Sermon Deuteronomy 5:1-2 “No Other God”
New Covenant Church
February 4, 2018
I am beginning today a series of sermons drawn from the Ten Commandments. These principles for life have been used by the people of God for thousands of years. In 1604 the Church of England decided to put a copy of the Ten Commandments on the east wall of every church and chapel so that people might see and read them. In Lutheran churches, they are read before confession to convict people of sin. In Reformed and Presbyterian churches they are often recited after the assurance of forgiveness to remind Christian how they should now live their lives.
Although the Ten Commandments remain important inside church they are losing importance in our general culture. No longer do we have laws prohibiting businesses from opening on Sundays. No longer are the Ten Commandments displayed in schools and public buildings. And children no longer are asked to memorize them.
My hope with these sermons is that we will come to appreciate what the Ten Commandments meant in their original context and what they mean for us today. We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.
“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)
Deuteronomy 5:1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)
The Ten Commandments were given by God to his prophet Moses. They were permanently written on tablets of stone. These tablets were placed in the Ark of the Covenant which accompanied the people of God through 40 years in the wilderness. Later it placed in the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem temple built by Solomon. They are the foundation upon which our relationship with God is based. The Ten Commands are not optional. They are principles given to us by our creator to teach us the best way to live in a God created world. Obey them and live in harmony with creation. Disobey them and problems will result. So let look at the preamble of the first commandment and hear what it tells us.
6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
The first thing we learn is the identity of the lawgiver. The person who wrote these commands is Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel. This is our creator God. He is telling us how his creation really works. We too were created by Yahweh. If we follow these command then we will live in harmony with the created world around us.
The second thing we learn is the history of this God. Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, delivered his people from Egypt. In Egypt they were slaves. Now they are free. This is important. The Ten Commandments were not given to slaves to help them be slaves. Nor were Ten Commandments given to slaves to help them become free. Rather, the Ten Commandments were given to the people God had already freed from slavery. They were instructions on how to live as free people. If they obeyed the commandments they would prosper as free people. If they ignored the commandments they would return to slavery. Sadly God’s people often end up in slavery to something because they ignored the commands. But if they simply obeyed the commands they would continue to live in freedom.
So let’s look at the First Commandments.
7 “You shall have no other gods before me.
In the ancient world, people worshiped many gods. Each nation had their own gods. And people shared gods with one another. It was thought that gods would fertilize crops, or bring the much-needed rain. People just had to ask the appropriate god for help. So people would have many gods and try to keep them all happy so that blessing would continue.
But if you asked them where these gods came from you would usually hear about an ancient god who had created them all. And the God the children of Israel worshiped was this very god, the creator God, Yahweh, The Lord God of Israel. And this God demands absolute loyalty from us.
Sadly God’s people were rarely loyal. They continued to worship weather gods and fertility gods. And they found themselves right back in slavery when their enemies defeated them in battle and hauled them into exile. All of this was preventable. But it was also predictable. Because God’s commandments are designed to keep you free. Ignoring his commands always leads back to slavery.
Today this same creator God wants loyalty from us. We worship only one God, Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, our creator. By obeying the Ten Commandments we preserve our freedoms. But if we ignore the commandments and follow other gods we find ourselves as slaves. Let me give you some examples of people who worshiped something other than the creator God and found themselves back in slavery. Here is a story from a person named Craig whose god was named alcohol.
“I would drink a bottle of strong cheap vodka everyday by myself, hoping that I would never wake up. I had a problem, but I chose to do nothing about it. Like a typical alcoholic, I felt the world owed me a favour and it was the world’s responsibility to help me. I would wake up every day feeling as sick as a dog. My job suffered and I had to lie every single day. I lived for payday; then I could start the party all over again.
I did not start in life like this. I drank like normal people. I never would get drunk, and I would look at alcoholics and say bad things to them...like, “I will never be like you.”
But as time grew on … I would spend every cent I had on alcohol and drugs. My family suffered; my kids had no food and the electricity would be cut. Once again I would blame the world. When my money was finished, I would borrow or pawn something for my next fix.
Why was this happening to me? I came from a good family and I knew that they loved me. I had all the good guidance and love and attention that I needed. Where did I go wrong? I felt that people were exaggerating and I was not as bad as they made me out to be. There are people worse off than me.
I got on my knees and I asked God to show himself. ‘If you do exist, now is the time to reveal yourself to me because I am in deep trouble and I need your help.’
There were no bright lights or the sound of church bells. I was still all alone. I made a decision there and then ... to live or to die. I chose life. As simple as that. I did not choose to remain sober or ask my wife or my family to forgive me. I simply chose life. And I KNEW I could not do it by myself. I had to start from scratch, but at least this time I had the right tools!
It was a Tuesday night and I was still in rehab. That night the entire group went to church. We were all seated in the front row. In our creased clothes and our heads shaved, I had a choice ... again a choice. I could choose to be embarrassed ... or I could choose to embrace the moment and pray really hard and I knew that if I tried, I would receive a sign. I had no distractions like the thought of who was watching me, as the church was full. It was just me and God and I had total control of my mind. I was a broken man ...
I asked God, ‘If I am your child, why are you allowing me to suffer and why am I being spared. I am a sinner and a bad one. I don’t want to live.’
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks ... there is a reason that I am still here! I do matter to God! Right there and then I decided to give my messed up life over to God. For once I was not running away and I was going to face this challenge head on.” (http://www.precious-testimonies.com/BornAgain/w-z/WykCraigVan.htm)
Alcohol is not the only false god we follow. Listen to Jake’s story.
I was never in the right crowd for long growing up. I was always trying to impress the older kids -- especially kids from the wrong crowd. I don't think my parents, or many other parents, realized how dangerous this attitude can be for a child. I was secretly smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol by the age of 11. Of course my parents caught me a few times, and they would ground me, and stop my pocket money for a while, but I kept on doing it anyway. The older kids were allowed to so why shouldn't I be, I figured.
A few months into being age 13 I got involved with the worst kind of crowd any child can get involved in -- a gang of drug users. The youngest member was a year younger than me and the oldest members were in their late 20s. We would sit in fields and little huts where they would pressure us into taking drugs.
By the time I was nearly 15 I decided I wanted to leave. This wasn't how people are meant to spend their childhood -- owned and controlled. I had already distanced myself from my friends and family though. I had nobody to talk to and couldn't see a way out. I was at rock bottom. I saw online a social networking website that Satanism could make me all powerful, and in a situation where I had no power, this was very appealing,
When I realized I couldn't find relief in Satan anymore, I was surprised to find that the only thing that made me feel better was the Christian TV show I used to watch as a child called: Touched By An Angel. The more my interest in God grew the healthier I felt, and when I finally accepted Jesus into my heart I was completely healed.
http://www.precious-testimonies.com/BornAgain/h-k/Jake.htm
Craig and Jake both experienced that slavery that comes from a rejection of the First Commandment. For them, other things were deemed more important than God. And they became more and more enslaved by those other things. But they were both loved by God. They were both redeemed from slavery by Jesus. And now they are free. Let us hope that they remain free by obeying the Ten Commandments.
Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, there is so much temptation in this world. We are always tempted to follow other gods like alcohol or a drug gangs. Deliver us from false gods. And keep us ever faithful to the one true God, our heavenly father. Amen.
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