how they are to be God’s people. Idol worship was predominant in Egypt. God’s people know more about worshipping Egyptian gods than him. Their only knowledge of God comes through stories passed down from their forefathers. They need more knowledge about God and some structure about how their relationship will work. This was critical because while the Egyptian gods were behind them, Canaanite gods were in front of them. God makes it clear that he rescued them for a relationship with him alone, not other gods.

We aren’t tempted to worship carved images, but we have counterfeit gods. They often come in the form of wealth, pleasure, honor or power. Our intentions might be good. We focus on work to provide for our family. We focus on our children to be good parents. We focus on sports for relaxation. But we can often take something good and make it the ultimate thing. This results in workaholism, idolizing our children or addiction to watching sports. These things give us what we want at first but can become disappointing and harmful. But as the Israelites would learn, identifying our counterfeit gods and seeking God alone for our needs can be incredibly freeing.

TODAY: Identify one or two counterfeit gods most prevalent for you and confess them to God. Thank him for wanting to have a relationship with you. Ask for his help to move away from your idols and closer to him.

JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Read Isaiah 9-10.Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Note the descriptions of the child and the one who will reign on David’s throne.