How to avoid idolatry

How to avoid idolatry: So it was that God swept in, destroyed Egypt’s precious idols one by one, and proved Himself to be Lord of All, the Supreme Champion. Israel’s beloved rescuer. He is King of kings and Lord of Lords, and there is no other god but Him. A multitude of Egyptians were convinced and came out with Israel. God’s purpose was love: love for Israel, His firstborn son, love for the Egyptians who were lost in their idolatry, and love for all the nations who would be saved by the Messiah coming through the family line. God led His people into the desert and took the nation into a new covenant with Himself, like a marriage. At Mount Sinai, the ten plagues were left behind and now Ten Commandments were put in place. How did God’s instructions for life begin? “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. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:2 through 6) Ten represents God’s laws and judgements, His order and plan. God wants to love and bless us, but our sin will inevitably come back on us if we fall into idolatry. We must worship Him alone. As you might remember it was even while these laws were being given that Israel immediately fell into idolatry of the worst kind by making the golden calf. God took Israel out of Egypt, but getting Egypt out of Israel would be more difficult. Deliverance comes from God, but obedience comes from us. God can do His part, but will we do ours? The Egyptians later would abandon their system of gods and pharaonic worship in favor of the moon god of Saudi Arabia. Even without an image or statue, idolatry still grips the nation, but God has not finished with them yet. There is more to come for both Egypt and for Israel, and indeed for all the nations of the world. Although we might not have statues like the ancient Egyptians, we can still slip into idolatry, even as God’s people did in the Bible. A good warning signal is complaining, much as the Israelites moaned their way through the desert. Complaining reveals a heart focused on something other than God. Let God highlight any area where we have let something else take His place. Try the action of physically bowing before God as you worship Him today. He deserves all our worship and honor. When we finally see Him face to face, I’m sure we’ll all hit the floor just as they did in the Bible. He is the only true God, almighty yet loving. He sacrificed His own Son to rescue us from the slavery of sin. He is worthy of all we have.