The Ten Commandments: No Other God

The Ten Commandments: No Other God

Bible Blast: Read Exodus 20:1-17

You must not have any other god but me. Exodus 20:3

God had just set the people of Israel free from a life of slavery in Egypt. At the beginning of Israel’s freedom, God gave the Israelites rules for how he expected them to act toward him and toward one another. Probably the most famous part of those rules is what we call the “Ten Commandments.” In Exodus 20, God gave the Israelites these very specific instructions that covered all the basics of how they should live now that he was their King.

The first commandment God listed was “You must not have any other god but me.” You may be thinking, Of course! He had just set them free from all that terrible stuff in Egypt, so how could they possibly put any other god in front of him?

Egypt was a land where people worshiped many different idols and gods. The Israelites had spent their lives in that land and were naturally used to the idea of people worshiping lots of gods so they could receive as many blessings as possible. Worshiping God may have been easy for them, but setting him apart as their one and only God may have been a new idea. If you continue to read the book of Exodus, you’ll see the Israelites often turned to other idols when they didn’t feel the almighty God was doing enough for them.

One definition of god is “something that is so important that it takes over somebody’s life.” You may not have any actual idols or statues that you worship, but maybe there are things in your life you think are more important than your Creator.

Worshiping only the one, true God is really tough because everywhere we go in the world, we’re encouraged to have other gods. A person has won a contest and is now going to be an amazing rock star. The sequel to a movie is in theaters, and you can’t go anywhere without seeing the characters’ faces on T-shirts, books, mugs, posters, and magazines. Doesn’t it seem like we’re being told to worship everything but the one, true God?

Girl Gab: Mom, tell your daughter about some of the things you used to totally obsess about when you were younger (e.g., movie stars, music, books). Daughter, talk about things girls your age are tempted to worship other than God. Pray together that God would give you hearts that are undivided—completely committed to your King.