You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3
God brought Israelites out of Egypt, out of the land of salvery. This is the first commandment God gave them. When they were in Egypt, there were many other gods people believed. But now Israelites should not follow those gods any more, because God saved them and now they belong to God. In fact we can say God restored their faith. Because the faith began from their ancestors, who believed God only and followed God’s words. Later Israelites lost their faith and also their land. Now God will restore and revive them again.
Egypt symbolizes the fallen world, the land of salvery of sin and death. God saved us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Now we have become new creations in Jesus Christ, the sons and daughters of the living God. We belong to our Lord Jesus Christ, not a slave of Satan any more. We live for God, die for God. We should not believe other gods, and in fact there is only one true God.
To believe this one and true God not just means believe His existence, His goodness, His justice, but love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Everything of us belongs to God alone. In the old testament, God is regarded as a husband, and Israel is his wife. And in the new testament, Jesus is the husband, and the Church is bride. If we have other gods, it is like adultery.
Love is based on freedom, God gave us freedom, but God also gave us the commandment of love, it seems contradictory, but actually it is very right. Love is like the water in the river, and the commandment and God’s words is like the riverway, which is to guide and protect people. Through the first commandment, let us reflect on our own faith, do we love God more than anything else? Do we regard Jesus as a treasure that transcends everything? Let us have no other gods before our God. Amen.
