A Divine Election
Posted by Dion Todd December 3rd, 2016 8,600 Views 0 Comments
God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God' Exodus 20:1 WEB
The first of the ten commandments is that you shall have no other gods before Me. The ten plagues on Egypt were directed against the gods they worshiped. The Egyptians worshiped the guardian god of the Nile river, but it turned to blood. They worshiped the sun god, but it turned to darkness (Exodus 7-12).
While the Philistines were celebrating to their god dagon, the Lord used Samson to bring the entire building down on them (Judges 16:23). Later when backslidden Israel tried to use the Ark of God as a tool, the Lord allowed the Ark to be captured by the Philistine army. They celebrated and happily placed it in their temple, right in front of dagon. The next morning, dagon was broken and laying on his face in front of the Ark (1 Samuel 5:2).
This all sounds foreign, but it is still relevant today. We are given a choice as to who we will serve. Often we choose to be our own god and live just like we want. Sometimes we chase after asheroth ( a god of sex and fertility) other times we chase after baal ( a god of money, the economy and materialism).
Your choice will be tested on this just as sure as Shadrach's and the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar set up (Daniel 3:7). Choose today who you will serve because God Almighty will not share His place in your life with other 'gods.'
If you love other gods, you can have them, but you will not have Him along with it. Like Jesus said, no one can serve two masters. It is like a divine election, and only one god wins the top spot in your life. Who will be the top God in your life?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I choose You today! Thank You and I pray that You reveal to me clearly anything that comes before You in my life. Help me root the idols out of my life, for I want to please You Lord. Teach me, guide me, walk with me today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.