Tell Us Again, Once More – The First Commandment

Tell Us Again, Once More

Exodus 20:2, 3

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

When things other than God capture and enslave us – when we have turned our devotion from God to anything else – we feel powerless to break away. Our things, the esteem of others, the safety of job and home, and the comforts of life – they’re what we cling to for meaning and happiness. But, fickle deities, they can never completely satisfy the deep longing of our souls. Only God can do that; and, that He might do so, He comes to us in our captivity, announces redemption through a powerful display of miracles and blood, and draws us with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm into the bosom of His love. And then He tells us once again, “No other gods.”

Recall how you came to Jesus: from what false gods did the Lord deliver you? What manifestation of His power did you experience then? Do you allow your desires to drift from this good and powerful God, back to those useless, enslaving things?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.