The 10 Commandments Parts 1,2/10
7/1/18, 7/8/18 Deuteronomy 5:6 Exodus 20:1-6
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 besides Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol…you shall not worship them”
A distinction was made in the first sermon, and I think it’s an important distinction to make: the intention of this command is that we have no gods besides the one true God, not in line behind Yahweh or before Him.
Rachel grabbed some false idols “just in case” when she and Jacob were trying to flee Laban (Genesis 31:34) and archaeological finds show Jews throughout history have been known to hedge their bets and keep some idols in the back room of their homes, just in case.
The danger here is that in reality, there is no such thing as any other gods except the one true God. By definition, monotheistic belief requires there is only one God. This is why all others are called false gods. Maybe fake is a better word for them. They actually don’t exist but their creators want you to believe they do and are true. A little bit like fake news. They are then also called idols, once a fake god is created and given and image and therefore perceived status. They are given validity with the appearance of reality by the images made to represent them. This is why making such images of idols or fake gods is such a damning offense, and violates Command 2. We were created in the image of God and there should be no substitutes.
What deceives people is that the appearance of a “so-called god” is often masqueraded by demons (1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 10:19-21). This goes back as far or farther than to the sorcerers and magicians in Egypt representing the nature gods of Egypt (Exodus 7:11 – 7/11 fake Wawa). Demonic powers are real, but they are super-natural, but limited and are not divine. These so-called gods don’t exist, but the demons that pose as idols do exist. This is an age old deception.
Why are people susceptible to believing in fake gods?
Why do people want to believe in fake gods?
